Monday, January 31, 2011

Panic on the Streets of Birmingham

I doubt Egypt will be the last "food revolution", but where will it end? To quote the Smiths, panic on the streets of Birmingham? How much would food prices have to rise?


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/8291470/Egypt-and-Tunisia-usher-in-the-new-era-of-global-food-revolutions.html

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Why Do Some Regions Seem Destined for Decline?

Different recession- same story. Many of the cities mentioned have been in decline since the end of the First World War. Labour, Conservative or coalition government, the story is the same. It is almost as though decay is in the collective gene pool? Is it because people with talent and drive just move away or is there something in the local culture?


http://http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/recovery-unevenly-spread-across-uk-cities-2192868.html

The End of Mass Delusion in the UK

A generation of people who believed: 1) that house prices always rise faster than inflation; 2) that shopping is a leisure activity for which there will always be a new credit card; and 3) that imported consumer goods from emerging markets would keep getting cheaper and they could therefore always consume more might finally be waking up from a massive act of collective delusion. 

It is time to "wake up and smell the coffee" people.  It is time to start innovating, investing for the future and building our skills and expertise.  This is not going to change whatever government is in power and it is time to stop abrogating our personal responsibilities for our own futures; grow up people.  Less reality TV and shopping, more books and education.



http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12306336