Food prices

[hibsbollah]

I’m quite surprised there’s no thread about this. I’m really noticing the weekly shop being significantly more expensive every week. We tend to buy similar things and make quite a narrow range of meals which the kids like.

I know we read about these things but it’s really starting to hit home experientially now. Pasta up 50% in 12 months is the most obvious one, on the other hand if you just survive on a diet of potatoes, sausages, chips, cheese and apples which have all fallen in price, you’re laughing:greengrin

Interesting article here

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/may/30/pasta-bread-and-crisps-among-biggest-uk-food-price-increases

[Stairway 2 7]

Headline figure is 6% increase in a year. Buas Jack Munro has been pointing out to the ons, core staples have had the biggest rise so the poor are hit hardest


https://mobile.twitter.com/rcolvile/status/1531198318105317376

[Hibbyradge]

Brexit is to blame according to Sainsbury's CEO.

https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/penny-drops-for-the-express-as-ex-sainsburys-ceo-blames-brexit-for-rising-food-prices-322839/

[hibsbollah]

I just don’t know how folk are coping. Food banks, skipping meals, pay day loans? But with no change to the pattern of increase for at least the next 12-18 months predicted, none of those options are sustainable in the long term for lots of people.

[Scouse Hibee]

The weekly shop has become ridiculously priced, the company shop has now become a decent option, a bit hit and miss but some great bargains to be had.

[hibsbollah]

The weekly shop has become ridiculously priced, the company shop has now become a decent option, a bit hit and miss but some great bargains to be had.

Id imagine you have some personal experience about this re-your potato-linked business :greengrin does that mean your food costs have fallen but everything else has risen?

[Scouse Hibee]

Id imagine you have some personal experience about this re-your potato-linked business :greengrin does that mean your food costs have fallen but everything else has risen?

We cook in beef dripping in the main range, the price of dripping has nearly doubled since we opened in November 2020, the price of fish has rocketed as has chicken recently along with many more products we buy and our energy costs. Our food costs have risen sharply, along with the VAT going back to 20% we have had to increase our prices to try and survive, we are struggling to do so as a new business still paying back our start up costs.

[hibsbollah]

We cook in beef dripping in the main range, the price of dripping has nearly doubled since we opened in November 2020, the price of fish has rocketed as has chicken recently along with many more products we buy and our energy costs. Our food costs have risen sharply, along with the VAT going back to 20% we have had to increase our prices to try and survive, we are struggling to do so as a new business still paying back our start up costs.

Interesting:aok:

I’ll continue to frequent your fine establishment when I’m passing.

[Scouse Hibee]

Interesting:aok:

I’ll continue to frequent your fine establishment when I’m passing.

👍

[silverhibee]

👍

What and where is this fine establishment. :thumbsup:

[silverhibee]

I’m quite surprised there’s no thread about this. I’m really noticing the weekly shop being significantly more expensive every week. We tend to buy similar things and make quite a narrow range of meals which the kids like.

I know we read about these things but it’s really starting to hit home experientially now. Pasta up 50% in 12 months is the most obvious one, on the other hand if you just survive on a diet of potatoes, sausages, chips, cheese and apples which have all fallen in price, you’re laughing:greengrin

Interesting article here

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/may/30/pasta-bread-and-crisps-among-biggest-uk-food-price-increases

Lurpak butter is extortionate and kitchen and toilet rolls have rocketed in price, think Morrisons have just added 25 pence to everything in shop, god knows how folk are going to get by as things are just going to get worse.

[Bridge hibs]

Lurpak butter is extortionate and kitchen and toilet rolls have rocketed in price, think Morrisons have just added 25 pence to everything in shop, god knows how folk are going to get by as things are just going to get worse.Will just have to go back to using newspapers to wipe your erse, was a struggle when desperate for a poop as a kid, had to wait on my Dad then Mum until they were finished reading the paper 🤬

Kids wouldnt cope with that these days, we were hard core, you cant wipe your arse with an iPhone 😳

[Stairway 2 7]

Will just have to go back to using newspapers to wipe your erse, was a struggle when desperate for a poop as a kid, had to wait on my Dad then Mum until they were finished reading the paper 🤬

Kids wouldnt cope with that these days, we were hard core, you cant wipe your arse with an iPhone 😳

I remember hearing on QI, that there was a French Prince who made it his life goal to wipe his arse with as many animals as possible. Apparently a goose neck was as good as he could find. Leading to why I'm banned from St Margaret's Loch, after the case of the brown necked Swan and the bemused tourists

[Bridge hibs]

I remember hearing on QI, that there was a French Prince who made it his life goal to wipe his arse with as many animals as possible. Apparently a goose neck was as good as he could find. Leading to why I'm banned from St Margaret's Loch, after the case of the brown necked Swan and the bemused tourists🤣

[Billy Whizz]

What and where is this fine establishment. :thumbsup:

I think it’s called something like the Chippy by Spencer on Broughton St, or around that area
Dead easy for you Silver😜

[Pretty Boy]

I'm super organised with our meals. Menu planned a week in advance, batch cooked and portions frozen when possible, I'm frugal without being mean, I cook from scratch and rarely if ever buy ready, I can get 3 meals from one chicken easy etc etc. Basically all the things the millionaire Tory experts say we should do to make ends meet, I already do.

Not so long ago I could, with a bit thought and planning, feeds 3 of us for £40 a week. That was breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks for a full week. Not a chance now. I went shopping tonight and was £56, the only non essential was a Wispa for my daughter.

I'm relatively comfortable and I'm feeling the strain. I don't pity those out of work or on minimum wage. I'm angry on their behalf, it must be a total nightmare for them.

[Pretty Boy]

Lurpak butter is extortionate and kitchen and toilet rolls have rocketed in price, think Morrisons have just added 25 pence to everything in shop, god knows how folk are going to get by as things are just going to get worse.

There are paper mills closed all over Europe currently. For a whole myriad of reasons for many it was cheaper just to temporarily mothball rather than continue to operate.

My work wholesales toilets rolls, blue rolls etc and got sent a whole load of documentary evidence from suppliers to support their price increases (30-40% on average). Add to that the imminent ban on polystyrene (loopholes excepted) has seen demand for paper products soar as well. It's goifn to get a whole lot worse before it gets better. T

[Scouse Hibee]

I think it’s called something like the Chippy by Spencer on Broughton St, or around that area
Dead easy for you Silver😜

It is indeed.

[NORTHERNHIBBY]

I use Lidls a lot, both for ourselves and the dependent that I shop for. Using their app for the discounts, sends you digital receipts. Checking backwards there is about a 20% increase, even on basics.

[HibbyAndy]

We cook in beef dripping in the main range, the price of dripping has nearly doubled since we opened in November 2020, the price of fish has rocketed as has chicken recently along with many more products we buy and our energy costs. Our food costs have risen sharply, along with the VAT going back to 20% we have had to increase our prices to try and survive, we are struggling to do so as a new business still paying back our start up costs.

Used your chippy in the summer mate , Was top class ! I always recommend your place :aok:

[Dmas]

I use Lidls a lot, both for ourselves and the dependent that I shop for. Using their app for the discounts, sends you digital receipts. Checking backwards there is about a 20% increase, even on basics.

I don’t normally do the shop but the mrs was rough on Sunday so I took the reigns, couldn’t believe my eyes in lidls, lurpack was £5.19 absolutely crazy for a bit of butter.

We’re a family of 5 ( 3 kids under 6) and we’re starting to feel it at the shops now, we would have a budget each month which would afford us some treats booze etc without us using our own money but the last couple months we’ve had to add in more and cut the treats, crazy times indeed

[silverhibee]

I think it’s called something like the Chippy by Spencer on Broughton St, or around that area
Dead easy for you Silver😜

Will certainly pay it a visit, hopefully do a fish in breadcrumbs. :thumbsup:

[Scouse Hibee]

Will certainly pay it a visit, hopefully do a fish in breadcrumbs. :thumbsup:

Of course we do. 😀

[Scouse Hibee]

Used your chippy in the summer mate , Was top class ! I always recommend your place :aok:

👍

[tamig]

Headline figure is 6% increase in a year. Buas Jack Munro has been pointing out to the ons, core staples have had the biggest rise so the poor are hit hardest


https://mobile.twitter.com/rcolvile/status/1531198318105317376
I heard her on with Colin Murray tonight. One interesting point was about the shortage of value range products. She quoted Asda’s cheapest pasta at 28p for 500g. The next cheapest available was over 70p - more than 200% higher. That’s unsustainable for anyone shopping on a tight limited budget.

[tamig]

It is indeed.

I was in there on a Friday night a few weeks back. Had a good chat with the guy behind the counter as I was waiting on the food being cooked. Was very impressed. The food was cooked fresh as it was probably just before 11 - so a bit of a quieter period. Guy I was talking to was a very pleasant chap. I thought I was walking into Rapido at first and didn’t realise it had changed hands.

[Andy Bee]

I bought one of these bad boys, the ginger one to be precise and saved an absolute fortune.


It went from this

25900

To this

25901

And this :greengrin

25902

Tups next.

[Scouse Hibee]

I was in there on a Friday night a few weeks back. Had a good chat with the guy behind the counter as I was waiting on the food being cooked. Was very impressed. The food was cooked fresh as it was probably just before 11 - so a bit of a quieter period. Guy I was talking to was a very pleasant chap. I thought I was walking into Rapido at first and didn’t realise it had changed hands.

That was either me or my business partner as we were both there, we cook everything fresh to order no matter what time it is, that way our customers are getting the best possible product. We have invested in such a big range that we can handle volume cooked fresh to order even at busiest times. Glad you enjoyed it.

[Colr]

Brexit is to blame according to Sainsbury's CEO.

https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/penny-drops-for-the-express-as-ex-sainsburys-ceo-blames-brexit-for-rising-food-prices-322839/

Funny that the BBC never mentions it.

[Santa Cruz]

Might sound stupid, does this mean all the food items in Poundland that were a £1 are now costing more too? Was thinking surely it will affect all food prices.

[bigwheel]

Might sound stupid, does this mean all the food items in Poundland that were a £1 are now costing more too? Was thinking surely it will affect all food prices.

It’s renamed itself to poundtwenty land

[Paulie Walnuts]

Will certainly pay it a visit, hopefully do a fish in breadcrumbs. :thumbsup:

The special fish is outstanding :aok: great chippy.

[Paulie Walnuts]

I'm super organised with our meals. Menu planned a week in advance, batch cooked and portions frozen when possible, I'm frugal without being mean, I cook from scratch and rarely if ever buy ready, I can get 3 meals from one chicken easy etc etc. Basically all the things the millionaire Tory experts say we should do to make ends meet, I already do.

Not so long ago I could, with a bit thought and planning, feeds 3 of us for £40 a week. That was breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks for a full week. Not a chance now. I went shopping tonight and was £56, the only non essential was a Wispa for my daughter.

I'm relatively comfortable and I'm feeling the strain. I don't pity those out of work or on minimum wage. I'm angry on their behalf, it must be a total nightmare for them.

I’m the same as you, I cook pretty much every single thing I eat from scratch from pizza, to breaded chicken to curry’s.

I’m now at the point where I’m not necessarily eating what I want to eat each night, I’m having to make a real consideration into what’s cheapest. I’ve always liked beef and used to buy mince to make meatballs, spag bol, burgers or something along those lines but I pretty much just buy the biggest pack of chicken I can buy now to save money.

Like you, I’d say I am (or at least was) fairly comfortable with myself and the mrs both earning a little bit over the average wage each. We’ve not even any dependants so we’re feeding two people and running a household with two people with a mortgage that’s nowhere near maxed out. I don’t know how a lot of people are even coming close to surviving tbh.

[Santa Cruz]

It’s renamed itself to poundtwenty land

haha, seriously though, I've been buying the same coffee sachets for over 10 years which have cost £1 everywhere. Iceland now selling for £1.15, so can't see how Poundland keeps the price down.

[Santa Cruz]

The special fish is outstanding :aok: great chippy.

what is this? seen it on takeaway menu's and wondered what's so special?

[Scouse Hibee]

what is this? seen it on takeaway menu's and wondered what's so special?

It’s breaded fish, I have no idea why they call it special fish, it’s a term I have only heard in Scotland.

[Santa Cruz]

It’s breaded fish, I have no idea why they call it special fish, it’s a term I have only heard in Scotland.

:aok: I thought there was a breaded fish option also, might be confusing the two.

[Northernhibee]

Might sound stupid, does this mean all the food items in Poundland that were a £1 are now costing more too? Was thinking surely it will affect all food prices.
I was in Poundland buying tent pegs recently, they're no longer every item a pound, their goods have different prices.

[danhibees1875]

It’s breaded fish, I have no idea why they call it special fish, it’s a term I have only heard in Scotland.

I'll be honest - that is news to me too.

I've always seen it, but despite having no idea what it meant I've also never bothered to think about/question it either. I'm a little disappointed to find out it just means breaded.

[stu in nottingham]

Might sound stupid, does this mean all the food items in Poundland that were a £1 are now costing more too? Was thinking surely it will affect all food prices.

Maybe they'll rebrand? Similar to what Poundworld did to 'OneBelow'.

I know exactly those coffee sachets you're talking about! Bought them regularly for the office (when there was such a place).

[silverhibee]

Lurpak butter is extortionate and kitchen and toilet rolls have rocketed in price, think Morrisons have just added 25 pence to everything in shop, god knows how folk are going to get by as things are just going to get worse.

I was always told as a kid to do my Tom kites at school and use that nasty toilet paper.

[silverhibee]

Of course we do. 😀

It’s a date, probably Friday. :thumbsup:

[Pretty Boy]

I’m the same as you, I cook pretty much every single thing I eat from scratch from pizza, to breaded chicken to curry’s.

