It’s the recession – we’re all doomed?

escotregen · It’s the recession – we’re all doomed?

Is it just me that’s getting just a tad panicky about where the recession is going next? I appreciate that outfits like the Glasgow City Council are trying to do what they can to alleviate things, and I try to be a cheery soul most of the time. But it seems to be getting very dark while I’m whistling away.

An instance is when I was to go to a meeting last week that was abruptly called of, hours before. We were advised that the Scottish Council Foundation had ‘then-and-there’ gone belly-up, reportedly because several private sector corporate sponsors at short notice advised that they could not afford to continue their sponsorship into the new financial year (the bank sector having already taken to the boats of course).

The Foundation was a heavyweight and respected think tank on the Scottish scene. The fact that many people will not have heard it is evidence of how they were more interested in doing essential good work around public policy (education, economy, health etc.) than in self-publicity antics.

We are all aware that some major developments in Glasgow (and Edinburgh) have now been pulled or… ahem… postponed. Between this and last week I have spoken to three different well-qualified professional folks who have been made redundant with immediate effect. A week or so ago I was waiting in a city centre street to meet someone when I realised that the majority of retail premises across the road from me had all recently closed with ‘to let may sell’ hoardings.

Heavens above – even pubs seem to be closing at a fair rate.

This morning's news from the British Chambers of Commerce Quarterly Economic Survey for 2009 is that Scottish manufacturing is suffering especially badly (so much for it being just to do with the financial sector).

Don’t panic! Don’t panic!

cybers

Whilst it may not be man the lifeboats just yet i for one dont think it is going to get rosy any time soon.
All around my estate people are getting laid off there have been big trucks taking away the fancy HP cars to be replaced with Rent-a-Wrecks.
Property Lawyers and Consultants getting canned left right and centre with most major lawfirms choosing to downsize.
Crime though is a growth industry though the police and local government will try to use smoke and mirrors and creative bookeeping to convince you otherwise.
This should mean my job is safe for the moment at least.
Been looking into becoming a Sheriff Officer though ...
They Buggers are always cheery when theres misery around.

Mumsie

It has not effected me as yet. I am a Paralegal with a Law Firm and as our Government doubled the First Home Buyers Grant from $7,000.00 to $14,000.00 and have granted $21,000.00 if 1st home owners build a new home, we are still getting enough business in to keep us going. I do not do much about what we call Conveyancing (buying and selling houses). I mainly deal with Commercial Work, buying and selling businesses, leases for tenants and landlords and Probate (deceased estates). Luckily my Probate work generates good costs and more than pays for my yearly salary. No one that I know of have lost their jobs yet but our Banks here have stated that if any of their borrowers are made redundant, they will not have to make their mortgage payments for up to a year until they find employment. Hope Scotland is not hit hard.

escotregen

Good to hear from Australia Mumsie - there have been some interesting developments around housing policy there over the past couple of decades.

The problem afflicting us here in Scotland and the rest of the UK (like the USA, possibly worse) is that our banks and other lenders are the ones that are up to their necks in self-induced 'toxic' debt. So the whole lending, funding and credit system is just ... errr... screwed.

Mind you we still seem to have lots of taxpayers' money to pour into obscene-sized pensions for the inept Lorded clowns that 'agreed to leave' when the state had to bail out the banks that they bankrupted.