The rising cost of living

[blandy]

6 minutes ago, KentVillan said:

For example, 25-year-old nurse on 25k with no children and a partner who earns 35k… versus 45-year-old sole breadwinner, mortgage & 2 kids on 60k. Imagine inflation hits them both in much the same way.

Obviously a cherrypicked example, but not that unusual if you think of a typical junior nurse and a typical 60k earner.

Yes, I agree - that's why I specifically said "generally". There are of course nurses with kids, Solicitors without...

Anyway, I don't think we're really disagreeing, more trading hypothetical examples. Pretty much everyone has suffered to some extent from all the increases in inflation due to Russia, Brexit, Liz Truss...etc.

[KentVillan]

12 minutes ago, blandy said:

Yes, I agree - that's why I specifically said "generally". There are of course nurses with kids, Solicitors without...

Anyway, I don't think we're really disagreeing, more trading hypothetical examples. Pretty much everyone has suffered to some extent from all the increases in inflation due to Russia, Brexit, Liz Truss...etc.

Yeah that was my point really. High inflation just hurts everyone. I get a bit worried when we start pitting different groups against each other (it’s usually train drivers vs nurses) because the aim should be for us to be a higher earning country in general, and for everyone’s earnings to outpace inflation.

[Genie]

The good news is Beyoncé is gonna be alright.

I just saw her performing in TV at a shopping Mall in Dubai, they said she was paid $24m for the appearance.

[Marka Ragnos]

Prices almost never come back down, generally, over time, so wages are going to have to rise in the long run. But economic growth in Britain is weak. That's what's should worry Britons most if you asked me (and no one is ). It's one thing that's hard to dispute no matter where you stand. I don't think Brexit has helped, but I don't think it explains it all. If growth doesn't improve, you're screwed.

Still, I find myself looking at polarized opinions in your papers and they both seem incomplete and false to me -- and just fantastically full of themselves:

Gaby Hinsliff grumbles about "our problem" in the Guardian,  in the end merely describing what's pretty ****-ing obvious:  

Quote

Our problem isn’t having it too good; it’s years of political infighting, economic sclerosis and perhaps also a stubborn clinging to an image of ourselves that’s now horribly out of date.

You lot are clinging to "an image" of yourself that's "horribly out of date" because you've been governed badly, she suggests. That seems like an awful lot to pin on being "governed" badly. I wonder if the problem is actually something deeper, something that can't be socially engineered out.

Oh, but don't look to the right for answers. They're kind of the thing Gaby Hinsliff seems to be describing as essentially living in the past. Still, could it be that it's not just being outdated politically and culturally with the Tories, it's a tendency to look for simplistic answers and liberal use of bromides such as the notion that "hard work" always succeeds, when we know for a fact that hard work isn't enough for growth? You've got self-congratulatory Tories like IDS doing his own gloomy, downbeat, oversimplified and incorrect assessment: 

Quote

 

Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative leader and ex-work and pensions secretary, said: 'Lockdown changed the psyche of the British people.

'For all those years, we told them you can't get something for nothing, and all of sudden they did. The British public thought the Government could do it all – even pay their salaries and they don't have to work.'

 

You can hear his love of that phrase "something for nothing," his self-righteousness, his judgmentalism, and his dumbed-down rendering of economic and social history when it comes to work and pensions. 

So I don't know. Britain is kind of in trouble. There's a malaise and indirection. Wish I knew some answers, but I just have lots of questions.

Edited January 23, 2023 by Marka Ragnos

[MakemineVanilla]

Here's Hayek talking about inflation and trade unions:

 

[icouldtelltheworld]

34 minutes ago, MakemineVanilla said:

Here's Hayek talking about inflation and trade unions:

 

Christ he really did talk some shite didn't he.

Hard pressed to think of anyone who's played as large a part in our current societal mess, given his role in influencing the politicians who have implemented his ideas as economic orthodoxy

Edited January 25, 2023 by icouldtelltheworld

[MakemineVanilla]

20 hours ago, icouldtelltheworld said:

Christ he really did talk some shite didn't he.

Hard pressed to think of anyone who's played as large a part in our current societal mess, given his role in influencing the politicians who have implemented his ideas as economic orthodoxy

That reminds me that I have never got round to reading The Road to Serfdom.

[The Fun Factory]

On 23/01/2023 at 22:47, Marka Ragnos said:

Prices almost never come back down, generally, over time, so wages are going to have to rise in the long run. But economic growth in Britain is weak. That's what's should worry Britons most if you asked me (and no one is ). It's one thing that's hard to dispute no matter where you stand. I don't think Brexit has helped, but I don't think it explains it all. If growth doesn't improve, you're screwed.

Still, I find myself looking at polarized opinions in your papers and they both seem incomplete and false to me -- and just fantastically full of themselves:

Gaby Hinsliff grumbles about "our problem" in the Guardian,  in the end merely describing what's pretty ****-ing obvious:  

You lot are clinging to "an image" of yourself that's "horribly out of date" because you've been governed badly, she suggests. That seems like an awful lot to pin on being "governed" badly. I wonder if the problem is actually something deeper, something that can't be socially engineered out.