I’m now at the point where I’m not necessarily eating what I want to eat each night, I’m having to make a real consideration into what’s cheapest. I’ve always liked beef and used to buy mince to make meatballs, spag bol, burgers or something along those lines but I pretty much just buy the biggest pack of chicken I can buy now to save money.

Like you, I’d say I am (or at least was) fairly comfortable with myself and the mrs both earning a little bit over the average wage each. We’ve not even any dependants so we’re feeding two people and running a household with two people with a mortgage that’s nowhere near maxed out. I don’t know how a lot of people are even coming close to surviving tbh.

It's just fundamentally wrong that people who are in work are struggling to put food on the table, keep a roof over their heads and heat their homes. It shouldn't even be the case that someone out of work struggles to do that but that's another discussion. What is a 'living wage' if it doesn't allow someone to live relatively comfortably?

Now I know there has always been and will always be people who can't manage money, are impulsive or frivolous or whatever. However that isn't the case for a hell of a lot of people struggling now. There is only so much you can cut and so far you can tighten your belt before it becomes unsustainable. Someone in Scotland on the national living wage with a 3% pension auto enrollment contribution would have a take home pay of around £1390. I genuinely don't know how a single person or couple can live on that in somewhere like Edinburgh. Minimum council tax, water and sewerage charge of £103 a month (discount for single person obviously) and 1 bedroom flat is going to set you back a minimum of £700 a month renting (flat sharing is obviously an option. Great when you are 21, less so at 30). If you don't drive then a bus pass might make sense, there's £56 a month. Let's say a mobile phone and broadband is really an essential now so cheapest pay monthly deals maybe £35 all in for a bog standard product. Gas and electric on a one bedroom flat let's be really generous and say £60 a month. That's a lot of budget gone before a loaf of bread has been bought, never mind frivolities like clothes or having an actual life and going for a drink or to the cinema.

I understand the demands small business owners are facing and I'm sure the thought of a big jump in the minimum wage is frightening for them but that is where government should be intervening. Give a tax break elsewhere to cover the increased costs to them. Or better still let's have a serious discussion about a universal basic income. Give people enough to cover their most basic needs and let their new found disposable income stimulate the economy. We surely have enough evidence now that 'trickle down' economics just doesn't ****ing work.

[silverhibee]

Might sound stupid, does this mean all the food items in Poundland that were a £1 are now costing more too? Was thinking surely it will affect all food prices.

OneBelow in the Gyle which is sort of the same has put all its prices up, stuff that was a £1 now up a extra 20 pence.

[Killiehibbie]

I was always told as a kid to do my Tom kites at school and use that nasty toilet paper.

Probably get a visit from social workers if you tried that now🤣

[Bridge hibs]

I was always told as a kid to do my Tom kites at school and use that nasty toilet paper.Aye but it was a bit of a challenge holding it in over the weekend until school opened on Monday morning 🥴

[DH1875]

You don't get the deal your thinking your getting in poundland. Crisps for example are 5 pack instead 6 for the likes of squares. Think walkers might now even be a pack of 4 not 6. A 2ltr bottle of Irn Bru isnt 2ltr either. Your £1 gets you a one litre bottle so better just paying the extra in the corner shop.

[HH81]

You don't get the deal your thinking your getting in poundland. Crisps for example are 5 pack instead 6 for the likes of squares. Think walkers might now even be a pack of 4 not 6. A 2ltr bottle of Irn Bru isnt 2ltr either. Your £1 gets you a one litre bottle so better just paying the extra in the corner shop.

I was thinking why did my Seabrook have only 5 bags last time the wife got them.

They have stopped selling them in the 6 pack in asda now too.

Worcester Sauce. World class.

I scan every receipt and prices for what we normally buy are about 3rd higher than pre covid. Very poor.

[danhibees1875]

Coincidentally I noticed two adverts last night between BGT that may have been stealth shrinkflation in action.

The first was a new meat&veg pack being sold by Tesco. Promoted positively as a way to increase your veg consumption easily and with associated environmental benefits. All true but the reality felt like they were just finding a way to glorify the fact they were giving you less minced meat in a pack of meat because it was now being bulked out by onion/carrot/whatever else that's pennies to buy separate.

Same again with Ben&Jerries, I can't remember the exact concept but they were selling it as a "sundea" so you had less of the actual ice cream and more other bits and bobs. Tbf, I may have just have been overly cynical with this one.

[Scouse Hibee]

You don't get the deal your thinking your getting in poundland. Crisps for example are 5 pack instead 6 for the likes of squares. Think walkers might now even be a pack of 4 not 6. A 2ltr bottle of Irn Bru isnt 2ltr either. Your £1 gets you a one litre bottle so better just paying the extra in the corner shop.

Even their multipack chocolate bars are smaller than the multipack bars in the packs you but normally.

[WhileTheChief..]

It's just fundamentally wrong that people who are in work are struggling to put food on the table, keep a roof over their heads and heat their homes. It shouldn't even be the case that someone out of work struggles to do that but that's another discussion. What is a 'living wage' if it doesn't allow someone to live relatively comfortably?

Now I know there has always been and will always be people who can't manage money, are impulsive or frivolous or whatever. However that isn't the case for a hell of a lot of people struggling now. There is only so much you can cut and so far you can tighten your belt before it becomes unsustainable. Someone in Scotland on the national living wage with a 3% pension auto enrollment contribution would have a take home pay of around £1390. I genuinely don't know how a single person or couple can live on that in somewhere like Edinburgh. Minimum council tax, water and sewerage charge of £103 a month (discount for single person obviously) and 1 bedroom flat is going to set you back a minimum of £700 a month renting (flat sharing is obviously an option. Great when you are 21, less so at 30). If you don't drive then a bus pass might make sense, there's £56 a month. Let's say a mobile phone and broadband is really an essential now so cheapest pay monthly deals maybe £35 all in for a bog standard product. Gas and electric on a one bedroom flat let's be really generous and say £60 a month. That's a lot of budget gone before a loaf of bread has been bought, never mind frivolities like clothes or having an actual life and going for a drink or to the cinema.

I understand the demands small business owners are facing and I'm sure the thought of a big jump in the minimum wage is frightening for them but that is where government should be intervening. Give a tax break elsewhere to cover the increased costs to them. Or better still let's have a serious discussion about a universal basic income. Give people enough to cover their most basic needs and let their new found disposable income stimulate the economy. We surely have enough evidence now that 'trickle down' economics just doesn't ****ing work.

All for a universal income if it is indeed universal, meaning that everyone gets it.

No idea where the money to fund it would come from but if it means we all get £1000 a month from the government I don't care.

A £12k pay rise would be lovely.

[WhileTheChief..]

The living wage is £9.50 per hour.

A 35-hour working week would mean you take home £1,289 per month from July ( when the NI band increase takes effect). This also assumes the 3% auto-enrolment for pension.

£15 p/hr would give £1,796 per month.

£17 p/hr would give £1,988 per month

How much is needed so that everyone can afford the essentials?

Can every business afford to give their staff the sort of pay rise needed?

Should everyone out of work be given enough to meet their essential needs?

If everyone gets a universal wage to meet their essential needs, why go to work?

[lapsedhibee]

If everyone gets a universal wage to meet their essential needs, why go to work?

To be able to buy luxury goods like a season ticket.

[Kato]

The living wage is £9.50 per hour.

A 35-hour working week would mean you take home £1,289 per month from July ( when the NI band increase takes effect). This also assumes the 3% auto-enrolment for pension.

£15 p/hr would give £1,796 per month.

£17 p/hr would give £1,988 per month

How much is needed so that everyone can afford the essentials?

Can every business afford to give their staff the sort of pay rise needed?

Should everyone out of work be given enough to meet their essential needs?

If everyone gets a universal wage to meet their essential needs, why go to work?I don't even understand the concept of employers giving workers so little money as wages, the govt has to top them up.

Its probably the Govt subsidising the employers profits but again I don't understand that concept either.

Every job should provide enough pay to allow the employee a decent standard of living. If that means those at the top need to be given less while those in the middle and at the bottom are given more then that seems pretty normal to me. If everyone in a work place feels they are being paid fairly surely that leads to a better business model.

Am I being naive?

Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk

[Stairway 2 7]

Don't think the living wage is too bad, obviously should be higher. Unfortunately a huge number of people can't get a steady 38 hours a week though. Too many have under 20 hours or even worse zero hour or gig economy

[DH1875]

Anyone else noticed the rise in prices of dog food. Ours has more than doubled in the last year.

[Northernhibee]

I don't even understand the concept of employers giving workers so little money as wages, the govt has to top them up.

Its probably the Govt subsidising the employers profits but again I don't understand that concept either.

Every job should provide enough pay to allow the employee a decent standard of living. If that means those at the top need to be given less while those in the middle and at the bottom are given more then that seems pretty normal to me. If everyone in a work place feels they are being paid fairly surely that leads to a better business model.

Am I being naive?

Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk

No. If you work then you should be able to live with dignity. That’s just civilised society.

And FWIW if you find yourself in a position where you can’t through illness, caring or redundancy etc. then the above applies too.

[WhileTheChief..]

I don't even understand the concept of employers giving workers so little money as wages, the govt has to top them up.

Its probably the Govt subsidising the employers profits but again I don't understand that concept either.

Every job should provide enough pay to allow the employee a decent standard of living. If that means those at the top need to be given less while those in the middle and at the bottom are given more then that seems pretty normal to me. If everyone in a work place feels they are being paid fairly surely that leads to a better business model.

Am I being naive?

Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk

I read a story last year about a small firm in the US that decided to pay all its staff a minimum wage of $70k.

In some cases, the staff got their salaries more than doubled.

The boss's view was that it meant they could all enjoy a better standard of living and would therefore be more productive at work. It would allow them to start families without worrying about the cost etc.

I wonder if something similar would be viable across the board.

Have you ever been self-employed or run a small business? If not, speak to someone who has and ask them about their staff costs and what impact it would have if they paid more.

If the government was to top up everybody's wage, the money has to come from somewhere. I doubt that taxing those at the top more would provide anywhere near enough money to pay the rest of us what we need / want.

If it was that simple, there would be some countries in the world with true wage equality and zero poverty, and we could all follow suite.

Do you think that governments across the world deliberately try to keep swathes of their populations in poverty? I don't. I just don't think governments can solve every issue.

This thread is about food prices. If we start paying more to everyone involved in the production and distribution of food, it follows that the prices will need to go up no?

[Moulin Yarns]

I don't even understand the concept of employers giving workers so little money as wages, the govt has to top them up.

Its probably the Govt subsidising the employers profits but again I don't understand that concept either.

Every job should provide enough pay to allow the employee a decent standard of living. If that means those at the top need to be given less while those in the middle and at the bottom are given more then that seems pretty normal to me. If everyone in a work place feels they are being paid fairly surely that leads to a better business model.

Am I being naive?

Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk

Pay disparity in the FTSI companies.



https://equalitytrust.org.uk/resource/pay-tracker-comparing-ceo-pay-ftse-100-average-pay-and-low-pay-uk

(https://equalitytrust.org.uk/resource/pay-tracker-comparing-ceo-pay-ftse-100-average-pay-and-low-pay-uk)
And the benefits of a universal income.

https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/public-and-social-sector/our-insights/an-experiment-to-inform-universal-basic-income

[Kato]

I read a story last year about a small firm in the US that decided to pay all its staff a minimum wage of $70k.

In some cases, the staff got their salaries more than doubled.

The boss's view was that it meant they could all enjoy a better standard of living and would therefore be more productive at work. It would allow them to start families without worrying about the cost etc.

I wonder if something similar would be viable across the board.

Have you ever been self-employed or run a small business? If not, speak to someone who has and ask them about their staff costs and what impact it would have if they paid more.

If the government was to top up everybody's wage, the money has to come from somewhere. I doubt that taxing those at the top more would provide anywhere near enough money to pay the rest of us what we need / want.

If it was that simple, there would be some countries in the world with true wage equality and zero poverty, and we could all follow suite.

Do you think that governments across the world deliberately try to keep swathes of their populations in poverty? I don't. I just don't think governments can solve every issue.

This thread is about food prices. If we start paying more to everyone involved in the production and distribution of food, it follows that the prices will need to go up no?I wasn't asking for those at the top to be taxed more so we could fund more benefits . I was wondering why they aren't paid less so that those further down get a better pay packet therefore no need for benefits.

Some govts do engineer poverty for those further "down" the pecking order. Sometimes by design and at other times by just siphoning money up the way leaving nothing for others

Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk

[WhileTheChief..]

Do you mean, for example, pay a director £100k less and pay 100 staff £1k more, or something along these lines?

I don't pretend to have all the answers, but if it was that easy it would be common practice no?

[WhileTheChief..]

Mongolia and Iran are the only 2 countries in the world to have run a nationwide universal income program.

I think it's safe to say that it's quite a complex issue and an awful lot of thought needs to given to it instead of thinking it's a panacea to the cost of living.

https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/universal-basic-income-good-idea

[Moulin Yarns]

Do you mean, for example, pay a director £100k less and pay 100 staff £1k more, or something along these lines?

I don't pretend to have all the answers, but if it was that easy it would be common practice no?

https://equalitytrust.org.uk/resource/pay-tracker-comparing-ceo-pay-ftse-100-average-pay-and-low-pay-uk


CEOs in the UK’s top 100 companies now pocket an average of £5.3m each year, or 386 times that of a worker earning the National Living Wage.




