Many of you will remember Jorge, our great Argentine friend, who has been contributing from time to time to our blog. Always with his sharp insight, he makes us reflect on what is happening in this world with a rare clarity. Today he brings us an article with a thought-provoking title… I’ll say no more. Enjoy it:
The crisis is over…
This is the headline most eagerly awaited by the majority of people in this country. I would go so far as to say that it is more eagerly awaited than the cancer vaccine.
First of all, I am convinced that the crisis ended some time ago. The crisis as such came to an end in these parts when governments, in order to save the existing system, injected large sums of money through their officials, thereby saving the banks from imminent collapse. That was approximately two years ago.
The current model has nothing to do with the crisis; it was the crisis that led us down a dark path – or perhaps we led ourselves down it – because we wanted to live in that state of WELL-BEING that we bought on credit, and which we now have to pay for.
For years – and I’d say quite a few – we’ve been living beyond our means. How many of us have heard so-called professionals say: “You’ll have to wait two months for this repair”; “They’re snatching them right out of my hands”; “Juan bought a flat for 50 million”… and countless other phrases that foreshadowed the worst. But very few of us realised that the situation was unsustainable, that we couldn’t keep piling up debt indefinitely – and remember the best one of all: property prices NEVER FALL...
Under the new model, each of us must and is obliged to fend for ourselves. We can no longer expect anything from a pharaonic, lethargic and bloated state. We have always lived in the hope that… either the banks, or the state, would sort out our problems for us.
It’s time to learn to live in the tunnel; let’s not keep wasting time looking for a way out. We’re already in it, so let’s learn to live in it – just as we did when we swapped our Casio and Olivetti typewriters for computers. It wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t that difficult either. Only with intelligence, innovation and determination can we change our destiny.
There are endless opportunities in this tunnel; we just need to be ready to discover them – and ‘ready’ means trained and specialised. Only the brave will find the way.
This is the headline most eagerly awaited by the majority of people in this country. I would go so far as to say that it is more eagerly awaited than the cancer vaccine.Once again, thank you, Jorge.