Solution To The Euro Crisis? Women Should Shop More

This is Janet Daley in the Telegraph's advice on solving our current economic woes:

So the least mentioned factor in these formulae for growth is the most critical one. It is not the banks, or the corporations, or even the small and medium-sized enterprises so beloved of politicians that can save us from catastrophe – it is us [women].

And for households, read women. The decisions about how much household income is spent on a day-to-day, week-to-week basis – and on what – are overwhelmingly in female hands.

So it is not just Conservative electoral prospects that are damaged by the Government’s inability to connect with women – it is the economic future.

Now, while rather bravely steering off onto a slightly sexiest path, my experience of women shopping is a little different to that described by Janet. It instead goes something like this:

• Mrs TBF disappears off for the day with friends, 'shopping'. I, meanwhile, have a quiet house to myself.
  
  
• Hours later Mrs TBF returns, looking quite pleased with herself, holding lots of oversized paper bags with cord handles, emblazoned with names on them I don't recognise.
  

• So we have the parade - for my benefit, not sure why though - and it consists mostly of shoes. "Aren't they great?" She says.
  
  
• "Wonderful", I reply, "how much?"

• "Oh they were a real bargain - they were 40% off".
  
  
• "40% off what?" I innocently enquire
  
  
• "But aren't they gorgeous?"
  
  
• "If you say so, but 40% off what?" I innocently enquire (again)
  
  
• "Well they are expensive new"
  
  
• "Right so it's 40% off expensive? How much did you really pay"
  
  
• *cough* "£300, but you went to football last week" She says accusingly.
  
  
• "not for 300 bloody quid I didn't".
  
  
• "Ah it doesn't matter, I put it all on credit card" She concludes.

And this is Janet Daley's answer to the economic crisis - more debt.

Meanwhile the EU has another plan to deal with the Euro crisis, but no details are yet forthcoming - which really means they still don't have a plan. Nevermind, it's nothing that buying a few shoes can't solve.