Sitting in a pub that was more than twice as old as my country, I asked a mature, not to say wizened, local, “How is the economy here?”
“Well,” he said, “unemployment is about 8 percent, which is better than the U.S., I believe, by a point or two. But the nature of the employment is more tenuous and not well-paid. And our young people are experiencing unemployment of nearly 20 percent. We’re being told we’re facing a challenge of austerity. Our prime minister, Mr. Cameron, is promising changes. But I keep asking myself, who created the need for the austerity? Did I? I’ve never lived above my means, I’ve saved for my old age. And now it takes me three months to get an appointment to see my doctor, even if I have fairly serious symptoms. I waited a year for a gallbladder operation.”
“I thought your universal, national health care was working better than our system in the U.S. That’s what some of our politicians believe,” I said.
The citizen of Stratford-Upon-Avon said, “I don’t know what the best system is. I guess England has chosen to forego the expense of promptness, at least in regards to health care. It would seem the oath of at least doing no harm doesn’t apply to the use of a calendar.”
As I came here on business, it seemed appropriate to take the opportunity to learn the perspective of the birthplace of free-market capitalism while I traveled the countryside. In Bath, a far northern outpost of the Roman Empire founded in 43 CE, I met Collin at, where else, a local pub. I asked my new friend as I sipped a pint of Stella, “Are people optimistic?”
“What, in Bath, you mean? I’m not so sure,” Collin said, scratching his temple. “We’re a tourist village. People aren’t spending a great deal on holidays, you know. Cameron’s austerity program, and all.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Well, the government is broke, isn’t it? They’re even sacking the Lollypop Ladies!” he said.
“You’ll have to explain that one,” I implored.
“You know! The ladies who help the young ones cross the road on the way to school!” he exclaimed, as if everyone knew.
Collin continued. “Just look at the jobs listing. Not one pays more than 30,000 pounds, and rent will take up to half of that. No one can buy an apartment for that wage, that’s for sure!”
I did the math and realized that at current exchange rates, that’s about $45,000. I said, “That salary is fairly close to our median household income in the U.S. And the housing cost proportion is about the same as well. Looks like we’re all in the same boat.”
To get an idea of comparison, the United Kingdom has a population of about 62 million people. That’s roughly 20 percent of the U.S. population. Less than twice the population of California. The United Kingdom has a geographic area close to the size of Wyoming. A GDP of over $2 trillion, 13 percent of the United States. Britain is a bit more impactful to the world’s economy than California, which has a GDP of about $1.9 trillion.
Next, my interviews took me to a place where, 4,500 years ago, a group of Iron Age citizens decided to spend their spare time constructing a circle of big rocks. Agriculture must have been common by that time, in order for the builders to be able to afford to devote the countless hours required to construct what has remained a huge mystery for a few thousand years. I ran into Chu Wen and his wife, while we all looked for the entrance to the site of Stonehenge.
“I think the road is closed for through traffic, but it will allow visitors to go as far as the Stonehenge main entrance,” I said. Several hundred yards distant, the stones stood proudly in the setting sun, casting long shadows across acres of bright green grassland. “What brings you here?” I asked.
Chu replied, “Our family lives in London. I work for a Chinese telecom company. We may be transferred back home to Shanghai soon, and we wanted to see some of the sights here. This is almost as old as the ancient places in my country, so it raised our curiosity.”
“If you don’t mind a question,” I began, “what is your view of the global economy right now? Are things getting better?”
Chu said, “Money is chasing opportunity in underdeveloped countries where a rising middle class will command purchasing power that the world has never seen before. China and India will make the U.S. look like Britain in the decades to come. Which is fitting, since the U.S. did the same to its founding nation. It’s America’s turn to be a stately, precious old empire, always at the track, but never in the race.”
“Well, it might be a relief not to have to be the world’s policeman anymore. Let somebody else take the danger of the spotlight for a while,” I said.
“I don’t know,” Chu said. “America has done a pretty good job keeping things from going nuclear. That’s really the challenge in the future. How to stop some jerk from pulling the atomic lever.”
“Well, why not let China step up to that role?” I asked.
“Too expensive,” Chu replied. “We don’t like to waste money on altruism. We want to buy stuff. You guys had your turn. Now we want to enjoy gluttony.”
There you have it. Some civilizations spent their lives constructing temples to their spiritual evolution, enshrining waters of life and health, writing words that would affect hearts for hundreds of years. More recent societies spend their lives trying to get the most out of the next five minutes.
Friday, January 21, 2011