UK KIDS' FUNNY TAKE ON ECONOMIC TERMS
'Credit crunch? It's a kind of cereal'
By Zhen Ming
KIDS Say the Darndest Things was an American television series my wife and I once followed faithfully when our two daughters were growing up.
This popular show was hosted by comedian Bill Cosby and co-hosted by Canadian TV personality Art Linkletter. (This show first aired in the US from 1998 to 2000.)
My family used to howl at the humour spouted by the kids being 'interviewed'.
The premise of the show is that the host would pose a question to a child (around the age of 3-8) who would then respond in a cute (and even outrageous) way.
Out of the mouths of babes oft times come gems (of truth), or something like that.
So, with even the most informed economists everywhere still struggling to understand today's recession, what do children make of it all?
The UK's Daily Mail last week posed a few questions about the current downturn to pupils at Knowle Park Primary School (in Bristol) and St Michael's C of E Primary (in East Sussex).
Here are some hilarious highlights:
What's toxic debt and how do you deal with it?
I would deal with toxic debt by getting my dad's gun and shooting it. He shot a rat that was eating the white bit on my gym shoes.
Billy, 6
I had some sweets called Toxics so I guess it is something like that. You put them in your mouth and they all fizz up. They could well have been poisonous.
Kai, 6
What is the credit crunch?
It's a cereal, a bit like Rice Krispies.
Joe, 6
The credit crunch is if you don't have much money. Last year my dad said Father Christmas didn't have much money to buy presents.
Millie, 6
It's definitely a bad thing, because you can lose your money and everything. I've heard grown-ups say they don't like it at all.
Millie-May, 7
Where's the best place to keep your money?
I wouldn't put my money in a bank. I'd put it under my bed. But my little sister looks under there when I'm at school and there are always things missing. Then I look under her bed and find them there.
Millie, 6
Banks are a good place to put your money, but you could put it in your wardrobe in your bedroom. If you left it downstairs near a window then a robber might see it and crash through the window and take it.
Kai, 6
You shouldn't keep your money in a bank because someone could break in and steal it, like in the movies.
Katie, 7
Do you know what a banker is?
Bankers are bad people, because they could steal your money. So don't trust a banker. I heard people on TV say they think that. They were grown-ups in suits. It's best to hide your money away - I keep mine in a glass bottle on my shelf. I even hide it from my parents.
Tia, 7
I think bankers are baddies because baddies are people who try to steal money. If you work in a bank there is a lot of chance to steal money. In the bank near us there are only two people who work there. Sometimes there is only one. So it would be easy.
Henry, 7
A banker is someone who owns a bank. He's a good person because he doesn't steal stuff.
Solomon, 6
What's a hedge fund?
It's where a hedgehog lives.
May, 6
I think you might find a hedge fund in a shop. It's definitely a better thing than a credit crunch.
Millie-May, 7
This article was first published in The New Paper.
Grown-up version of the downturn
A CREDIT crunch happens when banks hoard cash. If the supply of loans evaporates, the economic outlook quickly becomes bleak (which is happening everywhere right now).
Here're five key aspects about the current crisis that you should be mindful of:
Subprime Sinks
Problems with the repayment of subprime mortgages in the US sparked a California bank run and triggered a tidal wave of concern about lending around the world in August 2007. This was the beginning of the credit crunch.
Prices Surge
While this subprime meltdown was going on, consumers felt a tight price squeeze: Commodity prices rose rapidly in 2007 and the first six months of 2008, driven by demand from then-booming China and India.
This made petrol, food and other basic costs more expensive in Singapore and elsewhere globally. This surging inflation, in turn, hindered central banks from cutting interest rates to help ease the effects of the credit crunch.
Titans Totter
Fears intensified after the collapse of Bear Stearns in January last year. But the financial crisis proper began in September with the collapse of Lehman Brothers. Now many big banks and hedge funds worldwide are in trouble.
Frauds Galore
Last week, shocking allegations were leveled against Sir Allen Stanford's Houston-based financial group. The charges are centred primarily on the uncovering of multi-billion-dollar fraud at his Antigua-based bank.
The allegations - coming so soon after the arrests of Ponzi-master Bernard Madoff and Satyam's Enron-style scammer Ramalinga Raju - suggest this will be a fraud-infested downturn.
2009 Outlook
The prospects for 2009 are undoubtedly grim.
On the horizon (but still beneath the financial-contagion radar for now): Eastern Europe is on the verge of a trillion-dollar (Asian-style) currency and banking crisis.
Last year, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said this recession could last three to five years. Even UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown now admits that it could last two years.
