February 01, 2014

The State of the Economy



A Porsche and some fancy Mercedes, . . .
 


and they're not yet out of sight when they're joined by another Porsche . . .

I had family over for dinner this week, and one of the main topics of conversations was the economy. That’s better than politics, so I did not complain. Now that they’ve all closed their books for 21013, they know how much money they made last year, and the general consensus was: “none.” It almost became a jousting match over the dinner table who had made less, and who had made the least.  You at least made some money on project so-and-so, I made nothing at all, I don’t even cover my expenses,” went the arguments back and forth.
I don’t know who got the prize for making the least amount of money, but the consensus was that our economy is in a dire state.

and another one. Oh no, this is a Lamborghini. 


And yet another Porsche.
The news supports that. We’ve seen a drop of some 7% in tourist arrivals at the airport in 2013, and a drop of 40% since 2010, according to the Ministry of Tourism.  The Syrian refugee crisis has taken a heavy toll on Lebanon’s society and economy,” said Prime Minister Mikati yesterday, (Source) and according to the International Monetary Fund, our national income suffered indirect losses estimated at $7.5 billion. The unemployment rate is close to 29%, there’s a fall in economic growth to a mere 1%, the lack of rain plagues both farmers and those working in the ski-industry, as there is not snow and the season is halfway over.

Some 10 minutes later, another Lamborghini (different license place, I checked), and yet another Porsche, . .

and while they have barely cleared the scene, another nice vehicle, a Mercedes this time.

So we’re not doing so well. It seems.
And I was thinking of that when I had to drive up north for some work. And in a matter of a mere 30 minutes, I saw more Porches and Lamborghinis than I would see in Holland in a year. So how bad are we really doing? Or is there just a problem with the division of it all?

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

There is no Mercredes in the first picture. It's an Audi.
And there are no Lamborghini's... They're Ferrari's...

Sietske said...

Hahaha, well, that tells you all about my knowledge of fancy cars. Thanks :)

Anonymous said...

Aaaaaah so ur finally waking up ,what did u do in Leb beside wasting time ????

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

Ask advice if you are planning to buy a car. You would pay for a Ferrari and drive home in a Volkswagen.