Over two thirds (67%) of FTSE 100 CEOs are paid more than 100 times the average UK salary. Ninety per cent of FTSE 100 CEOs are paid at least 100 times more than the National Living Wage.
Equality Trust analysis also found that FTSE 100 CEOs are now paid:
• 165 times more than a nurse.
• 140 times more than a teacher.
• 132 times more than a police officer.
• 312 times more than a care worker.





Plenty room for manoeuvre.

[Moulin Yarns]

Mongolia and Iran are the only 2 countries in the world to have run a nationwide universal income program.

I think it's safe to say that it's quite a complex issue and an awful lot of thought needs to given to it instead of thinking it's a panacea to the cost of living.

https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/universal-basic-income-good-idea

https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/public-and-social-sector/our-insights/an-experiment-to-inform-universal-basic-income


Increases wellbeing, and employment


People on the basic income were more likely to be employed than those in the control group, and the differences were statistically significant, albeit small




something about the modest level of the basic income and the lack of conditions attached to receiving it seems to have motivated recipients to seek and accept work they otherwise might not have.

Getting more people into employment has to be a good thing, right?

[danhibees1875]

Do you mean, for example, pay a director £100k less and pay 100 staff £1k more, or something along these lines?

I don't pretend to have all the answers, but if it was that easy it would be common practice no?

Would be a struggle for a lot of small and medium sized companies around the country that don't fit the criteria of multi-million pound earning CEOs which is more headline grabbing.

The big companies with those big CEOs then have the problem of usually having a lot more staff to share it out between and diluting the impact.

Companies are generally quite bottom heavy which doesn't make it a particularly simple solution.

[Kato]

Do you mean, for example, pay a director £100k less and pay 100 staff £1k more, or something along these lines?

I don't pretend to have all the answers, but if it was that easy it would be common practice no?It only seems weird because of the culture that has been built up over the last four decades.

What it means in practice is that we if carry on giving the £100,000 extra to someone at the top and everyone else has to make do with less the govt has to step in to give benefits to those earning less.

Why should the govt subsidise the boss's pay cheque when he isn't paying his workers a fair wage?

Disparity, described in MY's posts above is what we are discussing here. If it is allowed to grow too large ot doesn't do anyone any favours. Extreme disparity is what led to the French and Russian revolutions and drove the original Labour movement here. From memory pay disparity was at its lowest in this country in the 1950-70's and has grown ever larger since.

Thatcher: 1979 to 1992, the income of the richest rose 61%, the income of the poorest decreased by 18%.


https://twitter.com/hubofnurse/status/1529206653450592257?t=hidq6EYjBeRHXu6LgQK6Gw&s=19

Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk

[Stairway 2 7]

Denmark attempt at basic income was mostly admitted that it didn't really work. I liked the idea but the very small extra hours worked could have been achieved for far less.

Obviously people were happier they received 500 a month extra. The money spent has to work though

[Stairway 2 7]

It only seems weird because of the culture that has been built up over the last four decades.

What it means in practice is that we if carry on giving the £100,000 extra to someone at the top and everyone else has to make do with less the govt has to step in to give benefits to those earning less.

Why should the govt subsidise the boss's pay cheque when he isn't paying his workers a fair wage?

Disparity, described in MY's posts above is what we are discussing here. If it is allowed to grow too large ot doesn't do anyone any favours. Extreme disparity is what led to the French and Russian revolutions and drove the original Labour movement here. From memory pay disparity was at its lowest in this country in the 1950-70's and has grown ever larger since.

Thatcher: 1979 to 1992, the income of the richest rose 61%, the income of the poorest decreased by 18%.


https://twitter.com/hubofnurse/status/1529206653450592257?t=hidq6EYjBeRHXu6LgQK6Gw&s=19

Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk

Would you be on benefits if working full time with the living wage, shocking if so

[Moulin Yarns]

Denmark attempt at basic income was mostly admitted that it didn't really work. I liked the idea but the very small extra hours worked could have been achieved for far less.

Obviously people were happier they received 500 a month extra. The money spent has to work though

The Finnish experiment appears to have been positive though. I've not seen anything about Denmark yet though, so can't comment on it.

[Stairway 2 7]

The Finnish experiment appears to have been positive though. I've not seen anything about Denmark yet though, so can't comment on it.

Sorry you're right Finland. I don't think the hours worked were worth it. But this was just for unemployed people not universal as such. I'd like it to work something has to change

[Kato]

Would you be on benefits if working full time with the living wage, shocking if soIt's socialism for the already rich.

Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk

[Hibrandenburg]

Do you mean, for example, pay a director £100k less and pay 100 staff £1k more, or something along these lines?

I don't pretend to have all the answers, but if it was that easy it would be common practice no?

You won't be surprised to hear that the Germans have rules regarding how much a boss can earn. Normal practice is that a boss has his wage capped at a maximum of 2½ times of that what the next highest earner earns.

[Stairway 2 7]

You won't be surprised to hear that the Germans have rules regarding how much a boss can earn. Normal practice is that a boss has his wage capped at a maximum of 2½ times of that what the next highest earner earns.

Germanys top ceos get paid similar to UKs from what I can see. Does that mean there is just more layers of hierarchy in Germany

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/volkswagen-boss-herbert-diess-is-germanys-highest-paid-ceo-085230575.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAJfm1K8qnjIZnnKen7ks89fE1Ljs k4u0fsXhE9d8j23pIRaq1bDepSwsp0bR5vP6RoMq43H_mWR_q9 e5_A25qMLrR-iDKauuW_B6XKnV8i7EukSapSDXbtueeBD-nYfOSJq_aNbMEjVncPUSuYxsdn6DsSjt7UU86iyFN185o5PM

[Moulin Yarns]

You won't be surprised to hear that the Germans have rules regarding how much a boss can earn. Normal practice is that a boss has his wage capped at a maximum of 2½ times of that what the next highest earner earns.

Would have been a lot happier if it was 2 and a half times the lowest paid.

[WhileTheChief..]

https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/public-and-social-sector/our-insights/an-experiment-to-inform-universal-basic-income


Increases wellbeing, and employment


Getting more people into employment has to be a good thing, right?

Of course it is.

You’ve highlighted a couple of lines from a report about the benefits of universal income though.

Read some other reports about the pros and cons and you’ll get a more balanced view. I posted a decent link earlier.

It’s a hugely complex issue and can’t be boiled down to people will feel better and more folk will have jobs.

[WhileTheChief..]

Would have been a lot happier if it was 2 and a half times the lowest paid.

If all CEOs salaries were cut to this level, but none of the lowest earners got a pay rise, the wage gap would then be acceptable to you yeah?

What if nobody at the bottom got a pay rise though?

Wage gap is tiny, we have a fairer society, but nobody is better off.

Or, give everyone a 20% pay rise.

Wage gap grows, more disparity in earnings, but everybody is better off.

[Allant1981]

Would have been a lot happier if it was 2 and a half times the lowest paid.

Gladly that will never happen, why should a manager/boss only earn 2.5x more than the lowest, more often than not a manager or top management have been to uni, or done various training courses etc to have that opportunity to earn more money, if it was only 2.5x more then folk wouldnt put as much effort in to better themselves. Im all for low earners getting extra and living comfortably but lets not get carried away

[lapsedhibee]

Gladly that will never happen, why should a manager/boss only earn 2.5x more than the lowest, more often than not a manager or top management have been to uni, or done various training courses etc to have that opportunity to earn more money, if it was only 2.5x more then folk wouldnt put as much effort in to better themselves. Im all for low earners getting extra and living comfortably but lets not get carried away
What about 2.5 times the average, then, rather than the lowest. If the average was £30k, there'd be plenty willing to strive for £75k, wouldn't there? :dunno:

[Allant1981]

What about 2.5 times the average, then, rather than the lowest. If the average was £30k, there'd be plenty willing to strive for £75k, wouldn't there? :dunno:

Yeah but the average wage in most companies wont be £30k though, dont think thats even the average in the uk, would be great if it was, if someone earns £15k per year theres not a chance id be a senior manager for only £37.5k.

[Pretty Boy]

Gladly that will never happen, why should a manager/boss only earn 2.5x more than the lowest, more often than not a manager or top management have been to uni, or done various training courses etc to have that opportunity to earn more money, if it was only 2.5x more then folk wouldnt put as much effort in to better themselves. Im all for low earners getting extra and living comfortably but lets not get carried away

How much is the university educated CEO of McDonald's worth if no one is willing to clean the toilets or work as a home delivery driver on minimum wage?

We surely saw the myth of 'wealth creators' shown up for the lie it is during the covid lockdown. Tim Martin, as an example, wasn't creating any wealth when his workers couldn't work and his customers couldn't spend. The power always lies with the workers, it's why those at the top of the tree put so much effort into keeping us divided.

People at the lowest levels in companies aren' t without aspiration and a determination to better themselves. A rigged system means many will never get the chances though. Whether a CEO should be limited to 2.5x the earnings of his lowest level employ is certainly up for debate. Whether we need to close that pay gap and demand all workers are paid a fair wage for their exertions really shouldn't be. If that means the man at the top going without whatever amount then so be it. They will likely still have more than enough to live a life of comfort and affluence.

[Moulin Yarns]

How much is the university educated CEO of McDonald's worth if no one is willing to clean the toilets or work as a home delivery driver on minimum wage?

We surely saw the myth of 'wealth creators' shown up for the lie it is during the covid lockdown. Tim Martin, as an example, wasn't creating any wealth when his workers couldn't work and his customers couldn't spend. The power always lies with the workers, it's why those at the top of the tree put so much effort into keeping us divided.

People at the lowest levels in companies aren' t without aspiration and a determination to better themselves. A rigged system means many will never get the chances though. Whether a CEO should be limited to 2.5x the earnings of his lowest level employ is certainly up for debate. Whether we need to close that pay gap and demand all workers are paid a fair wage for their exertions really shouldn't be. If that means the man at the top going without whatever amount then so be it. They will likely still have more than enough to live a life of comfort and affluence.


Cheers PB, the 2.5x was purely a hypothetical. But as an example shows where we should be. 3, 3.5 or even 5x it shows what the differential is between workers and managers

[Allant1981]

How much is the university educated CEO of McDonald's worth if no one is willing to clean the toilets or work as a home delivery driver on minimum wage?

We surely saw the myth of 'wealth creators' shown up for the lie it is during the covid lockdown. Tim Martin, as an example, wasn't creating any wealth when his workers couldn't work and his customers couldn't spend. The power always lies with the workers, it's why those at the top of the tree put so much effort into keeping us divided.

People at the lowest levels in companies aren' t without aspiration and a determination to better themselves. A rigged system means many will never get the chances though. Whether a CEO should be limited to 2.5x the earnings of his lowest level employ is certainly up for debate. Whether we need to close that pay gap and demand all workers are paid a fair wage for their exertions really shouldn't be. If that means the man at the top going without whatever amount then so be it. They will likely still have more than enough to live a life of comfort and affluence.

As a facilities manager i know exactly the worth of our domestics, or any of our lower paid staff, without them as an organisation we would struggle, likewise without senior managers we would struggle. Id love lower paid staff to earn more but it needs to be realistic also

[Kato]

As a facilities manager i know exactly the worth of our domestics, or any of our lower paid staff, without them as an organisation we would struggle, likewise without senior managers we would struggle. Id love lower paid staff to earn more but it needs to be realistic alsoIt's completely unrealistic at the moment if everyone who doesn't work for your employer but pays tax elsewhere has to chip in to help pay those lower paid workers.

Its been normalised but its not normal.

Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk

[Stairway 2 7]

Could be worse Could be turkey. Food prices jump over 100% year on year, inflation reaches 73%. Absolutely horrible will cause so much pain

https://www.ft.com/content/43899864-9aea-4a4e-bcaa-25c52e5d7db8

[silverhibee]

Of course we do. 😀

Will give my review later. :thumbsup:

[Scouse Hibee]

Will give my review later. :thumbsup:

Was that you with a breaded and a single battered?

[silverhibee]

Was that you with a breaded and a single battered?

It was Scouse, and that was lovely, always nice when freshly made, chips were so nice. :thumbsup:

[Scouse Hibee]

It was Scouse, and that was lovely, always nice when freshly made, chips were so nice. :thumbsup:

Cheers mate, was going to ask if it was you but didn’t want to make a dick of myself if it wasn’t 😀

[stoneyburn hibs]

There is now and marked difference on the weekly shop.
I really feel for the younger families living week to week, thankfully my two are self sufficient now.

There will be civil strikes very soon and rightly so, especially if what the train drivers were offered is a marker.

The Scottish government can't be saying there is no money for local authorities.

[silverhibee]

Cheers mate, was going to ask if it was you but didn’t want to make a dick of myself if it wasn’t 😀

That’s okay, will let on the next time I’m in. :thumbsup:

[makaveli1875]

Could be worse Could be turkey. Food prices jump over 100% year on year, inflation reaches 73%. Absolutely horrible will cause so much pain

https://www.ft.com/content/43899864-9aea-4a4e-bcaa-25c52e5d7db8

What’s making the inflation so high , 73% seems crazy

[Stairway 2 7]

What’s making the inflation so high , 73% seems crazy

Energy and food are the main reasons apparently.

[Killiehibbie]

The living wage is £9.50 per hour.

A 35-hour working week would mean you take home £1,289 per month from July ( when the NI band increase takes effect). This also assumes the 3% auto-enrolment for pension.

£15 p/hr would give £1,796 per month.

£17 p/hr would give £1,988 per month

How much is needed so that everyone can afford the essentials?

Can every business afford to give their staff the sort of pay rise needed?

Should everyone out of work be given enough to meet their essential needs?

If everyone gets a universal wage to meet their essential needs, why go to work?

Just because the government changed the name don't be fooled into believing it's the living wage. It's the national minimum wage.

