The health of most things is about expectations. Ever wondered why animals don't suffer from the constant stream of ailments that either we, or our pets do? They don't expect to get ill. Ergo they don't.
The economy chugs along in a similar vein. We are happy to spend if we think times are good and cut back if times are bad. My grandfather is an Austrian, and after the horrors of WWI and WWII, they took to sewing gold coins in their trousers just in case. We are not at that stage yet, but just where is the tipping point?
Commercial property really suffers from expectations. If things are going well, we invest in property and tenants come forward wanting to create wealth. When people expect more turgid news and depression, people cut back and don't bother. It can be a perpetual cycle, which is what has been facing the Japanese over the last fifteen years. It can be exacerbated by an ageing population, when the risk takers really increasingly can't be bothered.
What we need is a Valium for the economy and electric shock therapy for the population. IN other words, we need some leadership that is going to help our expectations. What we do not need is insincere politicians blaming each other, local governments blaming central government or vice versa. Where are the professional leaders that motivate and inspire us? Surely they are not all that old that they can't be bothered?
Perhaps the newspapers have too much influence and their constant ridicule is a barrier to the talented and what we are seeing is the old adage that shit floats.
