Noticable cost of living increases

[Section_31]

4 minutes ago, Jairzinho said:

I was in Tesco a few days ago waiting at the till, I probably only had about dozen items. One of the workers comes up to me and says "Can you go and use one of the automated tills please?". I said "I'd rather not thanks". She asked again, almost pleadingly. I told her I'd rather not contribute to people losing their jobs, and the things never fucking work anyway and require a human to come and sort out a speck of dust being in the baggage area or whatever. She quietened her voice and said, "We have to ask".

 

It was utterly tragic. They have to actively promote their own job demise.

I bet there was a foodbank collection there too? 

 

Every little helps and all that. 

 

The future of the British public - either you're making money or you're costing money, and woe betide you if it's the latter. 

[TD_LFC]

Everyone knows it's self serving and hypocritical of these companies but for a parent who's struggling it might help them get through the holidays.

 

I imagine given the choice of feeding, or even just giving the perception of treating, their kid and not doing it in protest of big business then the former is preferable.

 

 

[Section_31]

14 minutes ago, TD_LFC said:

Everyone knows it's self serving and hypocritical of these companies but for a parent who's struggling it might help them get through the holidays.

 

I imagine given the choice of feeding, or even just giving the perception of treating, their kid and not doing it in protest of big business then the former is preferable.

 

 

True, but I wonder how many supermarkets are artificially inflating their prices at the moment too, so said same parents are less likely to be able to afford actual proper food. 

 

The whole thing stinks. 

[Jack the Sipper]

A 2 litre bottle of milk in my local grocers store gone up from £1 to £1.25 to £1.49 in the space of three months. Not a game changer, and I always thought £1 was pretty good fucking value, but that's a 49% increase right there.

[Jairzinho]

40 minutes ago, Section_31 said:

I bet there was a foodbank collection there too? 

 

Every little helps and all that. 

 

The future of the British public - either you're making money or you're costing money, and woe betide you if it's the latter. 

Yeah, it stretched for most the width of the aisles. 

 

There is almost a feeling of inevitability in these shops that everyone is soon going to lose their jobs. They're barely allowed to speak to people any more. They spend a lot of their time taking care of the machinery or sprinting back to the "control centre" where some sweaty neckbeard is perched on his giant playstation throne doling out tasks.

 

A real dystopian feel to big shops now.

[Section_31]

Just now, Jairzinho said:

Yeah, it stretched for most the width of the aisles. 

 

There is almost a feeling of inevitability in these shops that everyone is soon going to lose their jobs. They're barely allowed to speak to people any more. They spend a lot of their time taking care of the machinery or sprinting back to the "control centre" where some sweaty neckbeard is perched on his giant playstation throne dolling out tasks.

 

A real dystopian feel to big shops now.

Yeah they've got rid of the deli counters too. We stopped going to our local Morrisons because it now doubles as an Amazon food delivery hub, so you'd be wandering around with a trolly and the aisle would be clogged with teenagers with timebombs under their arse. What a time to be alive.

[VladimirIlyich]

8 minutes ago, Section_31 said:

Yeah they've got rid of the deli counters too. We stopped going to our local Morrisons because it now doubles as an Amazon food delivery hub, so you'd be wandering around with a trolly and the aisle would be clogged with teenagers with timebombs under their arse. What a time to be alive.

Slightly off topic here but my missus(who works in Asda herself) and myself were looking after our Grandaughter at the weekend and always take her out to a playground for her to let off steam. We went to a place named Uppermill,in the Saddleworth area. We parked the car and made the short walk to the high street and the first street we go down has not one but two independent butchers facing each other. It was a shock to us to see one shop,let alone two of them. My first thought was 'Tory constituency' but I have no idea if it was. There was a greengrocers too and all within a 5 minute drive from a massive Tesco superstore. What a shame these places are such a rarity nowadays.

[Bruce Spanner]

26 minutes ago, VladimirIlyich said:

Slightly off topic here but my missus(who works in Asda herself) and myself were looking after our Grandaughter at the weekend and always take her out to a playground for her to let off steam. We went to a place named Uppermill,in the Saddleworth area. We parked the car and made the short walk to the high street and the first street we go down has not one but two independent butchers facing each other. It was a shock to us to see one shop,let alone two of them. My first thought was 'Tory constituency' but I have no idea if it was. There was a greengrocers too and all within a 5 minute drive from a massive Tesco superstore. What a shame these places are such a rarity nowadays.

 

Uppermill is a lovely little town and very much Labour, helps it's tied in to Oldham.

 

There's loads more towns like it in that part of the world that have somehow managed to evade that dreaded creep.

 

Next time you're in the area take a walk around Dovestones as its genuinely beautiful in parts.

 

I know Uppermill as it has a strange festival once a year called 'Yanks' to celebrate the filming of the aforementioned Richard Gere film which shot there. It transforms itself into a 1940's sepia tinged version of Blighty with lots of pretty girls in summer dresses, all very odd in a way that only British eccentricity allows.

[Chairman Meow]

2 hours ago, Section_31 said:

True, but I wonder how many supermarkets are artificially inflating their prices at the moment too, so said same parents are less likely to be able to afford actual proper food. 

 

The whole thing stinks. 

 

Not just supermarkets.

The majority of the earnings for the majority of big businesses have shown increase in gross profit margin.

The inflation caused by money printing etc. is a total myth. Yes, there are supply chain issues, but the reality is that the majority of the price increases are purely price gouging.

[Champ]

Can anyone explain how raising interest rates will curb inflation?

