At first I thought this was going to be another story about how liquor is now forbidden in certain parts of the UK on account of, you know. But turns out it’s just a slice of life under a nationalized economy with government-run health care.
Subject enough people to an infantalizing nanny state for enough time and eventually national character changes:
UK pubs closed at a rate of 52 per week in the first half of the year – a third more than the same period in 2008 – the British Beer & Pub Association said. Local pubs were the most vulnerable as communities were hit by the fallout of the economic downturn, it added. The research suggested businesses that provided food were far more resilient to the recession.
Productivity drops off, the economy plunges, and people stop having children. Everyone more or less checks out of the future, to say nothing of the present.
I wouldn’t worry too much about the UK’s long-term economic prospects though. They’ve built an Islamic finance sector that’s bigger than Pakistan’s. So no doubt they’ll muddle through.
References:
* I’m Going To Miss Westminster Abbey – Britain Hands Itself Over To Radical Islam, Blames Israel [MR]
* UK ‘is losing 52 pubs each week’ [BBC]
* Intrusion of Reality [Mark Steyn]
* Britain’s Islamic finance sector bigger than Pakistan’s, report claims [Telegraph]
Previously:
* Super: Britain’s Plan To Fight Superbug Infection Sucks
* British Muslims Doing Their Best To Cleanse Britain Of Jews
* Iran Kicks Around Britain For A While
