Have we never had it so good?

By This Is Money
Updated: 16:23 BST, 16 March 2005

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YOU'VE NEVER had it so good! As far as I'm aware, Gordon Brown has never 現実に repeated Harold Macmillan's famous words, but that's been the essence of his message whenever he has spoken about the UK economy in 最近の 予算s and other speeches.

As he never tires of reminding us, the economy has 拡大するd for 50 連続した ４半期/4分の1s, the longest run of 無傷の growth on 記録，記録的な／記録する. 一方／合間, 失業 is at very low levels, インフレーション and 利益／興味 率s are also at their lowest 'for a 世代', and the bad old days of にわか景気 and 破産した／（警察が）手入れする have 明らかに been banished forever.

But given all of this good news, why is it that people don't seem to feel all that 井戸／弁護士席 off ? I must 収容する／認める, this is not やむを得ず the message coming from the 経済的な 統計（学）. The 最新の 消費者 信用／信任 人物／姿／数字s gave a reading of 正確に 無, which sounds pretty low.

But this is 井戸／弁護士席 above the long run 普通の／平均（する） of minus six (we are a nation of natural 悲観論者s!) and, on past 業績／成果, high enough to 確実にする the 政府 a comfortable victory in the 来たるべき 総選挙. It is also above the 同等（の） readings in most other countries.

Likewise, 消費者s' actual spending behaviour has hardly portrayed a sense of gloom or poverty. On the contrary, 世帯s have 答える／応じるd impressively to the 誘導 of very low 利益／興味 率s, borrowing confidently and spending with gusto.

THIS HAS 相殺する the 証拠不十分 of the 法人組織の／企業の 部門 and kept the economy 拡大するing at a decent pace in what have been pretty difficult 全世界の 経済的な 条件s. Nor has the buoyancy of the 住宅 market in 最近の years been 明白に 一貫した with a 欠如（する） of 楽観主義.

But while the 統計（学） lend some support to the Brown 見解（をとる） of the world, the mood on the Clapham omnibus seems rather different. 認めるd, those of us who live and work in London may get a distorted 見解（をとる） of things.

After all, our house prices have been pretty flat - if not 落ちるing - for a while, and there have been other things like the congestion 告発（する），告訴（する）／料金 to を取り引きする. But I 嫌疑者，容疑者／疑う that the 現象 goes beyond the 資本／首都.

So what lies behind it? I think there are four possible explanations. First, 経済的な 統計（学） can give only a 限られた／立憲的な 指示，表示する物 of the 質 of life. The economy may be doing 同様に as the （ドイツなどの）首相／（大学の）学長 tells us, but if other considerations like 罪，犯罪 and the 環境 are getting worse in our minds, that may have a bigger 影響（力） on our mood. (The 最近の 業績／成果 of the England football team won't have helped either!).

What's more, a strong economy could itself have an 逆の 影響 on our 質 of life if it means we all have to work longer hours.

Second, even in the economy, there are problems that are not 直接／まっすぐに 反映するd in the 公式の／役人 統計（学）, one obvious area 存在 the growing 年金s 危機. And 経済的な 開発s which may be 肯定的な for some may have the opposite 影響 on others. The 影響 of the 最近の sharp rises in house prices on would-be first-time 買い手s is a （疑いを）晴らす example.

Third, it may 簡単に be in our nature to 支払う／賃金 more attention to unfavourable 開発s than favourable ones.

We may be more inclined to notice sharp rises in 会議 税金 and gas and electricity 法案s, for example, than the fact that the prices of 着せる／賦与するs and 世帯 goods such as televisions and DVD players have continued to 急落する.

Finally, even if we 受託する that 最近の times have been as good as Mr Brown says, anyone with even a casual sense of UK 経済的な history might be forgiven for thinking that it cannot last.

The 早い rise in house prices in particular looks worryingly reminiscent of that in the late 1980s, before the market then 衝突，墜落d. 一方／合間, the fact that Brown has 攻撃する，衝突する 投票者s with sizeable 税金 増加するs straight after the last two 総選挙s is ominous.

SO WHAT'S the 解答? It's fair to say that 経済学者s are not known for spreading joy, but a 井戸／弁護士席-尊敬（する）・点d member of the profession, Richard Layard, has produced some 利益／興味ing 研究 into the secret of happiness, 最高位の さまざまな everyday activities by their 影響 on our sense of 井戸／弁護士席-存在.

最高の，を越す of the 名簿（に載せる）／表（にあげる） was - you've guessed it - sex. 底（に届く） was 減刑する／通勤するing. So the short answer seems to be, spend いっそう少なく time on the train and more in bed (or somehow 連合させる the two!).

If that doesn't help, it might be 価値（がある） remembering that things could be a lot worse. If, in a year's time, house prices have 衝突，墜落d, 税金s have risen and, God forbid, England have failed to qualify for the World Cup, we might all look 支援する on today and wonder why we were so 暗い／優うつな. Things aren't all that bad. Enjoy them while you can.