Bailed Out

Everyone seems to be bailing out someone or something. It's become the phrase of the moment - bailout. First the banks were bailed out, an act required to prevent an economic crisis here in the UK. Northern Rock was the first and our memories are of customers queueing for hours on end to withdraw their savings fearing they would be lost. Then of course it was the bigger banks, Lloyds and famously RBS which, questionably, form part of the country's foundations.
In Europe, we hear about Greece being bailed-out by the European Central Bank and being lent obscene amounts of money in the mistaken hope that it will all one day be paid back. A similar fate awaits Spain and Portugal.
Nearer to home and I hear from my friends that they have had to bailout their son who has been served a huge solicitor's bill for a short consultation and a handful of letters. This is money he simply doesn't have and once again his parents come to his aid, bailing him out and putting pay to any prospect of a threatened 8% interest charge.
And then there's myself and I've forgotten how many times over the last year or so when I've had to be bailed out. The latest bailout was courtesy of my in-laws who lent us the money for a new car.
It seems that wherever we look, people and companies are being bailed out. I suppose you could argue that it is in fact rescue, saving people, organisations and even countries from a fate worse than debt. But surely any bailout is simply delaying the inevitable. Or is the alternative so bad to contemplate that to not bail out would itself be deemed wreckless?
My own doctor's opinion is to simply accept that there are people all around us prepared to help, to bail us out. This was his response to my recent plight, to simply accept the fact that I couldn't do anything about it and accept charity from whatever source possible. The fact that it made me feel bad to have to go cap in hand to people wasn't important. It was help and it simply had to be accepted.
I fear that recent events both nationally and internationally will eventually give rise to a feeling generally that no matter the problem, there is always the option of a bailout. Will this make people less responsible as a result and are our children to learn that debt needn't be such a problem? I learnt things the hard way. I had a very good salary and became complacent, not having to worry about bills and direct debits. They just got paid each and every month. I also borrowed and thought nothing about paying it all back or the consequences of paying just a little each month. But I was lucky, I chose to insure everything and little did I know back then just how important that monthly premium payment would be. But although I fell ill, I don't absolve myself of my errors. I made huge mistakes and had a childlike attitude towards money. I knew very little about how credit actually worked and chose to live for too long beyond my means. But it can't go on forever and when your income stops, not only do you have to worry about the day to day things, there's the money you've borrowed also.
If anything, I regret not learning more about money at school. The reality was that this was never taught to us. The closest we came to understanding money was by selling jacket potatoes during break times and using our profits to buy more potatoes.
At least now I have the opportunity to ensure that my own son doesn't grow up with a similar lack of appreciation for money, credit and debt. I know what it's like when it all goes wrong. Of course he's oblivious to it all at the moment, and that's the way it should be. He's too young to understand. But before he's able to borrow and manage money of his own, there are lessons I will definitely share with him. I just hope that greater awareness can help him avoid similar mistakes.

Optimism

Firstly, I am glad that I can type. I am glad that I can spell and that I have the confidence to put my thoughts into words. I've been able to do this since I was very young. I had a typewriter from a very young age and very quickly learnt how to use it. By the time I reached my mid-teens, I had an electronic typewriter and soon after that a very basic (by today's standards) word processor. For all my life, I have never been too far from a keyboard and to do so would most probably cause me to have another breakdown. The keyboard is my output and a vessel by which my thoughts pour like water onto a page. A lot of what I type, particularly here in my blog, I don't talk about openly. People around me tend to go about their lives either oblivious to what's going on around them or prefer to keep their thoughts or worries to themselves. This is fine, they have more important things to think about. I don't request an audience. I consider myself fortunate if anyone else finds my thoughts the remotest bit interesting. My blog is my way of recording my thoughts, and I hope that sometime in the future, by way of it, my son will better understand his father.

I was asked recently whether I am optimistic, about anything. I quickly replied that I am not. In fact I see no future beyond the next day. Of course the reason for this primarily is my financial situation and not knowing where we will be in a month or two from now. But in general, I do find myself fearing for the future - especially for my son and other young people. On the one side, there is the worsening economic situation and the worry as to whether there will be jobs for everyone or whether people who are lucky enough to work can afford housing. On the other side, there is what I see as a worrying escalation in conflict around the world and where the current disputes might lead.
I do think it is inevitable that we will see some form of military escalation in Iran and possibly Syria. I of course would prefer a diplomatic outcome but with each day that passes I think this becomes less likely. The involvement of China and Russia and their opposition to a military response in Iran or Syria will I think send us down one of two paths. The first would be for the Western forces to back down faced with a possible Chinese or Russian military standoff or for the West to attack Iran and intervene in Syria and face the consequences. Some would argue that Russia is in fact supporting the Syrian regime's attack on its own people as they continue to supply arms in the face of mounting condemnation. The estimated $1 billion trade in arms is simply too valuable to Russia and they would not stand by and see this taken away from them.
As for China, there are already rumblings on the Internet that they are preparing for possible military conflict and despite knowing relatively little about their precise capabilities, it would be wrong to assume that their response would be anything but massive.
And then there's Israel and their apparent threat to be preparing an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities to take place in the coming months assuming the US don't do it first.
All of this makes for a very dangerous situation. The cost of oil has risen in recent days due to the embargo on Iranian crude oil exports and Iran's refusal to supply EU member states. The prospect of rising fuel costs on top of a weakening economic situation could have dire consequences here in the UK pushing living standards to a critical level.
I've always been very pessimistic, but the situation as I see it is one that is fast nearing crisis proportions. Unless a last minute solution can be found to the situation in Iran and Syria, then I fully expect to see a new Middle East conflict by the end of this year. The outcome of this conflict will depend ultimately on whether or not it could be contained. My guess is that it would not.
The coming months will be critical in deciding the path taken. Of course we have very little or no influence whatsoever on the outcome. We can only hope and pray that common sense will prevail coupled with a realisation that any fire lit in the Middle East would spread way beyond the borders of Iran and Syria.
2012 will certainly be a decisive year, whatever happens.