Cost of living crisis.

[Voll Blau]

7 minutes ago, Fazzer 7 said:

I think you believe Starmer &co have a magic wand. The mess we’re in is a result of the covid pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. All Starmer will or would have done is print even more money racking up more debt and stoking inflation even more. 

What evidence are you basing that claim on?

[dsr-burnley]

Starmer thought the lockdown should have gone on longer and thought it should have been reintroduced last December, and thought that furlough pay should have been extended.  He can only have planned that lot by printing money even more profligately than the current lot did.

[Dames]

1 minute ago, Towelie said:

But a windfall tax is far from printing money?

 

It's redistributing money that already exists.

Unfortunately over 40 years of cold war propaganda would have you believing that things like this are the most disgusting things on this earth and that rampant capitalism is the one true good.

 

The truth is that there is a perfect balance between socialism and capitalism. You look after the people and they will spend their money.

 

I worked out earlier that if the price cap hits 5k like its supposed to that is 78 billion being taken out of the economy since 2021 as that is a 4000 rise per year across 20 million households (This is a low estimate as well). How is that sustainable? 

[Leicester_Loyal]

I don't think Labour are credible really or would have done much better, but I'm willing to give them a chance, they can't be any worse than the Tories can they? It's time we gave someone else a chance.

 

https://news.sky.com/story/cos-of-living-rail-fares-in-england-to-rise-below-inflation-vows-government-12673461

 

Rail fares going up, who was it that was telling me the rail fares would be going up to cover the rail staff payrises? Well no payrise for the railstaff yet, but the fares are still going up!

[urban.spaceman]

1 minute ago, dsr-burnley said:

Starmer thought the lockdown should have gone on longer and thought it should have been reintroduced last December, and thought that furlough pay should have been extended.  He can only have planned that lot by printing money even more profligately than the current lot did.

Starmer spent most of October 2020 telling the government to bring in an immediate 2 week circuit breaker lockdown as cases were sky rocketing after Eat Out To Help Out. 
 

Johnson mocked him in parliament mercilessly. Then had to bring in a 4 week lockdown for the whole of November. Which still wasn’t enough because he brought in Christmas restrictions and lockdowns again from January to April 2021. 
 

50,000 people died between November 2020 and January 2021.

 

Starmer’s covid policies were consistently right and would have saved lives and money.

[Voll Blau]

14 minutes ago, dsr-burnley said:

Starmer thought the lockdown should have gone on longer and thought it should have been reintroduced last December, and thought that furlough pay should have been extended.  He can only have planned that lot by printing money even more profligately than the current lot did.

Ah, I see one of Johnson's repeated lies at the despatch box has stuck then...

 

Starmer actually said he would have kept mandatory face masks and wanted the guidance advising people to work from home where they can to remain in place.

 

"In addition to maintaining face masks, the Labour leader said guidance advising people to work from home where they can should remain in place and that buildings needed better ventilation."

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-57886976

Edited 15 August 2022 by Voll Blau

[Dames]

1 minute ago, Leicester_Loyal said:

I don't think Labour are credible really or would have done much better, but I'm willing to give them a chance, they can't be any worse than the Tories can they? It's time we gave someone else a chance.

 

https://news.sky.com/story/cos-of-living-rail-fares-in-england-to-rise-below-inflation-vows-government-12673461

 

Rail fares going up, who was it that was telling me the rail fares would be going up to cover the rail staff payrises? Well no payrise for the railstaff yet, but the fares are still going up!

Labour have their issues but the print press have been gaslighting the country for decades into believing the Conservatives are whats good for the Country when really the only thing they are good for is giving offshore newspaper proprietors big tax breaks.

 

Rail Fares will always increase because like the Energy and Water sectors they are run as a Mafia style racket. Its all about squeezing every last ounce of profit and if profits aren't as high as the year before its an abject failure and they are begging for a Government handout. 

[Towelie]

4 minutes ago, Dames said:

Unfortunately over 40 years of cold war propaganda would have you believing that things like this are the most disgusting things on this earth and that rampant capitalism is the one true good.

