A recession has effects way beyond the unremitting headlines about bank rates, share prices and the level of government borrowing. Those of us with long memories will be only too aware of the human cost which can scar lives and mark out whole generations. A long memory is necessary, because we are emerging from the longest period of sustained economic growth in modem times. The post-Second World War generation grew up with the boom and bust cycle, and in the 1970s, that cycle moved very fast indeed. For people aged in their 20s, credit restrictions, the inability to obtain a mortgage and the threat of unemployment are largely unknown phenomena. In recent weeks, there have been graphic images on television of financiers leaving their former places of work, clutching their belongings.
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