The Hamster Wheel Recession

John Lanchester, writing in the LRB, takes a look at the state of the British economy. Here’s his prediction for the near future:

At the moment, thanks to the subjective mildness of the recession, we are still in denial. Next, as the full extent of the bill becomes clearer, there will be anger, especially since the hard times will have next to no effect on the bankers and politicians who, in the public mind, caused the crisis. Then there will be a helpful-for-the-government period of inflation. Then interest rates will shoot up in an attempt to control inflation, and at the same time we will see tax rises, services closing and job losses. It’s at this point, as the recovery begins to seem like a tractionless slog, that we’ll go through the depression stage of the cycle.

We’re probably a little further along over here, but either way, it’s not a lot to look forward to.