Could this be the reason why there are fewer clients calling?

No govt will dare tell the truth whilst there's votes to be had, the truth only comes out after a change of govt. The new british chief of the treasury actually found a letter from the outgoing guy stating there was no money left! I predict things will start to come good sometime in the next 30-50 years once the emerging big economies of China, Brazil, Mexico and India have become bloated with overspending and high labour costs like we have. By then the USA and Europe will have hit rock bottom, cheap labour and and a positive balance of trade, but the false standard of living we've enjoyed in the last 30 years will never return.