Monday, August 16, 2010

A recession for the poor

The media reports the economic recession as something terrible for all people. However there are some different stories that are seeming to come up every now and again. These tell of how there seems to be one (or more) "recession-proof" sectors. These sectors are always (in my brief analysis) luxury sectors and also tech sectors. Some articles proclaim the good news factor of this - one even appearing on "South Africa - The Good News" website.

I imagine the writers of particularly the second type of article - showing that there is some good news despite the recession - are wanting to show that at least one sector is doing it right, or, more vaguely that "there is hope". The truth is that the global recession is only a recession for the poor. Food price increases aren't affecting any of my family or friends (or me). I hear of vary few CEOs losing there jobs, but plenty of blue-collar and government workers out of work (again, it seems as the important ones are still there - the EU still has a commissioner of "Digital Agenda" - important one that).

This recession is a recession of and for the poor. The rich continue to buy their iphone apps, expensive "handmade" watches and luxury yachts. And what's more they are buying them in ever greater numbers, despite the increasing number of children going to bed being "fed" water to stop them from crying because there is no food in the house.

So next time someone with an iphone complains about the recession, slap them and go and do something useful to take down the system that causes the inequality which allows a simultaneous recession for the poor and boom for the rich.