Monday, Jun 25, 2007
Public attitude change
Guardian: The middle classes have discovered they've been duped by the super-rich
Never have so many of us appeared so well-off yet felt so poor - and we used to believe obscene wealth was victimless
Posted by inbreda @ 09:08 AM (149 views) Add Comment
14 Comments
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1. wage slave said...
I think we will hear a lot more on this subject. It will probably be what the next election is fought over.
2. tyrellcorporation said...
I never thought I'd say this but that Guardian article was actually quite good! I'm glad Lidl got a mention as that's my favourite store!
3. george monsoon said...
I like this article, considering it is from the Guardian. It looks like the journalist responsible has also been stung by this misapropriation of money.
4. mrmickey said...
Nice new semi detached house build near me has new owners, they've been in the house sometime and are using cardboard for curtains. Instead of two cars in the drive nothing in the fridge as it was in the late 80's, is it now nice new house cardboard for curtains.
5. royston said...
I told you the backlash was coming! I told you!
6. The Capitalist said...
I was reading about George Bernard Shaw at the weekend - well I think he was on to something...today's capitalist system is without any sense of moral compunction or social responsibility..how GBS (a founder of Labour) must be turing in his grave as this all happened during Labour's watch.
I'm having a conversion!
7. Rickyb said...
If the "middle classes" have been stupid enough to spend 6 times their salary on a home in a pathetic attempt to maintain their "middle class" standard of living, then it's hardly surprising that they now feel duped. I'm not sure they should be blaming the super rich though.
8. confused76 said...
"the worm has turned"
I loved that!
9. Papabear said...
Some of the people talked about in the article have only themselves to blame: wealth after all, is relative. If you measure yourself against Roman Abramovich you are very poor indeed. The media have a lot to answer for. The constant 'celebrity' coverage (ooooh, look Peter and Jordan in their £5,000,000 mansion, Coleen and Wayne on a luxury yacht off St. Tropez, etc.), property porn programs (Mr. and Mrs. Smith's home has increased by £200,000 in just 2 years, woo-hoo) have had the effect of making a lot of otherwise perfectly comfortable people feel 'poor'.
Notice how in the comments to this article a lot of people are citing HPI as one of the main ills. It's hard not to feel poor when you can't afford a 1-bed flat. It shouldn't be that way. However I don't think it's the fault of the "super rich". They have always been there and their purchases of £10 million houses in Belgravia has little effect on the wider market. Cheap credit + speculation + media propaganda + a government which doesn't give a toss are the problem.
10. Ides Of March said...
I've been banging on about this for quite some time now on the FT house price forum, but I think it's going to take an about face of quite some proportions from the public-at-large to accept that a house-price-crash is something that would benefit them. The problem is that the average person would have to take some part of the blame and some part of the short to medium term pain. There might be a lot of finger pointing and name calling, but I think this is a symptom of an HPC not a cause. I'm still waiting for a trigger.
11. Ides Of March said...
I've been banging on about this for quite some time now on the FT house price forum, but I think it's going to take an about face of quite some proportions from the public-at-large to accept that a house-price-crash is something that would benefit them. The problem is that the average person would have to take some part of the blame and some part of the short to medium term pain. There might be a lot of finger pointing and name calling, but I think this is a symptom of an HPC not a cause. I'm still waiting for a trigger.
12. sold 2 rent 1 said...
Tony Blair and Gordon Brown have happily presided over an unprecedented golden age of wealth accumulation in this country - on a par with the US in Gatsby's Roaring Twenties.
Is it 1929 yet?
13. Papabear said...
I'd like to ask GB one simple question: In Labour's 10 years in power, house prices have trebled. Good thing or bad?
Isn't it amazing that a goverment which is only too happy to give 'advice' on anything (don't smoke, don't eat that, eat this, don't smack your kids, don't throw your rubbish there, recycle that, etc.) has yet to tell people: don't take out a loan you can't afford!
14. wally said...
Intriguing piece in the Mail over the weekiend. It suggested that the best way for the middle earners to protect their interests was to simply vote for the party that offerred the lowest taxes.