Yet another fella thinking of moving to BsAs

[RWS]

Very interesting, BigBad. Those observations (similar to what I, as an international lawyer and former historian, have made for -- lo! -- these many a year) and Potential's feellings (similar to my own) emphasize what I've come to think: that the future of our civilization lies not in the heartland of the West, western Europe and North America -- but on its fringes. And I don't believe that those fringes are more calming (despite a hectic life in Bs.As.) or, overall, more satisfying (beyond necessity, not a great factor) than in Cono Sur.

 

[Fishface]

They always forget to mention the countless Russians and Hong Kongers etc etc that are piling in to the UK that buy property in CASH and not show provedance. City bonuses are dwarfed by this phenomenon. City bonuses affect Islington, Holland Park and cause a ripple effect from there which soon diminishes.

 

[bigbadwolf]

They always forget to mention the countless Russians and Hong Kongers etc etc that are piling in to the UK that buy property in CASH and not show provedance. City bonuses are dwarfed by this phenomenon. City bonuses affect Islington, Holland Park and cause a ripple effect from there which soon diminishes.

Members of the global financial elite -- whether Russian nouveau riche billionaires, or Chinese property developers -- feel a need for a residence in the world's premier financial centre. Usually that means Mayfair, Belgravia, or maybe a place out in Surrey. With property prices being what they are today, maybe they'll even settle for modest places in, say Marble Arch or Holland Park (we're still talking millions). They have a ripple effect but I'm not sure to what extent, since it's relatively small in number and confined to the luxury market. City bonuses have a larger impact. The crux of the problem probably lies elsewhere, however: little or no public construction for at least the last thirty years. Council housing has been flogged off and there's been nothing in the pipeline for donkey's years. And London has been growing in population over the last several years, most recently with the influx of so many East Europeans (for whom there's no precise count). This is the neoliberal state the UK has become, with ordinary people having to fend for themselves in an ostensibly "free" market. What this means is that working couples have to borrow five times (or even more) of their joint earnings for modest maisonettes in the less salubrious parts of London and its environs. The 'New Labour' government has allowed property prices in the Southeast to go up by a multiple of four during the last decade or so. Housing and transportation (on a privatised and increasingly decrepit and unreliable system) have become exorbitant. The government has allowed a property bubble to develop, and acquiesced to the emergence of an economy that is ever more dependent on global financial flows. And it has neglected public infrastructure (which I concede is an intractable problem). The consequences of these asinine policies of neglect and indulgence will probably be horrifying.

 

[potentialbonarense]

Ultimately I suppose, I am left with the question, what am I achieving by being here? I and my siblings all have degrees, three of us have advanced degrees and we still have not achieved what our parents did when they were twenty one.. We aspire to owning a roof over our heads, whilst our parents had that sorted at 21. We wish that we didn't have to put our kids into day care, whilst my mum was a stay at home mum. You see, I want to know what was it all for, all this rush to prosperity which has proved an inflationary illusion?I believe that there are countries that have not followed this route of massive liberalisation. The primary example is France. They seem to keep quality of life issues to the fore, maybe Argentina should emulate this country.

 

[bigbadwolf]

Ultimately I suppose, I am left with the question, what am I achieving by being here? I and my siblings all have degrees, three of us have advanced degrees and we still have not achieved what our parents did when they were twenty one.. We aspire to owning a roof over our heads, whilst our parents had that sorted at 21. We wish that we didn't have to put our kids into day care, whilst my mum was a stay at home mum.
You see, I want to know what was it all for, all this rush to prosperity which has proved an inflationary illusion?
I believe that there are countries that have not followed this route of massive liberalisation. The primary example is France. They seem to keep quality of life issues to the fore, maybe Argentina should emulate this country.

If you can, beg or borrow a copy of David Harvey's 'A Brief History of Neoliberalism' (Oxford, 2007) to understand how neoliberalism established its sway in the UK, USA, Australia, New Zealand, and Chile over the last thirty years or so. The Menem decade in Argentina led to neoliberal ideas being implemented in Argentina with corollaries being the evisceration of the middle classes and an increasingly polarised society. The Argentina of 2008 is not the Argentina of the '50s and '60s.
Continental Europe has had a social and political trajectory distinct to that of Anglo-American capitalism. I'm all for it. History has yet to pronounce its judgement but I warrant its verdict will be damning: the USA and UK will go down as failed societies, evolutionary dead ends.
If I were you, I'd leave the UK (in fact I already have). But I can't tell you where to go. Central America and South America have nations even more polarised than the UK and the USA, and with the exception of Argentina and Uruguay, this has been a historical phenomenon. You want to be wary of jumping from the frying pan into the fire, as I mentioned before.

 

[potentialbonarense]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2008/03/13/ccambrose113.xmljust food for thought about the UK. Now has Argentina much to feel inadequate about really?

 

[Fishface]

its typical doom 'Torygraph' made to order article - they were obliged to shit on the budget and I am no supporter of New Lie - they are utterly useless.

 

[RWS]

Not so, FF: despite the alarmist tone of the article, the figures given are sound.

 

[bigbadwolf]

Not so, FF: despite the alarmist tone of the article, the figures given are sound.

There is a pro-Tory tone to the piece but I agree that both the figures and the prognosis are bang on target. We can quibble about whether what will hit Britain will be a hurricane or merely a violent storm.

 

[bigbadwolf]

It's already started in Ireland:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2008/03/11/cnirish111.xml

"Look at all the signs: every single one is screaming that the economy is in big, big trouble. Housing market dead, new car sales dead, consumer confidence is dead, record job losses, exporters being killed off by a strong euro, fuel prices spike, housing repossessions increase," it said.