In another of those, there ain't nothing new under the sun moments
.... as we face the worse recession since records began in 1706, a new book entitled 'Poverty Of Disaster' has discovered that some things never change.
Its been reported in the book, that one in four of the middle classes in the 18th Century feared being sent to debtors prison.
Research shows that financial insecurity was rife amongst the skilled workers and craftsmen who comprised the majority of the emerging middle classes in the 18th Century. This was partly because they had started turning to credit (loans/mortgages), to finance their new aspirational lifestyles .... a fact that many of our fellow citizens have repeated, with the historically cheap money of the last decade.
Now for the moment, the interest rates will remain low, but many will likely be made unemployed this year, and the availability of cheap money won't help them. Mortgages taken out and credit loans obtained while in work, will not be covered by welfare payments ..... the fears of the modern equivalent of those craftsmen, skilled workers and artisans, will no doubt be back in Britain (and elsewhere).
So while it will be 2008 (or possibly the Great Depression of the 1930's), that many may be looking fearfully back to this year, but in fact there is a far deeper folk memory lurking from the 18th Century, when financial ruination had more terrible consequences, that will be underpinning the fears of the unemployment that many sadly will face this year.
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| UK Historic GDP ...... A Mixed Picture. |
.... as we face the worse recession since records began in 1706, a new book entitled 'Poverty Of Disaster' has discovered that some things never change.
Its been reported in the book, that one in four of the middle classes in the 18th Century feared being sent to debtors prison.
 |
| Debtors Prison Has Left A Folk Memory Of Fear In England ...... |
Research shows that financial insecurity was rife amongst the skilled workers and craftsmen who comprised the majority of the emerging middle classes in the 18th Century. This was partly because they had started turning to credit (loans/mortgages), to finance their new aspirational lifestyles .... a fact that many of our fellow citizens have repeated, with the historically cheap money of the last decade.
Now for the moment, the interest rates will remain low, but many will likely be made unemployed this year, and the availability of cheap money won't help them. Mortgages taken out and credit loans obtained while in work, will not be covered by welfare payments ..... the fears of the modern equivalent of those craftsmen, skilled workers and artisans, will no doubt be back in Britain (and elsewhere).
So while it will be 2008 (or possibly the Great Depression of the 1930's), that many may be looking fearfully back to this year, but in fact there is a far deeper folk memory lurking from the 18th Century, when financial ruination had more terrible consequences, that will be underpinning the fears of the unemployment that many sadly will face this year.
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