 

The truth is that there is a perfect balance between socialism and capitalism. You look after the people and they will spend their money.

 

I worked out earlier that if the price cap hits 5k like its supposed to that is 78 billion being taken out of the economy since 2021 as that is a 4000 rise per year across 20 million households (This is a low estimate as well). How is that sustainable? 

Shame I can only like the post once.

 

Absolutely bang on.

 

I can remember the first time I heard the phrase of continuous growth economics doing A levels as 17/18 year old and thought how is that possible without people at the bottom eventually having nothing?

 

Socialism/capitalism cannot be the answer purely on their own and there needs to be a balance between the 2.

[foxes1988]

3 hours ago, dsr-burnley said:

But if the accepted definitions of poverty are correct, both in comparison with other people and in terms of number of people using food banks, then Britain has more poor people than Somalia.  But is Britain really poorer than Somalia?  Or do we need to consider other measures of poverty?

 

If everyone's salary doubled, it wouldn't reduce official poverty.  If everyone's salary halved, it wouldn't increase official poverty.  That is absurd.

Its not absurdity its just all relatively speaking of course.  You cant compare the 6th richest country in the world to 156th richest country in the world on poverty for exactly the same reasons as comparing to different eras in time.

 

Doesn't matter how much you make if the essentials are too expensive for you.  

[Dames]

Another thing I don't get and no free market capitalist can properly explain is that why are the Water Companies private?

 

If it was truly a free market I'd get the option to choose a different supplier? But I don't. I have to choose Severn Trent and that's it. 

 

I don't want to give my money to a company that dumps shit in rivers but if I want to live I literally have no other choice. How is that any different from soviet era communism? As all I see is one entity exploiting the people for their own gain and profits.

[Tommy G]

40 minutes ago, Towelie said:

It depends if you are on a fixed or variable deal currently.

 

If fixed no changed until your deal changes.

 

If its variable, it hasn't actually been confirmed what the new cap will be yet, 26th August I believe, but it is widely expected to increase 60% more than the current cap.

 

Therefore, if you are currently paying the market cap rate for gas (7p per unit with 27p standing/daily charge) and electric (28p per unit with 45p standing/daily charge), it is expected to increased as you have stated.

 

The £400 rebate will be paid in 6 installments starting in October (assuming you are not on a pre payment meter as I think they get vouchers from the Post Office instead).

I'm not fixed as the fix I've been offered is ay above the anticipated price cap. No, not on a prepayment meter. Thanks for the info.

[Towelie]

4 minutes ago, Dames said:

Another thing I don't get and no free market capitalist can properly explain is that why are the Water Companies private?

 

If it was truly a free market I'd get the option to choose a different supplier? But I don't. I have to choose Severn Trent and that's it. 

 

I don't want to give my money to a company that dumps shit in rivers but if I want to live I literally have no other choice. How is that any different from soviet era communism? As all I see is one entity exploiting the people for their own gain and profits.

It's the same with most industries that have been privatised into some sort of faux competitive marketplace.

 

The thing is, the competition is only there is the bidding process which is essentially a bid to win a monopoly like buses trains etc and provides no benefit to the consumer whatsoever.

[BKLFox]

Saudi's making hay whilst the sun shines, €48.4bn record quarterly profits, they also been heavily investing into Russian oil

 

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62539480

[Foxdiamond]

37 minutes ago, Fazzer 7 said:

I think you believe Starmer &co have a magic wand. The mess we’re in is a result of the covid pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. All Starmer will or would have done is print even more money racking up more debt and stoking inflation even more. 

Yet money is being made at record levels for a few and millions face hardship.

[leicsmac]

9 minutes ago, Dames said:

Another thing I don't get and no free market capitalist can properly explain is that why are the Water Companies private?

 

If it was truly a free market I'd get the option to choose a different supplier? But I don't. I have to choose Severn Trent and that's it. 

 

I don't want to give my money to a company that dumps shit in rivers but if I want to live I literally have no other choice. How is that any different from soviet era communism? As all I see is one entity exploiting the people for their own gain and profits.

