It is a sad state of affairs, however - what ever effects the States has a knock on effect in the UK and unfortunately for us the UK has a knock on effect here so we are all feeling the pinch at the moment.
The other night we were sat with a retired couple from Northern Ireland that had just come back from New York and they said in their opinion, the States are extremely close to recession - and people are disgraced by the price of fuel as it hits all time highs there, the property market and the government for not doing more about it, hence the reason for change (come on Obama!!!).
The problem they say in the States is the credit culture, paying by credit card for more or less everything from taxis to a donut and a coffee which costs $4.50! It is also evident in the UK, it is time that people get back to the saying "If you can't afford it, don't have it". | 
