In the absence of vision, the goal is a return to pre-crash days

A return to pre-crash pay levels is the goal of public sector unions, but it remains unclear who or what is going to pay for that, writes Michael Clifford

We do things differently in this country. In other democracies which were whacked by recession and austerity, the citizens reacted with fury, either on the streets or at the ballot boxes.

Here, for the greater part, people sucked in up, some in quiet desperation, others with stoicism, and yet more just barely keeping their anger in check.