Now I know this may seem like scare-mongering but it is legitimate to ask the 'worst case scenario' question when there are so many unknowns in this financial maelstrom. The government seems to have written a blank cheque to underwrite bank losses when the banks themselves don't even know how big those losses could be. No wonder Vince Cable, the deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats and Britain's official Voice of Reason, opposed the asset protection scheme.
Yes, we've had higher national debt levels before in our history but never before has our consumer-driven economy been so dependent upon easy credit - credit that has dried up. So we're in for the mother of all hangovers, notwithstanding the analgesic of low interest rates. Let's just hope that when we recover - and we will in a year or so - we remember the price we eventually pay for partying hard for too long.
Maybe a period of austerity and asceticism will be good for the nation's soul.
Read my feature Could Britain go bust? to put all the dizzyingly large numbers into context.
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