He says that responding by demanding higher wages and charging more for goods to protect shareholder income and profits just feed inflation
And we just need to accept being poorer
Well, he’s right about it feeding inflation but the point to note is it’s not just pay increases, it’s also companies and producers raising prices to protect profits, a viscous circle
And, as usual, it’s about inequality and the wealth gap and fairness
It’s understandable that in the face of eye watering price increases people will seek pay rises to try to maintain their standard of living
And our poorest simply can’t afford food and heating
And while the government and Righties are happy to blame inflation on wage demands, what are they doing to control company profits and rising prices?
So, are you prepared to accept being poorer and that your income, whatever it is, won’t buy you as much as it used too?
And who do you blame?
Or do you think your pension should increase to cover it and wages go up?
I tend to blame the ‘lock-down’ and it’s accumulative results. . totally unnecessary!
To some extent, yes, pensions and wages should rise to compensate.
Price controls should be widespread and an all-seeing watchdog set up with powers to enforce if necessary.
I don’t think it’s the unions being intransient, Swimfeeder, the unions are an easy target which ignores the intransigence of producers and companies protecting their profits
Allowing prices to rocket totally uncontrolled to protect profits and passing in costs to the consumer means that people can’t possibly maintain the standard of living they had
And for the poorest, whose standard of living wasn’t great anyway, that means going without food and heat
The unions have a responsibility to ensure their members get a fair, living wage
If we’re all going to be poorer and told to share the pain, then producers, companies and shareholders have to take their share of that pain too.
They are usually in a better position to do so, it shouldn’t just be the consumers and workers paying the price
This is mainly down to the UK workforce and its collective inertia where work is concerned. I can remember a very good quote from my Uni days “Inertia = a reluctance to do work” and that was from a very wise somewhat old lecturer, Prof Patrick Spense
I think I remember that the Wilson Government in the 60s was desperate to keep the pound sterling at about US$2.80. (I think they borrowed US$1000million from the USA to avoid defaulting on an IMF loan).
I had a look at the current exchange rate and discovered it is US$1.24
If that doesn’t mean you are poorer I don’t know what does.
I’m taking this with a rock of salt. It’s bankers talking. Inflation is driving some banks to bankrupt. He’s just begging people to stop inflation to stop the bank meltdowns, looking at self interest just like everyone else. He wants everyone else to starve so he can keep his job. I’m not moved by his argument.
The prices we pay for energy, food, and most other goods are controlled globally now by big corporations based anywhere in the world, instead of local family businesses who could produce and source locally, giving the community jobs and keeping transportation costs, and product costs down. The unions were able to give working classes better working conditions and fair wages, but now the unions have too much power and are counter productive. In their attempts to provide high wages to the workers, they have priced themselves out of a global market, hence all our shops are filled with foreign stock manufactured overseas. This country is now filled with service industries and very little industry, manufacturing, or skill.
Sad but true OldGreyFox,we have seen this coming for years.
I can`t tell you how many local shops have closed down in the Midlands,some high streets are non-existent.
And they should be turned back into homes imo.
You’re right about the shops, I’ve thought that for a long time
In the little towns around here, only the shops right in the middle get any trade, the others are all shut and boarded up or struggling and about to go under
With online shopping and out of town malls, it’s never going to go back to what it was
But it’s really difficult to get the councils to let you change the usage from shop to flats and accommodation, they just won’t allow it
Come on, we need more homes, we don’t need empty shops
And having more people living in the centre of towns would give the shops that are left a boost and stop town centres being ghost towns and a haven for vandals at night
Absolutely Maree,and yet charity shops pay no rent,which is fair enough to a point,but why don`t the councils halve the rent for a business, it does not make sense.
The vast majority of Charity Shops have private landlords, not Council.
They do pay rent.
They also pay Business Rates, which are set by Central Government, not by Local Councils.
If the Local Council decide to not collect the full Business Rate, the Government assumes that they are collecting the full Business rate, which means your Council Tax has to go up to cover the loss.
I thought they didn’t pay rent too Swims but it seems you are right .
In my local small town there are at least four charity shops and the rent there is horrendous so I really can’t see how they could afford it.
A country either needs to manufacture something that everybody wants, to be successful, or have natural mineral wealth…Oil, Gas, Coal, Gold, Gemstones. Allegedly, Lithium and Cobalt are quite sought after these days. The UK spends far too much on green projects and helping countries fight wars that they will never win. And did I mention money wasting ideas to knock 20 minutes off a rail journey from London to Birmingham.