[Santa Cruz]

Just because the government changed the name don't be fooled into believing it's the living wage. It's the national minimum wage.

They're slightly different. To do with age mainly.

https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage

[Stairway 2 7]

Just because the government changed the name don't be fooled into believing it's the living wage. It's the national minimum wage.

Yep 9.50 is minimum wage for over 23s. Living wage foundation recommend 9.90

[Antifa Hibs]

Don't think the living wage is too bad, obviously should be higher. Unfortunately a huge number of people can't get a steady 38 hours a week though. Too many have under 20 hours or even worse zero hour or gig economy

Are you on minimum wage?
Do you rent?
Do you have kids?
Do you have a commute?
Do you live in Edinburgh? (Or London etc)

Its subjective to the individual's circumstances. £9.50 an hour if you managed to buy your ex-council house for £11k and walk to your job is decent. £9.50 an hour if you rent privately and have a car or bus-pass for work. A wage is going to go further in Cowdenbeath than it will in Edinburgh etc.

[Antifa Hibs]

The living wage is £9.50 per hour.

A 35-hour working week would mean you take home £1,289 per month from July ( when the NI band increase takes effect). This also assumes the 3% auto-enrolment for pension.

£15 p/hr would give £1,796 per month.

£17 p/hr would give £1,988 per month

How much is needed so that everyone can afford the essentials?

Can every business afford to give their staff the sort of pay rise needed?

Should everyone out of work be given enough to meet their essential needs?

If everyone gets a universal wage to meet their essential needs, why go to work?

If they can't, then their business isn't viable and has failed.

[Since90+2]

If they can't, then their business isn't viable and has failed.

And it would result in people losing their jobs.

[Stairway 2 7]

Are you on minimum wage?
Do you rent?
Do you have kids?
Do you have a commute?
Do you live in Edinburgh? (Or London etc)

Its subjective to the individual's circumstances. £9.50 an hour if you managed to buy your ex-council house for £11k and walk to your job is decent. £9.50 an hour if you rent privately and have a car or bus-pass for work. A wage is going to go further in Cowdenbeath than it will in Edinburgh etc.

Be a nightmare for a single person but that's always been the case. Full time hours its about 19,000. If both are on that you can get buy with that. The living wage foundation's recommendation is only 40p more.

The problem is a big percentage of people can't get full time hours, hence the huge amount on universal credit. Unemployment is at its lowest level since the 70s but too many are on low or zero hour contracts.

Rent is a huge problem. But that's what happens when you sell off council houses and don't replace them. House building should be at the forefront of both governments plans

[Scouse Hibee]

If they can't, then their business isn't viable and has failed.

Nonsense.

[Paul1642]

If they can't, then their business isn't viable and has failed.

Nonsense. Some currently viable business can’t afford to raise wages right now and forcing them to do so would probably result in workers becoming unemployed rather than better paid. Not sure they would thank you for that.

The only way for thousands of business to pay higher wages and survive would be to raise their prices, sending the already high inflation through the roof, and therefore causing any money gained by the employee to be lost again through the even higher cost of living.

Remember that most business are seeing there costs going up as much as households are, especially those with high utility bills.

[Paul1642]

Be a nightmare for a single person but that's always been the case. Full time hours its about 19,000. If both are on that you can get buy with that. The living wage foundation's recommendation is only 40p more.

The problem is a big percentage of people can't get full time hours, hence the huge amount on universal credit. Unemployment is at its lowest level since the 70s but too many are on low or zero hour contracts.

Rent is a huge problem. But that's what happens when you sell off council houses and don't replace them. House building should be at the forefront of both governments plans

Where can they fit any more houses? Not sure about where you live but East Lothian has exploded in size and in Edinburgh they seem to be building on every piece of non protected land.

Maybe making it much harder to be a multi property buy to let landlord or an Air B&B landlord rather than swallowing up what’s left of our green space is the answer. It would also help the hotel industry and forcing the University’s to invest some of the fortune they make into cheap student accommodation would free up a ton of property’s in Edinburgh.

[Stairway 2 7]

Where can they fit any more houses? Not sure about where you live but East Lothian has exploded in size and in Edinburgh they seem to be building on every piece of non protected land.

Maybe making it much harder to be a multi property buy to let landlord or an Air B&B landlord rather than swallowing up what’s left of our green space is the answer. It would also help the hotel industry and forcing the University’s to invest some of the fortune they make into cheap student accommodation would free up a ton of property’s in Edinburgh.

A handful of people own a massive % of the uk land. Take some of that and were sorted. A few million homes takes a miniscule area in the grand scheme of things. Also all these 3 and 4 semi detached that are popping up, the space could be better used. A much higher percentage of new builds should be council houses

[Antifa Hibs]

And it would result in people losing their jobs.


Nonsense. Some currently viable business can’t afford to raise wages right now and forcing them to do so would probably result in workers becoming unemployed rather than better paid. Not sure they would thank you for that.

The only way for thousands of business to pay higher wages and survive would be to raise their prices, sending the already high inflation through the roof, and therefore causing any money gained by the employee to be lost again through the even higher cost of living.

Remember that most business are seeing there costs going up as much as households are, especially those with high utility bills.

Does that not prove my point? You're business is only via-able because you pay a wage to people that they can't afford to live on and paying someone an extra £37.50 per week could see your business cease to operate?

It's a slight exaggeration but point still stands.



Agree that housing is the biggest issue. Gas and lecky going up by £80 a month is a great distraction for Westminster and Holyrood, everyone look at that and don't bother asking why someone is paying £1200 a month for an ex-council flat when their neighbour across the landing is getting the exact same flat for £450 from the council.

If you follow any living rent groups on social media its not just a Scottish/British issue either. There's been protests in some of the more "progressive" countries too such as a Denmark, Sweden and Germany about the housing shortages. Guess no government fancies pissing-off home-owners, 2nd home owners, landlords, banks and investment groups.

[Paul1642]

Does that not prove my point? You're business is only via-able because you pay a wage to people that they can't afford to live on and paying someone an extra £37.50 per week could see your business cease to operate?

It's a slight exaggeration but point still stands.



Agree that housing is the biggest issue. Gas and lecky going up by £80 a month is a great distraction for Westminster and Holyrood, everyone look at that and don't bother asking why someone is paying £1200 a month for an ex-council flat when their neighbour across the landing is getting the exact same flat for £450 from the council.

If you follow any living rent groups on social media its not just a Scottish/British issue either. There's been protests in some of the more "progressive" countries too such as a Denmark, Sweden and Germany about the housing shortages. Guess no government fancies pissing-off home-owners, 2nd home owners, landlords, banks and investment groups.

But if the business has 4x employees then that £37.50 a week becomes £600 a month which is a lot of money to a small business.

[Since90+2]

But if the business has 4x employees then that £37.50 a week becomes £600 a month which is a lot of money to a small business.

The average small business actually has 10 employees so for the majority you are taking close to £1500 extra a month.

[Since90+2]

Does that not prove my point? You're business is only via-able because you pay a wage to people that they can't afford to live on and paying someone an extra £37.50 per week could see your business cease to operate?

It's a slight exaggeration but point still stands.



Agree that housing is the biggest issue. Gas and lecky going up by £80 a month is a great distraction for Westminster and Holyrood, everyone look at that and don't bother asking why someone is paying £1200 a month for an ex-council flat when their neighbour across the landing is getting the exact same flat for £450 from the council.

If you follow any living rent groups on social media its not just a Scottish/British issue either. There's been protests in some of the more "progressive" countries too such as a Denmark, Sweden and Germany about the housing shortages. Guess no government fancies pissing-off home-owners, 2nd home owners, landlords, banks and investment groups.

So if all these businesses go under where does everyone who loses their job work?

If there was a huge availability of higher paid roles then the people would be moving into them now.

[Antifa Hibs]

So if all these businesses go under where does everyone who loses their job work?

If there was a huge availability of higher paid roles then the people would be moving into them now.

Again, another one talking about businesses closing if they need to pay their 10 staff an extra quid an hour, which has again proven my point that if you can't exploit your workforce you're business isn't successful/viable. Glad we all agree then :aok:

[Stairway 2 7]

Again, another one talking about businesses closing if they need to pay their 10 staff an extra quid an hour, which has again proven my point that if you can't exploit your workforce you're business isn't successful/viable. Glad we all agree then :aok:

Out of interest what should the minimum wage be. Its 9.50 now, living wage foundation say 9.90.

WHAT IS THE REAL LIVING WAGE?
The real Living Wage is based on the cost of living and is voluntarily paid by nearly 10,000 UK employers believe we all need a wage that meets our everyday needs

[Santa Cruz]

It would be more of a benefit to raise the threshold for income tax bands than sling a taxable £1 on the living wage, no?

[The_Exile]

Here's my budget for a 1 bedroom flat with 3 kids 2-3 nights a week:

Income: £1480 (£11.50 an hour)
I am not entitled to a single benefit as I earn too much (although the calculators online says I should get a small amount of universal credit for what I assume would be housing benefit, they have checked twice and are adamant I do not qualify), and the kids don't exist in the calculations when you're a single guy, mum gets everything.

Next is a list of my outgoings:

Rent: £540
Child maintenance: £200
Gas and Leccy: £122
Petrol: £50
Council Tax: £101
Mobile: £12
Internet: £17
Car Insurance £20
MOT/Service: £20
Xmas & Birthdays: £40
Pocket money: £30
Breakdown cover: £9
Road Tax: £12
Contents Insurance: £6
TV Licence: £14
Subscriptions: £25
Food Budget: £250

Now, my food budget used to be a lot more (I batch cook most meals now at the weekends but 3 hungry kids are not cheap regardless of how much you scrimp and save), but there's obviously nothing much else I can trim apart from selling the car although I don't want to do that as I'm relied upon with elderly relatives. Every time something goes up, the food budget gets smaller. I can't afford pension payments so **** knows what my old age will look like. There are no luxuries in that budget outside of the £25 subs for a couple of streaming services etc that the kids watch. Someone else mentioned that the living wage wasn't bad, if I was on the living wage we'd starve to death as there would be no food budget. Gas prices going up again in the winter so I honestly don't know what I'm going to do. I will likely have to move away from the city and the kids and live somewhere cheaper, although that means not seeing my kids much.

I know there will be lots of guys in my position, all I'll say is that you're not alone, there are others like you, like me, being ****ed by society. Punished and tarred with the non-resident dad brush that seems to paint us all as needing punished. Not sure what else to say. It's ****, and it won't get better any time soon as a man on his own will never in my lifetime be helped financially by the benefits system.

[Since90+2]

Again, another one talking about businesses closing if they need to pay their 10 staff an extra quid an hour, which has again proven my point that if you can't exploit your workforce you're business isn't successful/viable. Glad we all agree then :aok:

Doesn't answer the questions at all. I'm guessing you've never ran a small business?

[Since90+2]

Here's my budget for a 1 bedroom flat with 3 kids 2-3 nights a week:

Income: £1480 (£11.50 an hour)
I am not entitled to a single benefit as I earn too much (although the calculators online says I should get a small amount of universal credit for what I assume would be housing benefit, they have checked twice and are adamant I do not qualify), and the kids don't exist in the calculations when you're a single guy, mum gets everything.

Next is a list of my outgoings:

Rent: £540
Child maintenance: £200
Gas and Leccy: £122
Petrol: £50
Council Tax: £101
Mobile: £12
Internet: £17
Car Insurance £20
MOT/Service: £20
Xmas & Birthdays: £40
Pocket money: £30
Breakdown cover: £9
Road Tax: £12
Contents Insurance: £6
TV Licence: £14
Subscriptions: £25
Food Budget: £250

Now, my food budget used to be a lot more (I batch cook most meals now at the weekends but 3 hungry kids are not cheap regardless of how much you scrimp and save), but there's obviously nothing much else I can trim apart from selling the car although I don't want to do that as I'm relied upon with elderly relatives. Every time something goes up, the food budget gets smaller. I can't afford pension payments so **** knows what my old age will look like. There are no luxuries in that budget outside of the £25 subs for a couple of streaming services etc that the kids watch. Someone else mentioned that the living wage wasn't bad, if I was on the living wage we'd starve to death as there would be no food budget. Gas prices going up again in the winter so I honestly don't know what I'm going to do. I will likely have to move away from the city and the kids and live somewhere cheaper, although that means not seeing my kids much.

I know there will be lots of guys in my position, all I'll say is that you're not alone, there are others like you, like me, being ****ed by society. Punished and tarred with the non-resident dad brush that seems to paint us all as needing punished. Not sure what else to say. It's ****, and it won't get better any time soon as a man on his own will never in my lifetime be helped financially by the benefits system.

As a single father I agree with a lot of this. The way mother's are prioritised in the seperation process is blatantly sexist and simply wouldn't be tolerated in other forms of society, but I guess that's a whole other discussion.

[Since90+2]

It would be more of a benefit to raise the threshold for income tax bands than sling a taxable £1 on the living wage, no?

Yes, this way it would help protect small business owners, who are the real wealth creators in the country rather than punish them.

[Tommy75]

Here's my budget for a 1 bedroom flat with 3 kids 2-3 nights a week:

Income: £1480 (£11.50 an hour)
I am not entitled to a single benefit as I earn too much (although the calculators online says I should get a small amount of universal credit for what I assume would be housing benefit, they have checked twice and are adamant I do not qualify), and the kids don't exist in the calculations when you're a single guy, mum gets everything.

