|
by JakeS
Wed Apr 16th, 2008 at 05:38:24 PM EST
It says so in the newspaper [.pdf warning] so it must be true (page four, specifically).
Of course, it doesn't say it in quite so many words, but it gets really amazingly close:
Promoted by Migeru
Vi lever langt over evne
| |
We live far beyond our means
|
Vi har nu et forbrug, der er langt større end indkomsten. Udviklingen er uholdbar på længere sigt, fastslår økonomer.
| |
We now spend far more than our earnings. This development is unsustainable in the long run.
|
LARS ERIK SKOVGAARD
| |
LARS ERIK SKOVGAARD
|
Danskerne bruger nu langt flere penge, end de tjener. Det er hele 104 kroner, som en typisk dansker sidste år futtede af på rejser, restauranter, rødvin og andet forbrug, hver gang 100 kroner blev udbetalt. Det er vel at mærke, efter at indbetalinger på pensioner er trukket fra. Samlet brugte danskerne alene sidste år 50 milliarder kroner mere, end de tjente, viser en optælling fra Danmarks Statistik, der aldrig er lavet før.
| |
Danes now spend far more money than they make. A typical Dane spent 104 kroner last year on travel, restaurants, wine and other consumption, every time he was paid 100 kr. Notably, this is after pensions have been subtracted. A never before performed accounting by Danmarks Statistik [the official Danish bureau of statistics - the go-to-guys for reasonably honest numbers on all kinds of stuff] shows that collectively, the Danish population spent 50 Gkr more than they made during last year alone.
|
De senere års overforbrug har ført til en nærmest eksplosiv vækst i udlånet fra banker og realkredit, hvor især mange boligejere har belånt friværdier for at kunne bruge flere penge. Den udvikling har Danmarks Nationalbank flere gange udtrykt bekymring for, og [...]
| |
The over consumption of the last few years has led to an almost explosive growth in lending by banks and mortgage [notice, however, that Danish "mortgage" isn't the kind of free-for-all you have in the Anglophone world], where particularly many homeowners have taken loans in their home equity to fund consumption. The Danish National Bank finds this development disturbing, and [...]
|
<snip lots of economists of various persuasions saying that collectively spending more than we earn is A Very Bad Thing>
| |
<snip lots of economists of various persuasions saying that collectively spending more than we earn is A Very Bad Thing>
|
Frederik I. Pedersen peger dog på, at de senere års markante overforbrug kommer efter en længere periode frem til 2004, hvor danskerne var yderst mådeholdende og brugte pænt mindre, end de tjente.
| |
However, Frederik I. Pedersen points out that the current marked over consumption comes after a longer period, lasting until 2004, in which Danes showed considerable restraint and spent a fair bit less than they made.
|
»Så lysten til at bruge penge styres meget af den generelle økonomiske udvikling. Når det går godt, boligpriserne stiger, jobsikkerheden vokser, og lønnen skyder i vejret med stor fart, så skrues der op for forbruget,« siger Frederik I. Pedersen. Sammen med Jakob Legård Jakobsen venter Frederik I. Pedersen, at forbrugslysten tager lidt af i år. Det skyldes, at boligpriserne er under pres, renten er steget, og den generelle usikkerhed om den økonomiske udvikling
især i udlandet er øget.
| |
"So the desire to spend money is very much governed by the general economic situation. In good times, when real estate prices climb, job security grows and wages rise rapidly, consumption is turned up," says Frederik I. Pedersen. Along with Jakob Legård, Frederik I. Pedersen expects consumption to decline a bit this year. This is due to the pressure on real estate prices, interest rate hikes and the general unease regarding the economic situation, particularly abroad.
|
»Så det private forbrug vil stige lidt min-
dre i år end sidste år. Men fortsat vil dan-
skerne bruge meget mere, end de tjener,«
siger økonomerne. Mikkel Høegh tilføjer,
at hvis danskerne fortsætter med at bruge
meget mere, end de tjener, og ikke af sig
selv vil spare op, kan politikerne blive nødt
til at tvinge dem til det.
| |
"So private consumption will increase a bit less this year than it did last year. But the Danes will still spend much more than they make," the economists say. Mikkel Høegh adds that if Danes keep spending more than they make and do not save money of their own volition, politicians may have to make them save.
|
les@berlingske.dk
| |
les@berlingske.dk [e-mail to which correspondence should be addressed]
|
The first three paragraphs practically scream Anglo Disease at me. Particularly considering the way the Fogh government has been subtly (and not so subtly) inflating a housing bubble for the better part of a decade now. There's a lot of funny-money floating around, and apparently that funny-money is being used for consumption.
On the other hand, I don't quite know what to make of the last three paragraphs. Perhaps some of our resident economists can translate them from econospeak into English?
As an aside, can I make a wish for ET 2.0?
I wish for a simpler macro for bilingual columns. Pretty please with cherry on top, as they say across the Pond.
- Jake
|
|
