Things have been quiet around here for the last couple of weeks. Devoted Dexter is sunning himself on his boat off the coast of Florida. And as for me, well let's just say there is lots to talk about but I've been so depressed by the state of things that blogging about them would send me over the edge. In fairness it's hard to stay upbeat these days. Everywhere you look it's recession, cuts, taxes, misery and, of course, the usual helping of sickening hypocrisy from our beloved public representatives. So in this post, instead of my usual dose of bile and vitriol, I will try and concentrate on the upside of "de recession". I'm putting my faith in the old chestnut of every cloud having a silver lining - it's just a matter of looking for it hard enough! So what are the upsides of the economic H-bomb that has detonated over our poor island in recent months?
- The price of stuff is going down: we still have a way to go but the profiteering retailers know that the days of people paying ridiculous prices (with borrowed money) are over.
- We appreciate our money more: there can be no doubt that the spending patterns of Celtic Tiger Ireland were crazy. People squandered cash on all manner of needless crap. We became a nation of label lovers with our Orla Kiely handbags, D&G sunglasses, Jimmy Choo shoes, Tag watches etc. etc. etc. Of course there's nothing wrong with liking your labels but let's face it there are more important things in life than buying fancy stuff every week. Maybe we will now appreciate it when we treat ourselves to the odd luxury. What's seldom is wonderful after all!
- Ireland might qualify for the World Cup: Surely it is more than a coincidence that our football team enjoyed its most successful period in the days before our economy went into overdrive. I firmly believe that there is some undiscovered scientific rule that links our economic strength inversely to our football team's success. Let's hope that this theory holds firm and we'll be cheering on the boys in green in South Africa next year.
- Less SUVs on the road: One of my many pet hates is the SUV. This hideous fuel guzzling behemoth undoubtedly symbolised the Celtic Tiger preoccupation with overindulgence and waste. A friggin' monster truck with one kid in the back seat driven by a soccer mom never made sense. Hopefully people will now go back to driving proper cars and leave the jeeps to be driven by the few builders and tradesmen who can still find work.
- Haggling is back: During the boom years you were made to feel like a pariah for having the temerity to haggle with a sales person. Well, well, well, how the worm has turned! The shops are begging you to haggle now. That annoying Australian tosser from Harvey Norman is always on the radio pleading with the poor pixie Irish to haggle with his staff. And a car salesman will happily brighten up his impoverished and lonely day by haggling with the rare customer who might consider buying a car. So get haggling people. We have years of profiteering to avenge!
- The curse of the property programme may be lifted: Hopefully we will now see the cancellation of the multitude of nauseating property programmes which have infested our telly boxes for years. We haven't got the money to even dream of moving gaffs so surely Duncan Stewart, Kirstie Allsopp et al. will be banished from our televisions forever!
- The recession might even be good for our society: People generally smoke less, drink less alcohol and exercise more during a recession. With people devoting fewer hours to work they are also more likely to get involved in their communities and spend more time with their families. In the last decade or so obesity levels have soared and a sense of community was becoming a rare characteristic in modern Ireland. If the recession facilitates the emergence of a healthier and more caring society that can only be a good thing.
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