It’s now several weeks since I broke my last new year’s resolution. No surprise there. 2013 didn’t exactly get off to a good start when I broke my first new year’s resolution even before the new year. It was bound to happen, given that my first new year’s resolution was not to make any new year’s resolutions. Having blown apart the logic circuits in my brain with that one, I then made a second resolution – which lasted until the second day of January. I’m a bit miffed with myself about breaking that one, and I fear for what might happen to the economy as a result. Sorry.
You see, I’ve started reading blasted newspapers again, and I’d resolved not to.
I do not mean that I was going to switch my source of reading material to what is, sadly, no longer known as the information superhighway. What I had resolved to do was to stop poring over all that depressing economic forecasting nonsense that just makes everyone sick as parrots, causes production paralysis and turns the entire global economy into the world’s biggest flock of rabbits caught in the recessionary juggernaut’s humongous headlights. Flick through the news pages – click if you must – and if there isn’t a survey saying that we’re all going to go to hell in a handcart, then look again and you’ll soon find some statistics to prove that we’re already there.
But we’re not.
Oh, I know, it’s all really quite terrible out there for far too many people, and no, it’s not easy for anyone these days, and yes, I quite agree that the bank has been beastly to you, and no, I don’t understand what quantitative easing is, either, because I haven’t seen much of this new money they seem to keep printing.
But you see, a little while ago I saw a survey, and on 30 December I suddenly realised what it really meant. It asked lots of treasury bigwigs what they thought of the global economic outlook and I can’t remember the exact numbers, but let’s say it was about 98.6% who said: “It’s absolutely dreadful – just shocking.” Then it asked: “What do you think about the prospects for your own business?” And about a third of them said: “We’re pretty good, actually, thanks very much.” And about another third said: “Well, you know, same as always, mustn’t grumble, keep calm and carry on.” And the final third said: “Really, it’s absolutely dreadful – just shocking.”
The outlook for the economy can’t be that bad if great numbers of business bunnies are actually feeling a little chipper
So if only a third of the rabbits are actually caught in the headlights, why should the rest of us get so glum about everything? The outlook for the economy can’t be that bad if great numbers of business bunnies are actually feeling a little chipper. Businesses are the economy. We’re it. So we need to snap out of this collective consciousness of economic calamity, stop getting hooked on bad news dope, follow our onward-and-upward instincts and just get on with it.
No, really, I’m just flicking through the newspaper looking for the sudoku…
Andrew Sawers is a freelance business and financial journalist. He is the former editor of Financial Director and has worked on Accountancy Age, Business Age and Commercial Lawyer
