When the world's business and political elite gathers this week for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, you'll hear a lot of talk about how best to solve the world's economic problems. What you'll almost certainly hear less of is how these solutions might affect -- are affecting -- regular people. In Europe, as in the United States, the global financial crisis has hit tens of millions of people over the past three years: workers have been laid off or had to accept reduced hours or lower wages, houses have been lost, students face paying more to go to university. Even as Europe has begun to grow again, parts are still struggling to deal with the impact of the crisis. Some people and families may have begun to see improvements following months of worry and belt-tightening, but that doesn't mean they will start spending freely again. The instinct to watch budgets, to save more, to avoid overextending, will linger. You may not hear it at Davos, but the plans and hopes of a generation have been scaled back over the past few years, household by household. Even if good times return, that will affect the continent for years to come.
For more: SPECIAL REPORT - Life in Europe's "squeezed middle", IBN Live News
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