Hi
A view of what we are facing.
I know some will argue, but in my opinion, best posted in this thread.
We can have very opposing views here in the UK, but we must not make the mistake that what we think matters.
It doesn’t, we have a huge pile of debt and the money markets have responded to that by walking away, so interest rates, import costs etc etc are ramping up.
Sorry Swim, but I found that a pointless article. No firm facts, all a load of guesswork.
And it also states that there’s a decline in cash usage, where in fact the use of cash has gone up.
Really? Where? When - over what period? By whom and for what? No, the use of cash has been falling for over a decade and over 20 million people live cash free.
Now the exception is in very deprived areas. There is a strong correlation between poverty and the use of cash. So what is likely to be happening is a divide in the UK. There are people in good jobs who are happy to rely on cards and smart phone payments. Then there are people who are having to very strictly budget and find it easier to manage this by using cash.
So this slight increase by some people in the use of cash is distinctly a Tory party success story. And yet another divide.
Hi
How many firm facts do we get from our Government or even worse the Daily Express?
Truss is starting to close down the few remaining Independent parts of the Government that remain, using JRM and Co as the hatchets and moving to the American System of political appointees to the Civil Service leadership.
The article is about how others see us and it is others who control us now, those who set the exchange rates and who make vast amounts by shuffling money in and out of the UK.
I very rarely agree with Strathmore, however on this there is a lot I agree with him .
I’ve heard the same (bbc I think) … millions have gone cashless over the past year or two but the trend is reversing in some quarters. Those doing cash-in-hand jobs, feeling the inflation pinch of rising supermarket prices, are paying market traders cash for goods. It’s probably a drop in the ocean.
The article you posted says no such thing. It’s just guess work, with a lot of ifs and buts.
"In the UK we don’t really know how long the subsidies [to be introduced in October] are going to be paid, and how wide the gap will be between the price people pay and the market.
“If there is a gap it will add to borrowing the same way furlough did and we will have to pay that debt off in the long term. I would assume the Bank of England will continue to raise interest rates and I would expect us to see some kind of recession over the next 12 months.”
Why is inflation higher in the UK than other big economies?
Mr McWilliams said there are three key factors:
1. A weak pound made imports more expensive
“It [the pound] has weakened slightly versus the euro and quite a lot against the dollar, and that means international prices of all kinds have been rising.”
2. Comparatively low levels of unemployment pushed up the cost of labour
Low levels of unemployment are usually a good sign, although in the UK this is caused more by people leaving the workforce entirely - for example retiring or registering themselves as long-term sick - than by more people getting jobs, meaning productivity doesn’t rise as unemployment goes down.
The UK’s unemployment level is a 48-year low for this country, but close to the current G7 average.
However, it has the lowest numbers of working age people who are active in the labour force, and there have been more than 1.3m unfilled vacancies every month since the start of the year.
3. The move to a cashless economy
“I have a suspicion that it [using less cash] has made the economy more inflationary because people don’t notice immediately how much they are paying, so it’s weakened a degree of resistance to price increases,” said Mr McWilliams.
4. What about Brexit?
Some economists prefer ranking different countries by looking at ‘core inflation’, which excludes things like energy and food which are more seasonal and change regularly.
On that measure, the UK performs worse, even than countries like the Netherlands that had a higher overall inflation rate.
Sam Tombs, Chief UK Economist at economic research consultancy Pantheon Macroeconomics, says this is evidence of a small Brexit impact.
Mr Tombs also said that “the UK’s relatively high inflation rate largely is a consequence of government policies to date.”
“The government has helped households cope with higher energy prices by giving them grants - which don’t reduce consumer prices - rather than directly controlling energy prices as many other governments in Europe have done.”
“This will change from October, now the government has put in place the £2,500 price cap, so I doubt Britain will be an outlier next year.”
Mr McWilliams agreed that the Brexit impact is likely small.
"Immigration post-Brexit has been roughly the same as it was before, although the mix is different. If you look at the things that have gone up in price it doesn’t follow that Brexit is the issue - Brexit doesn’t affect energy prices or the price of wheat.
“There could be a bit of an effect, but it’s hard to see good evidence for it and it’s not the most obvious factor.”
Tell me one bit of informative information that is gleaned from your article that I’ve posted above.
Economists that I’ve heard have said that the pound is low because the interest rates weren’t raised quick enough like they’ve done in other countries. And I haven’t a clue it’s all just guesswork.
And the economists have just got their forecasts wrong. Can’t remember what they exactly were, but it was said that inflation was going to be 10%, but it was only 9.9%. Then today the retail figures were released, which was lower than what was forecast.
As Martin Lewis has said, all economists are are crystal ball gazers.
People are using cash so they can actually see how much money they have so they can budget.
Yeah well that’s kind of what I was saying.
Hi
That is how I was taught to budget and always have worked my money.
My wages went on bills , food and essentials for my family.
All in cash , in envelopes and anything left went in my wallet.
If anything was left, and that was not always the case, the first thing was to put some in the biscuit tin in case of emergencies.
If nothing was left or I needed something for myself, It was cash in hand jobs, from stripping pig intestines, cleaning drains to travelling overnight on Fridays to Scotland where, amongst other things, I helped put up the Blue illuminated sign on the PDSA building and every single sign in the then, upgraded, Aberdeen Hospital.
I remember the later in particular even decades ago, 2706 door signs, some doors having 3 signs on them, and all the corridor suspended signs.
I always pay in cash where it’s possible.
@wendeey , BRAVO! BRAVO! Wendy for PM !! But for which party though??
I also sort of agree with straffmore?
But he has got the reasons for it all wrong !
Probably blinded by his unreasoning hatred of Brexit ?? 
I thought they tried not to create it, I am sure they are still the main users of fax machines, email leaves a track
I am not sure this is true or accurate because my phone tells me instantly when I use either my credit of debit card and gives my account balance in real time.
The main advantage of cash is that the taxman doesn’t see it and tthat you can ask for a discount for cash.
The only place around here that takes cash is the chip shop.
Yes, miles out.
You have to remember that astrologists were created to make economists look good.
If you have cash you can put it into pots to separate the money out for what it’s needed for and when it’s gone, it’s gone no temptation of spending more than you actually have.
I use cash, but don’t use it for the reason you’ve described. I’ve got a mobile phone, I can only use it for texting and making phone calls though and haven’t got an online bank account.
A couple of months ago I was in M&S food store and their systems had gone down so could only accept cash. On a regular basis you hear in the news that one bank or the other systems have gone down.
All the shops here take cash and that’s all I use.
And what about the retail sales figures that were published yesterday.
There was a lot of facts in that article.
What about all the graphs, comparing current and historic data for the UK and other countries, showing CPI, inflation rates, exchange rates, employment levels.
I took those to be the facts, which the author used to support the points he was making.
A good article, with plenty of factual information to support the author’s point of view, I thought.