Next is a list of my outgoings:

Rent: £540
Child maintenance: £200
Gas and Leccy: £122
Petrol: £50
Council Tax: £101
Mobile: £12
Internet: £17
Car Insurance £20
MOT/Service: £20
Xmas & Birthdays: £40
Pocket money: £30
Breakdown cover: £9
Road Tax: £12
Contents Insurance: £6
TV Licence: £14
Subscriptions: £25
Food Budget: £250

Now, my food budget used to be a lot more (I batch cook most meals now at the weekends but 3 hungry kids are not cheap regardless of how much you scrimp and save), but there's obviously nothing much else I can trim apart from selling the car although I don't want to do that as I'm relied upon with elderly relatives. Every time something goes up, the food budget gets smaller. I can't afford pension payments so **** knows what my old age will look like. There are no luxuries in that budget outside of the £25 subs for a couple of streaming services etc that the kids watch. Someone else mentioned that the living wage wasn't bad, if I was on the living wage we'd starve to death as there would be no food budget. Gas prices going up again in the winter so I honestly don't know what I'm going to do. I will likely have to move away from the city and the kids and live somewhere cheaper, although that means not seeing my kids much.

I know there will be lots of guys in my position, all I'll say is that you're not alone, there are others like you, like me, being ****ed by society. Punished and tarred with the non-resident dad brush that seems to paint us all as needing punished. Not sure what else to say. It's ****, and it won't get better any time soon as a man on his own will never in my lifetime be helped financially by the benefits system.

Am I underatanding your post, you have your kids 2/3 nights per week but still have to pay £200 a month?

[Allant1981]

Am I underatanding your post, you have your kids 2/3 nights per week but still have to pay £200 a month?

My laddie stays with me 3 nights per week(not including holidays) if my ex and i went down the official route she would get £300 a month from me, i actually pay a bit more than that

[The_Exile]

Am I underatanding your post, you have your kids 2/3 nights per week but still have to pay £200 a month?

Yes, it should be much more, it's absolutely ****ing brutal.

[Scouse Hibee]

The average small business actually has 10 employees so for the majority you are taking close to £1500 extra a month.

Don’t forget the increased pension and NI contributions from the employer.

[Paulie Walnuts]

Here's my budget for a 1 bedroom flat with 3 kids 2-3 nights a week:

Income: £1480 (£11.50 an hour)
I am not entitled to a single benefit as I earn too much (although the calculators online says I should get a small amount of universal credit for what I assume would be housing benefit, they have checked twice and are adamant I do not qualify), and the kids don't exist in the calculations when you're a single guy, mum gets everything.

Next is a list of my outgoings:

Rent: £540
Child maintenance: £200
Gas and Leccy: £122
Petrol: £50
Council Tax: £101
Mobile: £12
Internet: £17
Car Insurance £20
MOT/Service: £20
Xmas & Birthdays: £40
Pocket money: £30
Breakdown cover: £9
Road Tax: £12
Contents Insurance: £6
TV Licence: £14
Subscriptions: £25
Food Budget: £250

Now, my food budget used to be a lot more (I batch cook most meals now at the weekends but 3 hungry kids are not cheap regardless of how much you scrimp and save), but there's obviously nothing much else I can trim apart from selling the car although I don't want to do that as I'm relied upon with elderly relatives. Every time something goes up, the food budget gets smaller. I can't afford pension payments so **** knows what my old age will look like. There are no luxuries in that budget outside of the £25 subs for a couple of streaming services etc that the kids watch. Someone else mentioned that the living wage wasn't bad, if I was on the living wage we'd starve to death as there would be no food budget. Gas prices going up again in the winter so I honestly don't know what I'm going to do. I will likely have to move away from the city and the kids and live somewhere cheaper, although that means not seeing my kids much.

I know there will be lots of guys in my position, all I'll say is that you're not alone, there are others like you, like me, being ****ed by society. Punished and tarred with the non-resident dad brush that seems to paint us all as needing punished. Not sure what else to say. It's ****, and it won't get better any time soon as a man on his own will never in my lifetime be helped financially by the benefits system.

:agree:

The idea that the living wage is anything close to a living wage is a joke. It’s absolutely miles off it and somebody working full time and earning well above the living wage should not be left with £25 for streaming services as their sole luxuries in life.

As Antifa said, we’ve now got into a position where loads of businesses are only viable because they get to pay a government endorsed exploitative wage to their employees. If people were paid properly there’d be loads of jobs would go as so many of these businesses would no longer be viable.

The system is absolutely ****ed.

[Since90+2]

:agree:

The idea that the living wage is anything close to a living wage is a joke. It’s absolutely miles off it and somebody working full time and earning well above the living wage should not be left with £25 for streaming services as their sole luxuries in life.

As Antifa said, we’ve now got into a position where loads of businesses are only viable because they get to pay a government endorsed exploitative wage to their employees. If people were paid properly there’d be loads of jobs would go as so many of these businesses would no longer be viable.

The system is absolutely ****ed.

The living wage is probably viable if you are co-habiting as the main outgoings like rent, council tax and energy bills are all split two ways. The issue comes about when a single person needs to cover these bills themselves, perhaps more should be done to support those living alone.

[Paulie Walnuts]

The living wage is probably viable if you are co-habiting as the main outgoings like rent, council tax and energy bills are all split two ways. The issue comes about when a single person needs to cover these bills themselves, perhaps more should be done to support those living alone.

It might be, but that’s still not a living wage. You get paid individually, a living wage should be enough to survive on individually. It shouldn’t be dependant on you having someone to split costs with or else it’s not a living wage anymore.

[Hibernian Verse]

I might be wrong, but could it not be argued that as wages rise so would the cost of living? Further than it has already.

If businesses costs go up, so do the prices of their services and/or goods.

So in reality our capitalist economy doesn't allow for a higher rate of pay for unskilled workers to the point where they would experience a better quality of life.

I'm not educated on the matter further than a one year course at Uni a decade ago so may be completely out of touch.

[Stairway 2 7]

It might be, but that’s still not a living wage. You get paid individually, a living wage should be enough to survive on individually. It shouldn’t be dependant on you having someone to split costs with or else it’s not a living wage anymore.

The issue should be people who live alone being entitled to benefits, especially if they have a child some days. How much an hour should it be if 11.50 isn't enough. The living wage foundation say 9.90

[Santa Cruz]

Council Tax reduction for a single person household is 25%, should be 50%, never understood why it wasn't.

[Paulie Walnuts]

The issue should be people who live alone being entitled to benefits, especially if they have a child some days. How much an hour should it be if 11.50 isn't enough. The living wage foundation say 9.90

I’m not sure people should be getting benefits for being single. They should just be getting paid appropriately.

[Paulie Walnuts]

Council Tax reduction for a single person household is 25%, should be 50%, never understood why it wasn't.

I think I know the answer to this one.. 💰

[Stairway 2 7]

I’m not sure people should be getting benefits for being single. They should just be getting paid appropriately.

What an hour do you think that is

[Paulie Walnuts]

What an hour do you think that is

I don’t know, I’m not single and both me and my partner earn a decent wage so I’ve never had to consider it all that much. I don’t have all the facts, averages etc so I’d just be plucking a number out the air.

From looking at the post earlier in the thread though it’s certainly not £9.50 an hour and it’s probably not even £11.50 an hour. That post certainly puts it into perspective for me how far off the living wage actually is from being a living wage and how bad the cost of living crisis is.

People shouldn’t be getting to the point where they’re having to reduce their food budget which is already at breaking point when they earn £2 above the living wage. We’re literally talking about people starting to creep towards the stage of probably considering skipping meals whilst earning a wage that is well in excess of what our Government claim is enough to live on.

A single person probably needs to be creeping into the higher tax bracket now to be able to live any form of truly comfortable life where they still get to have a choice in where they live rather than just having to find the cheapest thing that suits them, potentially get on a holiday etc. That’s ridiculous.

The majority of the UK is going to be in survival mode soon.

[The_Exile]

The majority of the UK is going to be in survival mode soon.

I think it already is. I eat one decent meal a day in the evening, I don't have breakfast but I was never big on breakfast anyway so that's not been too much of a hardship to give that up. It's been pretty good on my waistline as I've lost quite a bit of weight not drinking and not eating much but with that comes a lack of energy and complete lethargy come the end of the month when the budget is gone. Lunches are only eaten when I have the kids and the rest is just batch cooked curries, stews, soups etc, nothing frivolous. The only time I have a take away is if my mum and dad pay for it on the odd occassion we go to theirs for our weekend roast, and they decide to get a take away.

No sure what the answer is. £15 an hour would be my absolute minimum wage but then that puts a lot of businesses to the wall. I'm half way through a science degree at the open uni so hopefully that will open doors for me for a better job in the future but it's utterly grim at the moment. Single men with kids get shafted, I mean I'm in a one bedroom flat with 3 kids and have been for nearly 7 years. I'm not entitled to housing as the kids don't count as I'm not the primary carer. I'm in a mid-market rent place just now through a housing association, if this was a private rent it would be closer to £7-800 quid a month, their 2 bedroom places are £700 a month so completely unaffordable which sticks in the craw a bit as housing associations only exist to provide affordable housing to people. I might actually be better off getting the sack and just living on the dole?

Nobody really talks about this stuff, especially men in my position as it's kind of what we do, not say anything, grin and bear it, get on with things etc, men are pretty bad for it. But there will be hundreds of thousands, if not more, in my position where society has essentially failed us and we're just broken with nowhere to turn to and no real light at the end of the tunnel.

[Smartie]

Not going to add anything of use to the living wage debate, other than to say - as a small business owner, it’s not exactly a picnic at the moment watching all your costs rising rapidly, figuring out how to charge appropriately in the current climate whilst still providing pleasant working conditions for your staff, enough pay for them to live off and for there still to be enough left over to make it all worth your while.

This the reality for the vast majority of small businesses, whilst accepting that all sorts of exploitation does go on.

[hibsbollah]

I think it already is. I eat one decent meal a day in the evening, I don't have breakfast but I was never big on breakfast anyway so that's not been too much of a hardship to give that up. It's been pretty good on my waistline as I've lost quite a bit of weight not drinking and not eating much but with that comes a lack of energy and complete lethargy come the end of the month when the budget is gone. Lunches are only eaten when I have the kids and the rest is just batch cooked curries, stews, soups etc, nothing frivolous. The only time I have a take away is if my mum and dad pay for it on the odd occassion we go to theirs for our weekend roast, and they decide to get a take away.

No sure what the answer is. £15 an hour would be my absolute minimum wage but then that puts a lot of businesses to the wall. I'm half way through a science degree at the open uni so hopefully that will open doors for me for a better job in the future but it's utterly grim at the moment. Single men with kids get shafted, I mean I'm in a one bedroom flat with 3 kids and have been for nearly 7 years. I'm not entitled to housing as the kids don't count as I'm not the primary carer. I'm in a mid-market rent place just now through a housing association, if this was a private rent it would be closer to £7-800 quid a month, their 2 bedroom places are £700 a month so completely unaffordable which sticks in the craw a bit as housing associations only exist to provide affordable housing to people. I might actually be better off getting the sack and just living on the dole?

Nobody really talks about this stuff, especially men in my position as it's kind of what we do, not say anything, grin and bear it, get on with things etc, men are pretty bad for it. But there will be hundreds of thousands, if not more, in my position where society has essentially failed us and we're just broken with nowhere to turn to and no real light at the end of the tunnel.

Good story, good to share, it must be difficult but lack of money is a reality for millions and there's no shame or stigma attached to these things by any right minded person. Hope you get some good news soon:agree: Id add that although all businesses are different and payscales vary, but you asking for £15 an hour shouldn't be putting well run businesses with a decent business model to the wall.

[Kato]

An apt tweet. When tax payers money is used to top up low paid workers its really tax payers money topping up guys like this wages.

https://twitter.com/BootstrapCook/status/1534170439953547265?t=R8kd_WtPTr8B1S8hJY69Rg&s=19



Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk

[Paulie Walnuts]

I think it already is. I eat one decent meal a day in the evening, I don't have breakfast but I was never big on breakfast anyway so that's not been too much of a hardship to give that up. It's been pretty good on my waistline as I've lost quite a bit of weight not drinking and not eating much but with that comes a lack of energy and complete lethargy come the end of the month when the budget is gone. Lunches are only eaten when I have the kids and the rest is just batch cooked curries, stews, soups etc, nothing frivolous. The only time I have a take away is if my mum and dad pay for it on the odd occassion we go to theirs for our weekend roast, and they decide to get a take away.

No sure what the answer is. £15 an hour would be my absolute minimum wage but then that puts a lot of businesses to the wall. I'm half way through a science degree at the open uni so hopefully that will open doors for me for a better job in the future but it's utterly grim at the moment. Single men with kids get shafted, I mean I'm in a one bedroom flat with 3 kids and have been for nearly 7 years. I'm not entitled to housing as the kids don't count as I'm not the primary carer. I'm in a mid-market rent place just now through a housing association, if this was a private rent it would be closer to £7-800 quid a month, their 2 bedroom places are £700 a month so completely unaffordable which sticks in the craw a bit as housing associations only exist to provide affordable housing to people. I might actually be better off getting the sack and just living on the dole?

Nobody really talks about this stuff, especially men in my position as it's kind of what we do, not say anything, grin and bear it, get on with things etc, men are pretty bad for it. But there will be hundreds of thousands, if not more, in my position where society has essentially failed us and we're just broken with nowhere to turn to and no real light at the end of the tunnel.

Hopefully things start to look up soon :aok:

[Paul1642]

Another factor here is that by raising the living wage to £15 a hour then everyone currently earning around that much or a little bit more will need a lay rise too. Why be a cop or a nurse for £15 a hour when you can earn the same pushing trolleys.

[hibsbollah]

Another factor here is that by raising the living wage to £15 a hour then everyone currently earning around that much or a little bit more will need a lay rise too. Why be a cop or a nurse for £15 a hour when you can earn the same pushing trolleys.