 

1 minute ago, Towelie said:

It's the same with most industries that have been privatised into some sort of faux competitive marketplace.

 

The thing is, the competition is only there is the bidding process which is essentially a bid to win a monopoly like buses trains etc and provides no benefit to the consumer whatsoever.

This was discussed a little while back on this thread.

 

Free market competition doesn't work in inelastic markets like healthcare and heavy-infrastructure essentials like utilities (to name but two), and I've no idea why people think it does.

[Dames]

2 minutes ago, BKLFox said:

Saudi's making hay whilst the sun shines, €48.4bn record quarterly profits, they also been heavily investing into Russian oil

 

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62539480

Record profits for almost every company in this sector indicates that it is not the cost of supply that is the problem.

 

It is using the war as a means of exploitation.

 

It won't wash - the people are ignorant but they are not stupid.

[Dames]

2 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

 

This was discussed a little while back on this thread.

 

Free market competition doesn't work in inelastic markets like healthcare and heavy-infrastructure essentials like utilities (to name but two), and I've no idea why people think it does.

Nope these industries should be renationalised because in the long run they will benefit the public purse.

 

Its short term Thatcherist thinking thats got us in this mess, those industries were sold on the cheap to benefit Conservative Donors and absolutely no body else.

[Robo61]

34 minutes ago, dsr-burnley said:

Starmer thought the lockdown should have gone on longer and thought it should have been reintroduced last December, and thought that furlough pay should have been extended.  He can only have planned that lot by printing money even more profligately than the current lot did.

He would have locked down earlier both in March 20 and August/Sept 20 which most veroligists were calling for and which would almost certainly have lead to fewer deaths and shorter lock downs.

[Happy Fox]

Partisan politics is the issue and has been for donkeys, why cannot both sides work together for the good of the country?

[Dames]

1 minute ago, Happy Fox said:

Partisan politics is the issue and has been for donkeys, why cannot both sides work together for the good of the country?

Because now especially in the post Trump/Brexit/Johnson era admitting that you might be wrong or the other guy might be right is a crime on the same level as treason.

 

Both sides are as bad as the other at this.

[ozleicester]

14 minutes ago, Dames said:

It won't wash - the people are ignorant but they are not stupid.

Dont bet on it

The forest was shrinking but the trees kept voting for the axe as its handle was made of wood and they thought it was one of them. - proverb

[Dames]

10 minutes ago, ozleicester said:

Dont bet on it

The forest was shrinking but the trees kept voting for the axe as its handle was made of wood and they thought it was one of them. - proverb

Most people in this country especially those over the age of 35 live in a sort of ignorance that as long as something doesn't affect them they won't be bothered by it. 

 

Now the effects of rampant capitalism under Conservative policies will directly affect them and make them substantially poorer they'll start questioning everything. 

 

The Conservatives can't blame leftie lawyers or woke civil servants for extortionate bills although I won't rule out them trying.

[leicsmac]

1 minute ago, Dames said:

Most people in this country especially those over the age of 35 live in a sort of ignorance that as long as something doesn't affect them they won't be bothered by it. 

 

Now the effects of rampant capitalism under Conservative policies will directly affect them and make them substantially poorer they'll start questioning everything. 

 

The Conservatives can't blame leftie lawyers or woke civil servants for extortionate bills although I won't rule out them trying.

No, but they feel that they don't need to, as long as the blame doesn't fall on them.

 

Enter Covid, Russia and China as the convenient scapegoats of choice.

[Tommy G]

Not a measure of inflation but donuts in Morrisons were 55p for a pack of 5 in the spring and they are now 89p a packet, an increase of 62%. I only know this as they are right next to the meal deal section and I buy them from time to time. Disgraceful but good for the waistline.

[Dames]

3 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

No, but they feel that they don't need to, as long as the blame doesn't fall on them.

 

Enter Covid, Russia and China as the convenient scapegoats of choice.

If the suppliers and retailers weren't recording record profits since the war began they'd have a leg to stand on but they dont. They've allowed rampant exploitation on their watch.