After seeing the 7:30 report tonight they said AT BEST Australia will cop a recession worse then the 1991 one, lasting 1.5 times longer than it. At worst, we will get a full blown depression with 20% unemployed, for a decade!
Thank goodness I have all the astro gear I need. Doing astro imaging in my backyard costs nothing, bar the 1 or 2 cents worth of electricity the rig uses. So a full depression shouldnt stop me enjoying my hobby.
I think the astronomy market will really suffer, as it will be seen as "non essential" and among the first thing that people cut out. Science reasearch will also suffer badly. If worst case prediction comes to pass, companies like SBIG, FLI and the like have little chance of surviving. I cant see many 10 grand astro cameras being sold in a full blown worldwide recession/depression. A host of other astronomy equipment makers will fold as they lose sales to both domestic and professional customers.
Institutions like the
AAO may go too. I cannot see it surviving in a country with 10 years of 20% unemployment, along with the fact other countries that might otherwise support it like the UK will also be in dire straights.
To see the horribly sobering prediction go
here and download
Quote:
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Steven Keen talks to 7.30 Report [mp4] [wmv] (08/10/2008)
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