Oh, but don't look to the right for answers. They're kind of the thing Gaby Hinsliff seems to be describing as essentially living in the past. Still, could it be that it's not just being outdated politically and culturally with the Tories, it's a tendency to look for simplistic answers and liberal use of bromides such as the notion that "hard work" always succeeds, when we know for a fact that hard work isn't enough for growth? You've got self-congratulatory Tories like IDS doing his own gloomy, downbeat, oversimplified and incorrect assessment: 

You can hear his love of that phrase "something for nothing," his self-righteousness, his judgmentalism, and his dumbed-down rendering of economic and social history when it comes to work and pensions. 

So I don't know. Britain is kind of in trouble. There's a malaise and indirection. Wish I knew some answers, but I just have lots of questions.

IDS only just got re-elected with a majority just over a thousand. It would be great if he got dumped out in the next election, unless he bottles it and retires to  the Lords.

[bickster]

35 minutes ago, The Fun Factory said:

IDS only just got re-elected with a majority just over a thousand. It would be great if he got dumped out in the next election, unless he bottles it and retires to  the Lords.

He's very high on the potential casualty list

[foreveryoung]

Interest rates going up again, water bills rising by 7.5%, countries f****ed.

[Genie]

36 minutes ago, foreveryoung said:

Interest rates going up again, water bills rising by 7.5%, countries f****ed.

Shell (and friends) are alright though, $39.9b profit in 2022. 

[Demitri_C]

2 hours ago, foreveryoung said:

Interest rates going up again, water bills rising by 7.5%, countries f****ed.

Yep. I also got a letter from ADT and they putting up  DD a fiver a month now too.

Every **** thing is going up

[foreveryoung]

2 hours ago, Genie said:

Shell (and friends) are alright though, $39.9b profit in 2022. 

Disgusting, I know some people have there views on why energy bills have risen so much, but for me its a load of bollocks and pure profiteering.

Water bills apparently going up because investment needs to be made with all the sewage going in the sea, now of all times, amazing timing.

Then I hear today Donald Trumps uk golf clubs lost 4 million in the year 2021, but not to bad as they received 1.3 million from the government to help them out. 

[bickster]

4 hours ago, foreveryoung said:

Disgusting, I know some people have there views on why energy bills have risen so much, but for me, I refuse to accept proven facts and just trot out the same factually incorrect bollocks time and time again. 

FTFY

[Genie]

Chase have already increased the interest on their current accounts to 3%.
 

Edited February 2, 2023 by Genie

[bickster]

Just now, Genie said:

Chase have already increased the interest on their current accounts to 3%.
 

Why would anyone pay interest on a current account? There must be benefits that would justify paying interest on it.

Both my current accounts pay me, albeit tiny amounts, of interest each month

[Genie]

5 minutes ago, bickster said:

Why would anyone pay interest on a current account? There must be benefits that would justify paying interest on it.

Both my current accounts pay me, albeit tiny amounts, of interest each month

I’m sorry so don’t follow?

Quote

Hi Dave,

Good news – we're increasing the Chase saver account interest rate from 2.7% AER (2.67% gross) variable to 3% AER (2.96% gross) variable, effective from 13 February 2023.

 

You should open a Chase account (free), stick any spare money you have in it and make 3% on it. Also for the first year they pay you 1% cashback on everything you spend. They also have a roundup offer where they round your purchases up to the nearest pound, put it in a separate pot (which is always accessible) and pay 5% on it. 

According to their TV advert they have over 56 million customers in the US.

Edited February 2, 2023 by Genie

[bickster]

Just now, Genie said:

I’m sorry so don’t follow?

You should open a Chase account (free), stick any spare money you have in it and make 3% on it. Also for the first year they pay you 1% cashback on everything you spend. They also have a roundup offer where they round your purchases up to the nearest pound, put it in a separate pot (which is always accessible) and pay 5% on it. 

You said current account, not saving account

[Genie]

1 minute ago, bickster said:

You said current account, not saving account

Ah yes, apologies. 

You can create as many savings accounts as you like and get 3% on all of them, paid monthly. 

They pay 1% cashback on current account purchases for the first year which is also free money. 

I tend to move a chunk of my wages across when I get paid, the move it from a savings pot to current account in chunks of a couple of hundred quid when I’ve spent the last lot. 

 

[bickster]

5 minutes ago, Genie said:

Ah yes, apologies. 

You can create as many savings accounts as you like and get 3% on all of them, paid monthly. 

They pay 1% cashback on current account purchases for the first year which is also free money. 

I tend to move a chunk of my wages across when I get paid, the move it from a savings pot to current account in chunks of a couple of hundred quid when I’ve spent the last lot. 

 

I will investigate, thanks