This of course was the same argument deployed against the minimum wage in the first place by every Tory born, whose economic arguments got proved wrong, now the minimum wage is an accepted fact because We won the argument.

[Since90+2]

This of course was the same argument deployed against the minimum wage in the first place by every Tory born, whose economic arguments got proved wrong, now the minimum wage is an accepted fact because We won the argument.

What happens to those in large organisations in more senior roles who are currently earning £15 a hour? They are not going to do a role with more responsibility and accountability for the same money as someone with a less pressured role. Do we push all their wages to £18/19 a hour?

If that is the proposal, it would cost a collosal amount of money and inflation would hit rates probably never seen.

[hibsbollah]

What happens to those in large organisations in more senior roles who are currently earning £15 a hour? They are not going to do a role with more responsibility for the same money. Do we push all their wages to £18/19 a hour?

If that is the proposal, it would cost a collosal amount of money and inflation would hit rates probably never seen.

That’s a hypothetical question for the company involved, the company needs to assess the worth of the employees and pay accordingly or those employees will move elsewhere. Supply and demand works both ways, I am a small business owner myself and I pay over the going rate to my workers because I know I need to retain quality people because that’s where my profits come from. I also trust that will result in some latent loyalty to me, although you can’t rely on that really. I’m still making profit on their labour.

[Since90+2]

That’s a hypothetical question for the company involved, the company needs to assess the worth of the employees and pay accordingly or those employees will move elsewhere. Supply and demand works both ways, I am a small business owner myself and I pay over the going rate to my workers because I know I need to retain quality people because that’s where my profits come from. I also trust that will result in some latent loyalty to me, although you can’t rely on that really. I’m still making profit on their labour.

It's not hypothetical, it's exactly what would happen. People are not going to work in positions with more stress and pressure for the exact same money as a more junior role.

[hibsbollah]

It's not hypothetical, it's exactly what would happen. People are not going to work in positions with more stress and pressure for the exact same money as a more junior role.

I never said they would or they wouldn’t. Read what I said, it’s for the company to decide their pay scales and who to pay what. But I take issue with you suggesting Higher pay inevitably equals more stress. That’s a misnomer. The opposite is often the case.

[The_Exile]

It's not hypothetical, it's exactly what would happen. People are not going to work in positions with more stress and pressure for the exact same money as a more junior role.

I would imagine folk would be quite happy to work for an organisation that takes their development seriously and they have a career pathway in front of them to aim for. Pushing trolleys, as alluded to above, doesn't have the same pathway and earning potential as say....working in investment banking etc, the alternative is that a section of society is more than happy to have a vast number of people in poverty purely because they see their own job as 'better'. I would argue no job should put stress and pressure on a human being, putting the obvious to one side (surgeons, life and death stuff etc).

[Since90+2]

I never said they would or they wouldn’t. Read what I said, it’s for the company to decide their pay scales and who to pay what. But I take issue with you suggesting Higher pay inevitably equals more stress. That’s a misnomer. The opposite is often the case.

Certainly not in my experiences, working in more junior roles was nowhere near as stressful as managing teams and people, needing to achieve budgets and responsibility for health and safety ect. I appreciate everyone's experience is different though.

[Billy Whizz]

Fuel prices are getting out of hand. The continual increases just add to increasing food and other costs
When will it end?

[hibsbollah]

Certainly not in my experiences, working in more junior roles was nowhere near as stressful as managing teams and people, needing to achieve budgets and responsibility for health and safety ect. I appreciate everyone's experience is different though.

To go back to your original question, it depends completely on the business involved. I have no idea of what field you're in or what business model you employ. But, for example if imagine its a global financial services operation which we have a lot of in Edinburgh, the likelihood is a company like that is going to be totally subservient to a tiny concentration of hedge fund owners who are operating an exploitative business model that wouldn't countenance pay rises in line with 10% inflation for middle managers EVER, they'd rather fold their operations than change. Companies like that are regularly forking out massive dividends and double digit increases for executives, thats the big problem for these companies profitability, not small rises in middle management pay.

Joining a union, considering collaborating with others with complementary skills and becoming a contractor instead of being a 'salaryman' are both options if you feel like you're underpaid. But it totally depends on the business and i understand not everyones in the position where they can pick and choose.

[Jamesie]

Fuel prices are getting out of hand. The continual increases just add to increasing food and other costs
When will it end?

With antagonism growing with Iran today, not anytime soon I expect - indeed I see it getting even worse.

[Ozyhibby]

With antagonism growing with Iran today, not anytime soon I expect - indeed I see it getting even worse.

It’s going to get a lot worse. There is going to be levels of global unrest that we haven’t seen in a very long time. Govts will fall and wars will start.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Stairway 2 7]

Ukraine has managed to sow 77% of this year's crops which is higher than expected and good news. Bad news is Russia is targeting grain processing facilties now. Using millions of peoples starvation as a weapon to get sanctions lifted

[Stairway 2 7]

Can see it kicking of in America. Crazy fuel prices too and inflation matching us and Germany at nearly 9%. Can see the orange balloon using it as ammo

[Stonewall]

Can someone please explain this to me?

We are told that the major cause of the current high inflation are supply chain issues, together with increased costs due to Brexit and that we can control neither of these things.

If this is true what is the point of raising UK interest rates?

[Ozyhibby]

Can someone please explain this to me?

We are told that the major cause of the current high inflation are supply chain issues, together with increased costs due to Brexit and that we can control neither of these things.

If this is true what is the point of raising UK interest rates?

There are a lot of economists asking that very question.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Moulin Yarns]

Can someone please explain this to me?

We are told that the major cause of the current high inflation are supply chain issues, together with increased costs due to Brexit and that we can control neither of these things.







If this is true what is the point of raising UK interest rates?

It means that we are discouraged from buying stuff which will bring down inflation, apparently.


https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/14/business/inflation-interest-rates.html#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=16549443474034&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2022%2F05 %2F14%2Fbusiness%2Finflation-interest-rates.html

[LeithMike]

It means that we are discouraged from buying stuff which will bring down inflation, apparently.


https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/14/business/inflation-interest-rates.html#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=16549443474034&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2022%2F05 %2F14%2Fbusiness%2Finflation-interest-rates.htmlI think its so inflation doesn't become embedded in the system. Right now it seems to be caused by legacy of covid and Ukraine war. I think raising the interest rates is with a view to shock the economy and create the spectre of a recession so that employers don't give wage rises. If we see significant wage rises to match the increase in the cost of living then that will result in more price increases in goods (due to additional wage costs involved) and workers will then want more wages as prices increase again. It then results in an inflationary cycle and high inflation becomes embedded in the economy.

Bank of England are, therefore, desperate to keep wages down.

Sent from my SM-N960F using Tapatalk

[Moulin Yarns]

I think its so inflation doesn't become embedded in the system. Right now it seems to be caused by legacy of covid and Ukraine war. I think raising the interest rates is with a view to shock the economy and create the spectre of a recession so that employers don't give wage rises. If we see significant wage rises to match the increase in the cost of living then that will result in more price increases in goods (due to additional wage costs involved) and workers will then want more wages as prices increase again. It then results in an inflationary cycle and high inflation becomes embedded in the economy.

Bank of England are, therefore, desperate to keep wages down.

Sent from my SM-N960F using Tapatalk


Is that not exactly what ASLEF has got from Scotrail?

[Stonewall]

I think its so inflation doesn't become embedded in the system. Right now it seems to be caused by legacy of covid and Ukraine war. I think raising the interest rates is with a view to shock the economy and create the spectre of a recession so that employers don't give wage rises. If we see significant wage rises to match the increase in the cost of living then that will result in more price increases in goods (due to additional wage costs involved) and workers will then want more wages as prices increase again. It then results in an inflationary cycle and high inflation becomes embedded in the economy.

Bank of England are, therefore, desperate to keep wages down.

Sent from my SM-N960F using Tapatalk

Which will cut our GDP and necessitate higher levels of austerity (if you believe in that, which they do).

[hibsbollah]

I think its so inflation doesn't become embedded in the system. Right now it seems to be caused by legacy of covid and Ukraine war. I think raising the interest rates is with a view to shock the economy and create the spectre of a recession so that employers don't give wage rises. If we see significant wage rises to match the increase in the cost of living then that will result in more price increases in goods (due to additional wage costs involved) and workers will then want more wages as prices increase again. It then results in an inflationary cycle and high inflation becomes embedded in the economy.

Bank of England are, therefore, desperate to keep wages down.

Sent from my SM-N960F using Tapatalk

The problem with this line of argument is that it is only used for when low and middle earners are getting 5% wage rises. Senior executives have been riding double digit annual wage increases for literally decades and the debate is never about inflationary pressures in these circumstances.

It goes back to the old trope To make the rich harder you pay them more, to make the poor work harder you pay them less

[LeithMike]

The problem with this line of argument is that it is only used for when low and middle earners are getting 5% wage rises. Senior executives have been riding double digit annual wage increases for literally decades and the debate is never about inflationary pressures in these circumstances.

It goes back to the old trope To make the rich harder you pay them more, to make the poor work harder you pay them lessTotally agree. Executive pay is shocking. High inflation probably helps noone though but the government need to be looking to help as many people as they can with the cost of living. You get the feeling the coming winter is going to be really tough.



Sent from my SM-N960F using Tapatalk

[Paulie Walnuts]

The problem with this line of argument is that it is only used for when low and middle earners are getting 5% wage rises. Senior executives have been riding double digit annual wage increases for literally decades and the debate is never about inflationary pressures in these circumstances.

It goes back to the old trope To make the rich harder you pay them more, to make the poor work harder you pay them less

:agree:

[Pretty Boy]

Back to food prices I think people need to remember supermarkets are out to make as much money from you as possible. It's worth taking an extra few minutes when shopping to spot these things.

It's particularly noticeable in the fruit and veg section. A packet of ready chopped onions which equates to about 1.5 onions in terms of weight is £1.10 in Asda, a 3 pack of onions in a net is 79p, 3 loose onions weighed yourself came to 26p for me tonight. Same with bananas. A plastic bag containing 5 bananas (and why do bananas need to be wrapped in a plastic bag? If only nature could have given them some kind of protective coating) is £1, 5 loose bananas 76p for me. Pretty much everything is cheaper if you take a couple of minutes to weight it yourself. Pre grated cheese £2.50 for 250g, a block of cheddar £3.50 for 750g......

People may argue it's convenience and time but if my weekly shop has to take 5 minutes longer to save between £5 and £7 then I'm willing to take the time. Pre cut onions are great if you are really pushed for time but chopped onions freeze well. When I have time on a weekend I'll chop portions, bag them and freeze them. You can usem straight from the freezer. Same with chilli, herbs etc. Same with green beans, the pre trimmed ones cost about 30p more than untrimmed. How long does it really take to trim them? 30 seconds? A minute?

[Allant1981]

Not sure who/how many people here might be entitled to one but it's worth checking out if you might be. The Blue Light Card which is available to NHS workers, emergency services, servicemen/women and health and social care workers now has an agreement with Asda for a 10% discount from your in-store grocery bill

There are numerous other offers available too but I got hold of one specifically for the above.

www.bluelightcard.co.uk/

Yeah the asda deal has just came back on, the card only costs a fiver for a year, we have saved a fair bit of money using it for different things

[Paul1642]

Back to food prices I think people need to remember supermarkets are out to make as much money from you as possible. It's worth taking an extra few minutes when shopping to spot these things.

It's particularly noticeable in the fruit and veg section. A packet of ready chopped onions which equates to about 1.5 onions in terms of weight is £1.10 in Asda, a 3 pack of onions in a net is 79p, 3 loose onions weighed yourself came to 26p for me tonight. Same with bananas. A plastic bag containing 5 bananas (and why do bananas need to be wrapped in a plastic bag? If only nature could have given them some kind of protective coating) is £1, 5 loose bananas 76p for me. Pretty much everything is cheaper if you take a couple of minutes to weight it yourself. Pre grated cheese £2.50 for 250g, a block of cheddar £3.50 for 750g......

People may argue it's convenience and time but if my weekly shop has to take 5 minutes longer to save between £5 and £7 then I'm willing to take the time. Pre cut onions are great if you are really pushed for time but chopped onions freeze well. When I have time on a weekend I'll chop portions, bag them and freeze them. You can usem straight from the freezer. Same with chilli, herbs etc. Same with green beans, the pre trimmed ones cost about 30p more than untrimmed. How long does it really take to trim them? 30 seconds? A minute?

I already do all that stuff. Hast stopped my shopping bill going up by a fortune.

[Pretty Boy]

I already do all that stuff. Hast stopped my shopping bill going up by a fortune.

It's amazing how much you notice it when you actually total it up.

It's most definitely not a solution for people living in real poverty. The issues run far deeper. For people just needing to tighten their belts a bit (which is the relatively fortunate position I am in) then it makes a difference. A fiver or tenner a week is the ability to afford a treat or 2 at the weekend or not.

With regards the blue light card mentioned above. It's a very nice thing for Asda to do but I do think it's a bit off that they offer the same discount to 'outsiders' as they do their own employees. Remembering they are the worst payers of all the major supermarkets as well.

[Stairway 2 7]

It's amazing how much you notice it when you actually total it up.

It's most definitely not a solution for people living in real poverty. The issues run far deeper. For people just needing to tighten their belts a bit (which is the relatively fortunate position I am in) then it makes a difference. A fiver or tenner a week is the ability to afford a treat or 2 at the weekend or not.

