Our Economy

I will make no excuses for publishing a second blog on the same day, as I believe the subject to be too important to be ignored any longer. That is, our economy, or rather the wholescale negative litany of media reports about it. Let me firstly say, that yes, economically two years ago things seemed better. Well they seemed better, but sometimes the best nights out seem better at 2 in the morning when the whole place is hopping than at 2.40 when the bouncers go round bellowing "All right folks". But would anyone disagree the following morning with a pain "in a chean" that it was a good thing that somebody turned off the music and switched on the lights. Very few, I suspect.

So be it with our economy. It had to cool down, particularly the construction sector. Did anyone really want in their heart of hearts to have ordinary semi detached houses in Leitrim commanding half a million euros in the not so distant future. Obviously anyone selling, of course, but the rest of us?

I would say that far from being a bad thing altogether, there are some good and necessary things that happen in an economic downturn. Firstly a sense of fiscal reality returns to everyone's finances. People actually think about a purchase before they swipe and run off with their latest fancy. That is they weigh up the pros and cons of a prospective spending splurge with some degree of logical thinking vis a vis do I actually need this big a television or could I do without a fourth night out in a row?

Secondly, people use what they already have, more. So instead of changing your car every two years, you change it every four, say. In this way you increase the usage of this major purchase by one hundred per cent. If you can avert your eyes every January when the shiny new reg cars start wiggling their number plates, it may be found that the car you are driving is, with due care and attention perfectly capable of being "nice" for another two years at least. It's amazing what a wash or even a bit of turtlewax can do for any car.

Thirdly, people actually begin to appreciate the value of money again. You may wonder how anyone could cease to do such a thing. Well unfortunately, it does happen. Trust me, I speak from experience. As any currency trader will tell you, every trade you make is posited on the theory that what you are getting for handing over your money is of more value than the notes or coins themselves. So, say when you buy a latte coffee for 3.50 you are implying that the rather bitter brown liquid you will consume is worth more than 3.50 of your hard earned money.

Now don't get me wrong. I am not a complete polyanna either or a character from Voltaire's Candide. Just like medicine, there are unpleasant side effects. Ask anyone who got made redundant lately. But once you accept that the boom was unsustainable and that a correction was inevitable, it will be easier to accept the unpleasant side effects of our economic autumn/winter. It need not necessarily be a winter of discontent either. Let us wait it out, as we do every winter, with hope in our hearts, looking forward to the first green shoots of Spring.