Source: The New Paper, Mon 23 Feb 2009
'Credit crunch? It's a kind of cereal'
By Zhen Ming
KIDS Say the Darndest Things was an American television series my wife and I once followed faithfully when our two daughters were growing up.
This popular show was hosted by comedian Bill Cosby and co-hosted by Canadian TV personality Art Linkletter. (This show first aired in the US from 1998 to 2000.)
My family used to howl at the humour spouted by the kids being 'interviewed'.
The premise of the show is that the host would pose a question to a child (around the age of 3-8) who would then respond in a cute (and even outrageous) way.
Out of the mouths of babes oft times come gems (of truth), or something like that.
So, with even the most informed economists everywhere still struggling to understand today's recession, what do children make of it all?
The UK's Daily Mail last week posed a few questions about the current downturn to pupils at Knowle Park Primary School (in Bristol) and St Michael's C of E Primary (in East Sussex).
Here are some hilarious highlights:
What's toxic debt and how do you deal with it?
I would deal with toxic debt by getting my dad's gun and shooting it. He shot a rat that was eating the white bit on my gym shoes.
Billy, 6
I had some sweets called Toxics so I guess it is something like that. You put them in your mouth and they all fizz up. They could well have been poisonous.
Kai, 6
What is the credit crunch?
It's a cereal, a bit like Rice Krispies.
Joe, 6
The credit crunch is if you don't have much money. Last year my dad said Father Christmas didn't have much money to buy presents.
Millie, 6
It's definitely a bad thing, because you can lose your money and everything. I've heard grown-ups say they don't like it at all.
Millie-May, 7
Where's the best place to keep your money?
I wouldn't put my money in a bank. I'd put it under my bed. But my little sister looks under there when I'm at school and there are always things missing. Then I look under her bed and find them there.
Millie, 6
Banks are a good place to put your money, but you could put it in your wardrobe in your bedroom. If you left it downstairs near a window then a robber might see it and crash through the window and take it.
Kai, 6
You shouldn't keep your money in a bank because someone could break in and steal it, like in the movies.
Katie, 7
Do you know what a banker is?
Bankers are bad people, because they could steal your money. So don't trust a banker. I heard people on TV say they think that. They were grown-ups in suits. It's best to hide your money away - I keep mine in a glass bottle on my shelf. I even hide it from my parents.
Tia, 7
I think bankers are baddies because baddies are people who try to steal money. If you work in a bank there is a lot of chance to steal money. In the bank near us there are only two people who work there. Sometimes there is only one. So it would be easy.
Henry, 7
A banker is someone who owns a bank. He's a good person because he doesn't steal stuff.
Solomon, 6
What's a hedge fund?
It's where a hedgehog lives.
May, 6
I think you might find a hedge fund in a shop. It's definitely a better thing than a credit crunch.
Millie-May, 7
This article was first published in The New Paper.
Grown-up version of the downturn
A CREDIT crunch happens when banks hoard cash. If the supply of loans evaporates, the economic outlook quickly becomes bleak (which is happening everywhere right now).
Here're five key aspects about the current crisis that you should be mindful of:
Subprime Sinks
Problems with the repayment of subprime mortgages in the US sparked a California bank run and triggered a tidal wave of concern about lending around the world in August 2007. This was the beginning of the credit crunch.
Prices Surge
While this subprime meltdown was going on, consumers felt a tight price squeeze: Commodity prices rose rapidly in 2007 and the first six months of 2008, driven by demand from then-booming China and India.
This made petrol, food and other basic costs more expensive in Singapore and elsewhere globally. This surging inflation, in turn, hindered central banks from cutting interest rates to help ease the effects of the credit crunch.
Titans Totter
Fears intensified after the collapse of Bear Stearns in January last year. But the financial crisis proper began in September with the collapse of Lehman Brothers. Now many big banks and hedge funds worldwide are in trouble.
Frauds Galore
Last week, shocking allegations were leveled against Sir Allen Stanford's Houston-based financial group. The charges are centred primarily on the uncovering of multi-billion-dollar fraud at his Antigua-based bank.
The allegations - coming so soon after the arrests of Ponzi-master Bernard Madoff and Satyam's Enron-style scammer Ramalinga Raju - suggest this will be a fraud-infested downturn.
2009 Outlook
The prospects for 2009 are undoubtedly grim.
On the horizon (but still beneath the financial-contagion radar for now): Eastern Europe is on the verge of a trillion-dollar (Asian-style) currency and banking crisis.
Last year, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said this recession could last three to five years. Even UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown now admits that it could last two years.
Source: The New Paper, Mon 23 Feb 2009
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