With regards the blue light card mentioned above. It's a very nice thing for Asda to do but I do think it's a bit off that they offer the same discount to 'outsiders' as they do their own employees. Remembering they are the worst payers of all the major supermarkets as well.

Be good if they could do it for all people who receive benefits, which many of their staff do

[Scouse Hibee]

I already do all that stuff. Hast stopped my shopping bill going up by a fortune.

My shopping bill has taken a huge dive since I started using The Company Shop.

[Paul1642]

My shopping bill has taken a huge dive since I started using The Company Shop.

I go occasionally to do a big shop on things that last a while but it’s at the opposite end of Edinburgh for me so a bit too far to go on a regular basis.

Some great bargains to be had and was totally recommend it to those who live closer.

[Peanut Shaz]

My shopping bill has taken a huge dive since I started using The Company Shop.

A couple of my work colleagues use the Company Shop. Some of the savings are huge. Think I'll sign up as it's only 5 minutes from my work.

[Scouse Hibee]

A couple of my work colleagues use the Company Shop. Some of the savings are huge. Think I'll sign up as it's only 5 minutes from my work.

It’s a bit hit and miss sometimes but yes the savings are huge.

[HUTCHYHIBBY]

My shopping bill has taken a huge dive since I started using The Company Shop.

Any links to what they actually sell? The website isn't the greatest unless I'm going blind! 😀

[Scouse Hibee]

Any links to what they actually sell? The website isn't the greatest unless I'm going blind! 😀

They sell everything a supermarket sells, most of the chilled stock is very short dated though hence the low price as supermarkets remove from their own shelves in bulk. It can be hit and miss as lots of lines are limited stock until the next delivery, it can be Tesco, Iceland, Waitrose, M&S, Morrisons, Asda stock it really is very varied. If you’re going there with a very specific list then not for you but if you’re willing to design your meals around what is on offer then it can be brilliant.

[HUTCHYHIBBY]

They sell everything a supermarket sells, most of the chilled stock is very short dated though hence the low price as supermarkets remove from their own shelves in bulk. It can be hit and miss as lots of lines are limited stock until the next delivery, it can be Tesco, Iceland, Waitrose, M&S, Morrisons, Asda stock it really is very varied. If you’re going there with a very specific list then not for you but if you’re willing to design your meals around what is on offer then it can be brilliant.

Sounds like it's worth checking out.

[Paulie Walnuts]

Is The Company Shop open to anybody?

[easty]

Is The Company Shop open to anybody?

Nae Tories

[Killiehibbie]

If you shop in Iceland or Foodwarehouse get 5% off by putting money on bonus card before you do your shopping.

[Since90+2]

Is The Company Shop open to anybody?

I think it's emergency workers and those on benefits from looking at their website.

[Scouse Hibee]

I think it's emergency workers and those on benefits from looking at their website.

I joined as a relatives work for NHS and they are allowed to nominate other people to join, don’t think they are very strict though.

[Peanut Shaz]

Is The Company Shop open to anybody?

People in my work who have signed up were okay because we work for a registered charity. The nature of our jobs also mean we are considered Support Workers to people on benefits etc.

[Itsnoteasy]

For those partial to a chocolate biscuit get yourself to Burtons biscuits at Sighthill.

Huge mixed bag for a £5.

[Scouse Hibee]

For those partial to a chocolate biscuit get yourself to Burtons biscuits at Sighthill.

Huge mixed bag for a £5.

I prefer a bag of Kit Kats, a bag of Yorkie biscuits and a bag of breakaway biscuits for £1 each from the Company shop. 😀

[AFKA5814_Hibs]

Is The Company Shop open to anybody?

My wife got a membership at the start of lockdown as a Midlothian Council employee as she was considered a key worker at the time. It can be very much hit or miss on the day but great savings can be made.

[WhileTheChief..]

To go back to your original question, it depends completely on the business involved. I have no idea of what field you're in or what business model you employ. But, for example if imagine its a global financial services operation which we have a lot of in Edinburgh, the likelihood is a company like that is going to be totally subservient to a tiny concentration of hedge fund owners who are operating an exploitative business model that wouldn't countenance pay rises in line with 10% inflation for middle managers EVER, they'd rather fold their operations than change. Companies like that are regularly forking out massive dividends and double digit increases for executives, thats the big problem for these companies profitability, not small rises in middle management pay.

Joining a union, considering collaborating with others with complementary skills and becoming a contractor instead of being a 'salaryman' are both options if you feel like you're underpaid. But it totally depends on the business and i understand not everyones in the position where they can pick and choose.

Who are we talking about here?

Sc Widows, abrdn, the banks? Aren't they mostly PLCs, owned by regular share holders. Std Life for example had a hugely diverse shareholder base of millions of customers. They pay their staff and middle managers the market rate.

Which hedge funds? Do they regularly invest in financial services firms? It's not something I've come across before.

Fund managers play a crucial role in monitoring and helping to enforce the governance of the firms they invest in. They're not financial bogeymen.

[Itsnoteasy]

I prefer a bag of Kit Kats, a bag of Yorkie biscuits and a bag of breakaway biscuits for £1 each from the Company shop. 😀

Anyone can walk into Burtons, it's not members only 😉

[Jones28]

My wife signed up to company shop - charity employees can sign up too.

She’s got them on Facebook and they post daily updates of big ticket items.

[Kato]

https://twitter.com/mnrrntt/status/1544315509868564482?t=52ep03PaDk5EqSJh6WhxqQ&s=19

Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk

[Bristolhibby]

I think its so inflation doesn't become embedded in the system. Right now it seems to be caused by legacy of covid and Ukraine war. I think raising the interest rates is with a view to shock the economy and create the spectre of a recession so that employers don't give wage rises. If we see significant wage rises to match the increase in the cost of living then that will result in more price increases in goods (due to additional wage costs involved) and workers will then want more wages as prices increase again. It then results in an inflationary cycle and high inflation becomes embedded in the economy.

Bank of England are, therefore, desperate to keep wages down.

Sent from my SM-N960F using Tapatalk

Thought post Brexit we were supposed to be a high wage economy?

J

[grunt]

I think its so inflation doesn't become embedded in the system. Right now it seems to be caused by legacy of covid and Ukraine war. I think raising the interest rates is with a view to shock the economy and create the spectre of a recession so that employers don't give wage rises. If we see significant wage rises to match the increase in the cost of living then that will result in more price increases in goods (due to additional wage costs involved) and workers will then want more wages as prices increase again. It then results in an inflationary cycle and high inflation becomes embedded in the economy.

Bank of England are, therefore, desperate to keep wages down.

Nothing to do with Brexit, then?

[Stairway 2 7]

Nothing to do with Brexit, then?

P26003robably about 1% of it, which is a kick when we're already down

[Just_Jimmy]

I think its so inflation doesn't become embedded in the system. Right now it seems to be caused by legacy of covid and Ukraine war. I think raising the interest rates is with a view to shock the economy and create the spectre of a recession so that employers don't give wage rises. If we see significant wage rises to match the increase in the cost of living then that will result in more price increases in goods (due to additional wage costs involved) and workers will then want more wages as prices increase again. It then results in an inflationary cycle and high inflation becomes embedded in the economy.

Bank of England are, therefore, desperate to keep wages down.

Sent from my SM-N960F using TapatalkJust everyone else's wages...

Not MPS or that though right?

Sent from my SM-G991B using Tapatalk

[alhibby]

I've not really paid much attention to food prices up until now, but today in Sainsburys I saw that Tins of Heinz soup were now costing £1.40 !!!! Last time i bought one, not too long ago, it was 95p, thats a helluva hike

[tamig]

I've not really paid much attention to food prices up until now, but today in Sainsburys I saw that Tins of Heinz soup were now costing £1.40 !!!! Last time i bought one, not too long ago, it was 95p, thats a helluva hike

I was in Morrisons getting some the other day. 4 for £4.

[Stairway 2 7]

The most guardian headline ever

26012

[cabbageandribs1875]

I've not really paid much attention to food prices up until now, but today in Sainsburys I saw that Tins of Heinz soup were now costing £1.40 !!!! Last time i bought one, not too long ago, it was 95p, thats a helluva hike


a few weeks back Tesco/Asda/Morrisons put the price for a tin up from 90p to £1.40 in just one rise and i simply refuse to pay that price no matter how much i like their soup, but i noticed B&M were still 89p so i started stocking up :greengrin then a few days later my daughter text me with an article that Tesco weren't happy having this rise along with beans/tomato sauce etc and were having a spat with Heinz, anyway, couple of days ago Tesco reduced the soup to 95p, Asda is £1.40p for one or £5 for 5 tins, Morrisons is so far sticking to £1.39p with no offers.


B&M have now increased to £1.15p

[tamig]

a few weeks back Tesco/Asda/Morrisons put the price for a tin up from 90p to £1.40 in just one rise and i simply refuse to pay that price no matter how much i like their soup, but i noticed B&M were still 89p so i started stocking up :greengrin then a few days later my daughter text me with an article that Tesco weren't happy having this rise along with beans/tomato sauce etc and were having a spat with Heinz, anyway, couple of days ago Tesco reduced the soup to 95p, Asda is £1.40p for one or £5 for 5 tins, Morrisons is so far sticking to £1.39p with no offers.


B&M have now increased to £1.15p

As mentioned above, I got four tins for £4 at Morrisons last week. And that was individual tins - not a multi-pack. Is that not an offer?

[cabbageandribs1875]

As mentioned above, I got four tins for £4 at Morrisons last week. And that was individual tins - not a multi-pack. Is that not an offer?



to start with i was quoting someone who may possibly live in my area, when i see that price in either Bathgate or Livingston morrisons i'll then claim it as an offer as i'm not going to travel through to Edinburgh for a tin of soup, until then it's still £1.39p(as it was yesterday), branches don't always put offers etc on at the same time and normally it can be an individual store manager that can put an offer on to increase competition with nearby other stores, especially if they also have a petrol station

[tamig]

to start with i was quoting someone who may possibly live in my area, when i see that price in either Bathgate or Livingston morrisons i'll then claim it as an offer as i'm not going to travel through to Edinburgh for a tin of soup, until then it's still £1.39p(as it was yesterday), branches don't always put offers etc on at the same time and normally it can be an individual store manager that can put an offer on to increase competition with nearby other stores, especially if they also have a petrol station

Thats fair enough. I did consider it might be a local deal or whatever. Bottom line is that prices on most things only continue to move in one direction.

[Ozyhibby]

https://twitter.com/visegrad24/status/1546263334818926593?s=21&t=pg4_N-XLyJhNZtlntxettQ

Argentina kicking off now.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Hibrandenburg]

https://twitter.com/visegrad24/status/1546263334818926593?s=21&t=pg4_N-XLyJhNZtlntxettQ

Argentina kicking off now.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

There would appear to be a belief that a full blown depression couldn't happen here. If anything because of Brexit it's more likely to happen here before elsewhere in Europe.

[grunt]

There would appear to be a belief that a full blown depression couldn't happen here. If anything because of Brexit it's more likely to happen here before elsewhere in Europe.I'm pretty depressed now, tbh.

[wookie70]

https://twitter.com/visegrad24/status/1546263334818926593?s=21&t=pg4_N-XLyJhNZtlntxettQ

Argentina kicking off now.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

58% inflation. You would be running round Tesco so the item you bought didn't get more expensive before you checked out. Something the Tories can aspire to be world leaders in.

[donno]

I've not really paid much attention to food prices up until now, but today in Sainsburys I saw that Tins of Heinz soup were now costing £1.40 !!!! Last time i bought one, not too long ago, it was 95p, thats a helluva hikeMy local B&M in Worcester still has Baxters at 85p. Nothing better than a Baxter's Chicken broth, or Pea and Ham with some crusty bread.

Sent from my JNY-LX1 using Tapatalk

[Stairway 2 7]

58% inflation. You would be running round Tesco so the item you bought didn't get more expensive before you checked out. Something the Tories can aspire to be world leaders in.

You joke but I read that is what people are doing. Spending their wages on pay day on groceries for the month. All other money left over they are buying US dollars and literally putting it under the mattress

[Stairway 2 7]

Major riots over inflation and fuel prices this weekend in Argentina, sri lanca, Ecuador South Africa, Iran, Albania and Peru. Something has to give

Inflation rates in Europe , South America is worse
26018

[stu in nottingham]

Supermarkets report that people's shopping habits are changing in several ways, one of those ways is that people are less and less using the 'big shop' once a week. Consumers appear to be moreoften shopping little and often. There are pros and cons to that approach and one of the negative ones is that you have to be more disciplined each time you walk into a supermarket and see the food-laden shelves and maybe stick to a shopping list, which can be difficult.

For the past two and a half years I've generally shopped online once a week. For me it has been worthwhile spending a little more time and thought online at home and add items needed through the week and 'put items back' which aren't needed, as delivery day approaches. You also have a firm idea of what prices are, especially if you shop online at more than one store, and know exactly to the penny how much you are spending. You can also cut waste down to the bone this way

Just recently though I've found it a good idea to shop around within a budget to gain the best prices. (I have a Sainsburys, Asda, Lidl, Aldi, Iceland and B&M all within a mile). Useful for this are the price comparison apps such as Trolley.co.uk and Latest Deals. This is especially so for those non/less perishable stock items we always buy (for me that is cat food and coffee pods which I stock up for the month at the least expensive prices. I save quite a few pounds a month just on those items alone.

Interested to hear other people's tips and methods.

