British economy may 'never quite recover' from a severe Euro collapse

[FarCenter]

Britain's economy may suffer “permanent” damage and “never quite get back up” if the euro collapses in a chaotic way, the Government’s chief economic forecaster has said.

...

Robert Chote, the head of the Office of Budget Responsibility, issued the warning amid fears of financial shockwaves across Europe if Greece crashes out of the single currency.

The senior Government economist, who has access to the most up-to-date Treasury data, said this could cause a recession as bad as the last one and “lingering, long-lasting effects” for Britain’s public finances.

He said it could “permanently hamper the economy” in the worst case scenario, raising the prospect that Britain may never again see the same high growth it has had in recent decades.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9276093/British-economy-may-never-quite-recover-from-a-severe-Euro-collapse.html

Sleazy London banks and hedge funds permanently damaged? One can only hope!

[DCKit]

1. Y'all recovered just fine from WWs one and two...

But the axis powers were defeated in those wars, how many bankers and traders have you prosecuted?

Until the root cause is eliminated and/or contained, they're going to continue to eat like a cancer at the world economy.

[cthulu2016]

2. Yet another OP hoping for vast human misery

[Swede]

3. The great majority of the population will suffer horribly,

but the rich will just do with less. I cannot understand why people on DU wish for this misery.

[TheKentuckian]

4. You have a plan to avoid vast human misery or even proof that generational austerity will turn out

better for us "small people"?

Folks are committing suicide because they see no path to feeding themselves and having shelter and others are being driven into wage slavery (if they are lucky enough to have jobs).

The austerity crowd does not have some comfy "default" position here so I think it is time to give up the fake position of moral superiority in an effort to protect the wealthy while whistling Dixie that it is to protect the poor and working people while it can do no better than serfdom for us and with no promises of even that.

[cthulu2016]

7. What are you talking about?

I post about ten times a week against austerity. It's my big issue. I am a broken record on the topic. I am TIRESOME on the topic, posting things like "Austerity" is a Conspiracy against Humanity and the like.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002660400

What could cause you to associate austerity with high growth? Since my post was expressing disapproval of the prospect of growth in the UK being below historical trends for a generation how could you possibly read it and think "austerity"????

Austerity is demonstrably anti growth.

Do you believe that the only alternative to the break-up of the Euro is austerity? I don't. There is no either-or binary choice of austerity and euro-breakup unless the ECB forces it to be a binary choice.

In the meantime, I do not root for calamity for ordinary people.

I think a year or two of the ECB dumping cheap euros on Europe and increased government spending everywhere would improve things greatly, which is quite the opposite of austerity.

[FarCenter]

9. I'm against breaking up the eurozone, but they probably have to chuck out the Greeks

And possibly Cyprus, Portugal, and Ireland.

Then convert the Eurozone into a fiscal union and relegate the EU to a talking shop only.

[RB TexLa]

10. The EU is going to have to have some control over member nations debt. Both the EU and North

America are going to have to sacrifice now for tomorrow. Both have sacrificed tomorrow for now for too long.

[TheKentuckian]

11. There are no other choices available at this time and none will present themselves

without a viable threat to stability if they do not.

You can be against austerity in principle all you like but if you are bothered when people are being supported in an effort to reject it then something has to give.

The options aren't binary but the available choices are, I see no official alternative so I reckon you are saying the Greeks should play along for now with good reason to believe there will be stimulus coming soon to save them.

You apparently are upset that people are reacting to actual conditions in reality rather than some unsupported optimistic hope of the coming of options out of thin air that are not being offered because the ECB has already made the choice binary (except having no mechanism to force anyone out that I can tell).
So, if you will not take their word for it then only hindsight could satisfy.

[FarCenter]

5. Not vast, just in London

The rest of the world might then free itself from the US/UK financial model.

When the news reads "country X sovereign bonds credit ratings are lowered" or "bank Y requires new capital injections to compensate for lowered credit ratings", where do you think those statements are coming from?

Where do you think the hedge funds manipulating derivatives to cause runs on banks and countries are located?

London and New York.

[BOG PERSON]

6. good point

nobody questions how much suffering the financial markets must inflict on the rest of the world to sustain themselves and to grow.

[coalition_unwilling]

8. And the Brits were cheeky enough to think there would be no pay back for their

theft of the Elgin Marbiles