I have become almost accustomed to screaming economic headlines, about this country as well as the USA and others, and of course they generate much conversation. But the world looks much the same here on the ground, with only bits and pieces of change. How is your place looking these days? Does it feel like a depression or crisis, or does it feel much the same?
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About Me
- Brian Kaller
- I am a journalist living in rural Ireland, and have written for the American Conservative, the Dallas Morning News, Front Porch Republic and other publications. I interview elderly Irish about traditional ways of life, and write a weekly column about the Long Emergency for my local newspaper.
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8 comments:
I enjoy your blog very much. I live in north eastern Ohio, USA. We live on a busy road, and lately I've noticed the amount of big semi-trucks has diminished noticeably. We are doing pretty well, but have always been conservative with our money. We have a large garden, berries, and chickens. I think most people around us are cutting back, and I've seen many gardens pop up in the last year. I hope this is a bit of an answer.
Thank you! I like your blog as well, having now been introduced to it. I'll be reading it.
Life has not changed much - we all seem to be cutting back but not draconian cuts. Sense of anxiety everyone has - waiting for the other shoe to drop, fear of job loss, seems to be the new thing in our lives now. Perhaps that is worse than any real change.
Like this blog and your photos very much,
Cecelia
This is a very open-ended question! Mainstream media headlines and TV news tend to draw us in to a manufactured reality of the 'infotainment' industry. Your question seems to be asking how real is this? The paradox is that if we did not read newspapers, watch television, or trawl the internet, we would be living in a different reality. Maybe your question is like asking what would that reality be like?
Brian,
Here in the Netherlands, ten feet below sea-level :-), people are getting fed-up with crisis talk. Last week there was a topic in the local papers about the growing belief, that the flood of bad news should be stymied, and the economy would fare the better for it.
The general feeling is, that the worst of the banking crisis is over. Dutch banks seem to have been stabilized by government loans, the stock index is on a tear of +20% since March, and the price of petrol (gas) has dropped from €1,50 to €1,20/liter (GBP 4.00 or US$6.30/gallon). So far for the green shoots.
Though the Treasury and our Central Bank's president, Nout Wellink, in unison, are predicting harder times to come, a majority of the population doesn't want to hear the warnings. They prefer to ignore the fact, that exports, building and industrial production cratered. Unemployment and bankruptcies are soaring, new car sales have dropped 50% y-o-y, as have house sales. Pensions have been frozen for the next five years, as pension funds are struggling to stem their recent losses, and there's a rising cry from home-owners to raise existing bail-out provisions for their mortgages, should they default in case of sudden unemployment.
So, there seems to be a lot of ambivalence in the air. People are holding their breath, and scan the news for signs of deterioration, and at the same time they're crying out loud to maintain an illusion of normalcy in their every-day life. I'm afraid, they're in for a confrontation with reality, rather sooner than later.
As Ann mentioned, we live on a busy road. I wish I could say I notice a change in traffic, but 35 minutes past the odd hour, when the ferry arrives, it's still bumper-to-bumper. I'm actually looking forward to the day when most of these jokers can't afford the gas and ferry faire.
We're not doing bad. We doubled the size of our garden, but added the potential for much more, with nearly four acres of deer fence put in this winter.
We're now supplying most of our protein, albeit indirectly. We get nearly a dozen eggs a day (using purchased organic feed, even though they free-range in a rotational system.)
We're getting nearly two litres of raw goat milk a day from a Maya, who miscarried, and will, with a bit of luck, soon be getting a similar amount from Shakti, when she weans the two doelings and a buckling she delivered last Monday. (Again, using purchased organic feed, although they also graze in a rotational system as well.)
As for the other locals, I hear of retired people who are living on half the income they were getting just a year ago, since they depended on dividends from stock portfolios. Some of them are thinking their money might be better off in our co-op than in the stock market, and many have taken new interest in what we're doing in our push toward sustainable living.
The real test will be when the tourists stop coming to our island. Then, we'll no longer be able to support 10,000 residents, and those who depended on the tourist trade will leave, leaving behind those of us who are intent on supporting ourselves from the land in a sustainable manner.
Hello, saw your blog linked from EnergyBulletin, which I read these days instead of the papers.
Haven't noticed much in the physical (as opposed to media) environment here in sunny Yorkshire. Same old jams on the A19 and on the roads into Leeds. Hardly any empty shop sites.
The quality of donated stuff in charity shops, though, has taken a turn for the worse, just like it did in the previous recession.
Cecelia, Thank you.
Smokehaze, that is much more existential than I was shooting for, but I can't argue with it. :-)
Lagedargent, I have sometimes wondered about the future of Holland, with its dense population below sea level. The culture is very admirable, though -- perhaps you could persuade some to emigrate and set up colonies. I might nominate Minnesota, or Ireland.
Ms. Steinman,
Thanks for writing, and for the links -- I will check into your sites from now on. You sound like you are pretty far along, better than we.
Lunchista, I'm enjoying your blog, and I'm glad to hear zombies aren't roaming the streets of Leeds. I hope your charity shops are at least spacious -- the only ones near us are the size of an American bathroom.:-)
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