[Bruce Spanner]

1 minute ago, Champ said:

Can anyone explain how raising interest rates will curb inflation?

It won’t.

[Champ]

1 minute ago, Bruce Spanner said:

It won’t.

I’ve been listening to them over the last few days saying ‘it’s needed to stop inflation getting embedded in the system’ but not one of them have explained how. They don’t know either, do they?

[Bjornebye]

On 12/07/2022 at 08:11, Jairzinho said:

I was in Tesco a few days ago waiting at the till, I probably only had about dozen items. One of the workers comes up to me and says "Can you go and use one of the automated tills please?". I said "I'd rather not thanks". She asked again, almost pleadingly. I told her I'd rather not contribute to people losing their jobs, and the things never fucking work anyway and require a human to come and sort out a speck of dust being in the baggage area or whatever. She quietened her voice and said, "We have to ask".

 

It was utterly tragic. They have to actively promote their own job demise.

In the tesco express by mine theres a lovely lady, she's worked here for years and always has a chat while she's serving you. It was backed up one day and she was on the till on her own and I asked if they're short staffed and she told me the managers bonus is measured on how few staff they can get away with having on. 

[Jairzinho]

Just now, Champ said:

I’ve been listening to them over the last few days saying ‘it’s needed to stop inflation getting embedded in the system’ but not one of them have explained how. They don’t know either, do they?

The plan is that people will have even less fucking money and consequently won't be able to buy anything. Balance up supply and demand. 

 

What will actually happen is that we'll keep the inflation and add (or rather increase) how utterly fucked everyone is, and make the economy smaller.

 

Fixing an economy is quite difficult, more so when you don't really want to fix it.

[i5x]

12 minutes ago, Champ said:

I’ve been listening to them over the last few days saying ‘it’s needed to stop inflation getting embedded in the system’ but not one of them have explained how. They don’t know either, do they?

 

Becomes more expensive to borrow = less money in system = less demand for goods = less price rises.

 

So yeah ignores problem of price rises are not just because of increased demand... alot needs fixing, this is not how to fix it.

 

Edit: Not 100% on this and not heared it mentioned yet but stagflation is something that might be mentioned in MSM soon enough ie high prices and economic down turn....yay its the 70s apparently.

[Strontium]

11 minutes ago, Champ said:

Can anyone explain how raising interest rates will curb inflation?

 

Theory: it makes credit more expensive, so people will spend less.

 

Practice: not so much.

[littletedwest]

1 minute ago, Jairzinho said:

The plan is that people will have even less fucking money and consequently won't be able to buy anything. Balance up supply and demand. 

 

What will actually happen is that we'll keep the inflation and add (or rather increase) how utterly fucked everyone is, and make the economy smaller.

 

Fixing an economy is quite difficult, more so when you don't really want to fix it.

Yeah that's the normal method but supply is the issue here. There will always be a demand for heat and fuel its not like prices are going up due to full employment

[Champ]

18 minutes ago, Strontium said:

 

Theory: it makes credit more expensive, so people will spend less.

 

Practice: not so much.

As if current inflation isn’t doing this already

[dockers_strike]

24 minutes ago, Champ said:

Can anyone explain how raising interest rates will curb inflation?

It makes borrowing money more expensive. Numerous Business and people use credit from time to time and if they have to repay a lot more than they borrow due to higher interest rates, the theory goes they either borrow less, so spend less or, if they continue to borrow and have to repay more back, they have less disposable income to spend on business expansion, employing more people  or leaves people will less money to buy consumer goods and also essential goods.

 

Higher interest rates also encourages some people to save money in bank accounts etc which has a similar effect to them not spending it.

 

[Jairzinho]

I also love the idea that a 1.75% interest rate is going to encourage saving when inflation has made a loaf of bread cost £47.

[i5x]

Tbh I think part of the problem is there is no mandatory study if economics in schools.

 

We have huge amounts of people who are so economically illiterate, don't know what GDP means and think a nations economy can be compared to a house hold budget and credit cards. We have a lack of critical thinking tought and debate brought down to lazy 3 word slogans / lowest common denominator / misty eyed recollections of "better times" like during the war, or the 70s. Yeah never mind that ww2 cost countless lives and we had rationing for years after or the 70s when we were the dirty man of europe and utterly broken. I could go on but I am ranting now.

 

Dyslexic and not checked post so prob funny me whinging about literacy when I can't even spell without checker

[Bjornebye]

Just now, i5x said:

Tbh I think part of the problem is there is no mandatory study if economics in schools.

 

We have huge amounts of people who are so economically illiterate they don't know what GDP means and think a nations economy can be compared to a house hold budget and credit cards. We have a lack of critical thinking tought and debate brought down to lazy 3 word slogans / lowest common denominator / misty eyed recollections of "better times" like during the war, or the 70s. Yeah never mind that ww2 cost countless lives and we had rationing for years after or the 70s when we were the dirty man of europe and utterly broken. I could go on but I am ranting now.

It's a huge problem mate. It doesn't pay to have the majority of kids leaving school savvy to taking out loans/store cards etc. 

[Jairzinho]

It has to be deliberate. You'd have to imagine with a decade or so of economics taught well we'd have radically different governments. 

[Bjornebye]

2 minutes ago, Jairzinho said:

It has to be deliberate. You'd have to imagine with a decade or so of economics taught well we'd have radically different governments. 

Yeah but we wouldn't know enough about volcanos. 

[Jairzinho]

Just now, Bjornebye said:

Yeah but we wouldn't know enough about volcanos. 

That's true. Barely a day goes by where I don't have to think about an Oxbow lake.