From Clifford Wilson.
YOUR newspaper’s ‘Recession? Not in Jersey’ headline of last Tuesday exemplifies the economically dangerous ‘head in the sand’ sub-culture that regrettably remains so stubbornly alive and kicking within the Island’s political establishment.

Such a misleading political expression, while serving to placate the minority, who may well wish to remain in denial as to the grave effects on Jersey of this unprecedented world economic contagion, does at the same time risk denying the full truth of the situation to the majority of the thinking population.

Jersey is indeed already suffering the negative effects of world economic events, namely sharply falling sales in specific sectors of the retail industry, heavily falling stock indices, stalling domestic property prices and sales, not to mention the negative effects of future employment prospects both within and outside the finance industry. The substantial reduction of airline services in and out of Jersey, with associated fiscal and domestic consequences, is also a direct consequence of developing recession.

If we, the people of Jersey, were served by a government who were prepared to set political spin aside, and realistically face economic reality, we would all be the better equipped to face the challenges ahead.
Denial of reality only serves to create a fool’s paradise.
Le Châtelet,
Route d’Ebenezer,
Trinity.