Give Us Sunshine

All right the weather no doubt has something to do with the general depressed air that seems to hang over us this summer. It is truly depressing to see our summer ruined by rain but all would change if the temperature went up and the sun stayed out for even a couple of weeks. Perhaps the disappointing weather also colours our view of the economy and makes us worry that there is no way out or that at best it will take several years before we can feel confident that we are over the worst. As I was told by a family member's psychiatrist about that relation's deep depression that the patient would come out of it although it could take up to seven years as no depression ever lasted longer. The signs of the financial disaster were evident in 2007 although did not become full blown until 2008. Using the depression analogy we could therefore be in a slump until 2014/15. Part of the despair we feel is that the Government haven't really got a grip of it. They started with good intentions but were too optimistic so ended up doing too little. They did not cut spending nearly quickly nor deeply enough. Osborne really has to use the summer recess to come up with a bold and imaginative plan that is specifically tailored to our economy even if it means ignoring EU directives and other holy cows. It is an abdication of good governance to defer to others' sensibilities since we can only help others if we surmount our own troubles. Charles Moore has an excellent piece on this subject in the Telegraph today which you can read here. If the weather won't give us a smile we sure as hell need Osborne to do so and soon.