The Stories we should tell.

So the world changes and life seems to move so quickly, I listen to all these idiots trying to peer into the future by looking at the tea leaves of economic data. The mass hysteria which seems to be gripping the media seems to be missing the point and really makes me worry that democracy is finished. The panic that seems to be gripping the government just seems to reflect it.

So let's set one thing straight, Japan in the 90s was not economic Armageddon if I hear one more idiot discussing how we need to avoid Japan's situation like it was the worst thing for a millennium I think I might hurt myself. It had issues with moderately rising unemployment loss in wealth due to depreciating asset values but IT WAS NOT a basket case. For Christ sake folks the UK in the 70s was in a far worse condition.

Second thing we need to set straight is that many of the imbalances in the economy quite frankly need working through the system and we should not prevent them we should not allow the system to collapse however, the UK and other developed countries probably need to allow asset prices to drop, unemployment probably needs to rise we need re-balancing to take place. What we need to do is stop the worst case scenario, put safety nets in place invest in infrastructure but not panic. Can our democracy face these challenges that is the question.

It may become really bad, we may enter economic Armageddon however, at the moment in the West people aren't starving on the streets, people are not rioting except in Greece, but hell they do that when they get bored.

As I watched like millions of others Mr Obama taking his oath of office, listened to his beautiful words and his exquisite delivery, I thought but sir there are some things in life, some things which cannot be overcome by will alone, we are simply humans and we operate within certain rules. We can't stop the tide coming in, we can push it back we can reclaim land but it still comes in and it will take the land back eventually.

So as we over populate this land, as we struggle to feed the masses, we cannot give the whole world the standard of living the US has, we simply can't, and if we did then the world would not be worth living on. So what are we to do? We all watch American movies and they touch you like nothing else, or the best do, and we marvel at the houses, the standard of living yet we cannot give it to the world. Together we must encourage the world to have fewer and smaller families and if that were to be the case in a place like the middle east then I feel certain their anger would diminish. There are way too many young men with nothing to do, not enough land and not enough wealth so what do they do? Sadly they occasionally come into our lives through that little square box and frighten us by their other worldliness.

We ask ourselves how could they feel such anger yet occasionally when you feel very poor, when you feel like you have no chance in life then suddenly life changes. I once sat with a man in a South American city and he was a painter and decorator he had a small son, and he didn't have much, he didn't have great shoes. There I was within my pockets probably with one or two months salary for him and a bank card, yet we talked and he got up and walked across the square. Would I have done the same as him. Would I keep my dignity I ask you? Now there was a brave man, a truly brave man. Those are the stories we should tell more.