[Ozyhibby]

Major riots over inflation and fuel prices this weekend in Argentina, sri lanca, Ecuador South Africa, Iran, Albania and Peru. Something has to give

Inflation rates in Europe , South America is worse
26018

The war in Ukraine will kill more people outside Ukraine than in it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Stairway 2 7]

The war in Ukraine will kill more people outside Ukraine than in it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

They should have gave 70 HIMARS to Ukraine in February and it would be about over. Russia is using starvation as a tool, but it should unify minds to get them defeated

[cabbageandribs1875]

Major riots over inflation and fuel prices this weekend in Argentina, sri lanca, Ecuador South Africa, Iran, Albania and Peru. Something has to give

Inflation rates in Europe , South America is worse
26018


foreign investors are strongly discrediting that Turkish 76pc claim, a group of economists said it actually hit 175pc last month

hopefully Erdogan finally gets booted out

[LancashireHibby]

Own brand soup is fine and the prices haven’t switched too much.

Anyone who shops at Sainsbury’s, make sure you do ‘SmartShop’ on your mobile. It links with your Nectar card and offers some quite decent discounts on products you buy regularly. I’m currently being offered 4 cans of the aforementioned Heinz tomato soup for £2.35 down from £3.50 and 6 Warburton’s bagels for 94p down from £1.25 (plus a few other offers)

[LewysGot2]

Supermarkets report that people's shopping habits are changing in several ways, one of those ways is that people are less and less using the 'big shop' once a week. Consumers appear to be moreoften shopping little and often. There are pros and cons to that approach and one of the negative ones is that you have to be more disciplined each time you walk into a supermarket and see the food-laden shelves and maybe stick to a shopping list, which can be difficult.

For the past two and a half years I've generally shopped online once a week. For me it has been worthwhile spending a little more time and thought online at home and add items needed through the week and 'put items back' which aren't needed, as delivery day approaches. You also have a firm idea of what prices are, especially if you shop online at more than one store, and know exactly to the penny how much you are spending. You can also cut waste down to the bone this way

Just recently though I've found it a good idea to shop around within a budget to gain the best prices. (I have a Sainsburys, Asda, Lidl, Aldi, Iceland and B&M all within a mile). Useful for this are the price comparison apps such as Trolley.co.uk and Latest Deals. This is especially so for those non/less perishable stock items we always buy (for me that is cat food and coffee pods which I stock up for the month at the least expensive prices. I save quite a few pounds a month just on those items alone.

Interested to hear other people's tips and methods.

My old dears are now setting price limits for purchases. Like trying to find ham at a price of no more than a certain amount or buying their cereals at Lidl because they are only 55p versus 3 or 4 pounds in Sainsbury.

I've started buying a bit more with my shop and pretending I've got too much so I can slip them some extras without insulting them. Proud people living on just a state pension are starting to find things tough.

[cabbageandribs1875]

some deals for those with young families

https://scontent.fman1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/291794923_10158541591481536_3896711017145431893_n. jpg?_nc_cat=108&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=8bfeb9&_nc_ohc=jd1VWnmaUOcAX-Rwa6I&tn=vIvSFNl06GFFe0Qb&_nc_ht=scontent.fman1-1.fna&oh=00_AT9A5kRfr0a0jXfRogabjy_kYJc28CDm2WZiZH80T5ov vw&oe=62D1746F

[stu in nottingham]

My old dears are now setting price limits for purchases. Like trying to find ham at a price of no more than a certain amount or buying their cereals at Lidl because they are only 55p versus 3 or 4 pounds in Sainsbury.

I've started buying a bit more with my shop and pretending I've got too much so I can slip them some extras without insulting them. Proud people living on just a state pension are starting to find things tough.

Fair play to you mate, selfless and allowing your folks to keep a wee bit of dignity.

There was a really interesting documentary on TV about Lidl a few days ago which explored their business model. Recall one of the points was that they are much bigger with greater buying power than many think. Some tests with the public showed too that their home brands were actually preferred by members of the public who participated. I have to say I'm a fan these days.

[hibsbollah]

They should have gave 70 HIMARS to Ukraine in February and it would be about over. Russia is using starvation as a tool, but it should unify minds to get them defeated

It’s made it worse, but the food price crisis was going to hit, and had already started, well before the war in Ukraine. The Tory Govt will try to permanently connect the two when discussing it but it’s down to supply problems, Brexit, climate change and breakdowns in just in time delivery systems. Until we start buying more local and community produced food (and it’s not ordinary peoples fault, you can’t buy locally produced food if you don’t have shops selling it!) we’re always at risk from this kind of instability.

[Stairway 2 7]

It’s made it worse, but the food price crisis was going to hit, and had already started, well before the war in Ukraine. The Tory Govt will try to permanently connect the two when discussing it but it’s down to supply problems, Brexit, climate change and breakdowns in just in time delivery systems. Until we start buying more local and community produced food (and it’s not ordinary peoples fault, you can’t buy locally produced food if you don’t have shops selling it!) we’re always at risk from this kind of instability.

No I agree it's a miniscule part of the uks problem even if the tories and Biden try to make it seem like the reason. Inflation was a waiting train wreck a year ago. Fuel prices and covid two of the main problems.

But Ukraine War will cause mass hunger in loads of other nations. A bad yield in ukr and rus was one of the main catalysts of the Arab spring. So much of the world depend on Ukrainian wheat. I think the unrest from the poor yield will cause havoc next year

[hibsbollah]

No I agree it's a miniscule part of the uks problem even if the tories and Biden try to make it seem like the reason. Inflation was a waiting train wreck a year ago. Fuel prices and covid two of the main problems.

But Ukraine War will cause mass hunger in loads of other nations. A bad yield in ukr and rus was one of the main catalysts of the Arab spring. So much of the world depend on Ukrainian wheat. I think the unrest from the poor yield will cause havoc next year

That’s true. Unless things have changed since I read it a few weeks ago there’s been no rain in the Horn of Africa for 3 years now and the starvation that’s about to hit Sudan and Ethiopia Erritrea etc is going to dwarf what happened in the 80s. Even Egypt at risk, who get almost all their wheat via Ukraine.

[Stairway 2 7]

That’s true. Unless things have changed since I read it a few weeks ago there’s been no rain in the Horn of Africa for 3 years now and the starvation that’s about to hit Sudan and Ethiopia Erritrea etc is going to dwarf what happened in the 80s. Even Egypt at risk, who get almost all their wheat via Ukraine.

It seems like a ticking time bomb to a group of humanitarian disasters. The uk papers are more interested in which shade of ******* the next tory leader will be. How can anyone think the capitalist system is working when a few quirks of accounting means the whole world is drowning in inflation and fuel and food prices.

I'm sure we'll have a concert at Wembley to raise money and make us feel better when the inevitable suffering hits

[Pretty Boy]

Whilst not in the same league as droughts and famine I noticed a few big hikes again in the supermarket again last night.

I like cheese and I'll spend money on nice cheese at Christmas or for a treat. For day to day though I buy Asda's own brand mature cheddar. Daughter likes it on sandwiches and it's fine for macaroni cheese or the like. Earlier this year it was £1.99, went up to £2.20, was £2.50 last week and £2.85 last night. 43% price rise in about 4 months, a rise like that on an own brand product hits the poorest hardest and is well above the advertised 9% inflation rate.

Likewise chicken thighs, a 1kg bag used to be £1.96, a few small rises and it's now £2.60. That's a 32% rise and again it's on a product traditionally seen as 'budget'.

There was a lot of hilarity around the security tags on Lurpak and the advise was 'well just buy a cheaper brand'. The issue with that is if Lurpak is going up at such a rate then other brands at the lower price points will go up by a comparable percentage. Asda Spreadable used to be £1.85, now £2.50, another 35% rise. Great for people downgrading from Lurpak but if that's what you have always bought it's another hike.

As I've said before I've always made sure we eat well as a family but I can be frugal and do it on a budget. I just can't cut anymore though. It's not a matter of needing to use foodbanks or anything close to that but surviving now eats in to money that used to be disposable for luxuries and treats.

[Just_Jimmy]

Whilst not in the same league as droughts and famine I noticed a few big hikes again in the supermarket again last night.

I like cheese and I'll spend money on nice cheese at Christmas or for a treat. For day to day though I buy Asda's own brand mature cheddar. Daughter likes it on sandwiches and it's fine for macaroni cheese or the like. Earlier this year it was £1.99, went up to £2.20, was £2.50 last week and £2.85 last night. 43% price rise in about 4 months, a rise like that on an own brand product hits the poorest hardest and is well above the advertised 9% inflation rate.

Likewise chicken thighs, a 1kg bag used to be £1.96, a few small rises and it's now £2.60. That's a 32% rise and again it's on a product traditionally seen as 'budget'.

There was a lot of hilarity around the security tags on Lurpak and the advise was 'well just buy a cheaper brand'. The issue with that is if Lurpak is going up at such a rate then other brands at the lower price points will go up by a comparable percentage. Asda Spreadable used to be £1.85, now £2.50, another 35% rise. Great for people downgrading from Lurpak but if that's what you have always bought it's another hike.

As I've said before I've always made sure we eat well as a family but I can be frugal and do it on a budget. I just can't cut anymore though. It's not a matter of needing to use foodbanks or anything close to that but surviving now eats in to money that used to be disposable for luxuries and treats.Your post strikes a chord with me also. There's only the two of us, and we both have good jobs and earn a good combined salary. We live in a nice area. We've always watched what we spend food wise, mainly because I don't particularly think there's much difference between the own brands and the expensive brands.

However, the price rises have really hit us. Inflation is widely reported at 9-11% but really, that's not even close to what the rises have been on the things that matter.

I fully accept that costs have gone up for everyone and as such, they'll need to pass some of that onto the customer however when it's having a impact on people like me, who are responsible spenders and who don't have families, then I really feel for those on lower wages who have families and are really struggling.

Sent from my SM-G991B using Tapatalk

[Paulie Walnuts]

Your post strikes a chord with me also. There's only the two of us, and we both have good jobs and earn a good combined salary. We live in a nice area. We've always watched what we spend food wise, mainly because I don't particularly think there's much difference between the own brands and the expensive brands.

However, the price rises have really hit us. Inflation is widely reported at 9-11% but really, that's not even close to what the rises have been on the things that matter.

I fully accept that costs have gone up for everyone and as such, they'll need to pass some of that onto the customer however when it's having a impact on people like me, who are responsible spenders and who don't have families, then I really feel for those on lower wages who have families and are really struggling.

Sent from my SM-G991B using Tapatalk

I could copy and paste this for myself.

Just me and my mrs, no kids, both earn a half decent wage and we have a mortgage that is probably only slightly over half way to being maxed out.

In theory, people like us should have absolutely no problem living comfortably yet we’ve now resorted to just mass buying chicken breast, pretty much never buy much now in the way of a treat food wise (think a steak etc) and every month we’re getting closer and closer to not being able to justify luxuries going forward such as holidays etc.

Now I realise that there’s masses of people worse off than me, but if somebody in my situation is feeling the pinch like that then I can only think what it’s like for what is probably the majority of the country. It’s disgraceful and whilst I don’t doubt some of these price hikes are necessary, I don’t believe for a second there’s not an absolute barrel load of company’s simply cashing in on it.

[The_Exile]

I do keep records of my spending as money is so tight (I live on my own with 3 kids 2-3 days a week). Looking back at May - July last year and comparing it to May - July this year for food spending there's been an almost 25% rise, that's on top of actually buying less food and skipping meals, so my own personal inflation rate is likely sitting around the 35-40% mark. 9% is an insult to the poorest in society, you can easily quadruple that for starters.

[GlesgaeHibby]

Similar to others, my wife and I are both in reasonably well paying jobs and we're starting to feel the pinch. Can't imagine what it's like for so many who are less fortunate just now.

Having a government in paralysis in the midst of this crisis is just horrific too. Going off topic from food, to fuel. Brent crude oil has fell from around 120 dollars per barrel to under 100 over the last month. Price of petrol / diesel hasn't budged an inch for last few weeks at my local garage.

I read last week that Shell have increased their profits from around 8.50 per barrel of oil in q1 to over 23. We're being robbed blind, and we haven't got a functioning government ready to stand up and fix these issues.

[Mon Dieu4]

I live alone and have noticed that my weekly shop has went up by about £15, I got it back down to around my regular amount last week by just buying what was on offer but I'm not doing that every week, I'm in the position of not being on the breadline come month's end but I'm really noticing a difference, must be hellish for people with a family to take care of

[Stairway 2 7]

Food and fuel prices the biggest factor in the US inflation

@JavierBlas
BREAKING: US inflation rate accelerated in June to 9.1%, highest since late 1981 (well above Wall Street expectations


Only positive UKs looks like it will be slightly less than expected next month. Plus uk gdp went up 0.5% last month much higher than expected.

[Stairway 2 7]

Inflation could hit 11% in October after the energy rise before dropping sharply over the next few years

@julianHjessop

FYI, the CPI measure of UK #inflation rose to 9.4% in June. from 9.1% in May.

For context, inflation is 8.6% in the euro area, 9.1% in the US, 9.6% in Ireland (on the EU harmonised measure), and 9.6% on average in the EU as whole

[Paulie Walnuts]

I’d be absolutely stunned if ‘inflation’ ever comes back down tbh. It might slow down, but there’s no way these prices are reversing imo.

[hibsbollah]

I’d be absolutely stunned if ‘inflation’ ever comes back down tbh. It might slow down, but there’s no way these prices are reversing imo.

In the absence of actual rebellion against the top 1-2% who are making an absolute killing and retreating to gated communities and private schools and health clubs, we are all going to have to accept a lower standard of living. Are any of the politicians talking about the cost of living or the climate crisis yet, or is still Penny Mordaunt answering questions about whether having genitals makes you a particular gender?

Sharpen those Guillotines please.

[Stairway 2 7]

I’d be absolutely stunned if ‘inflation’ ever comes back down tbh. It might slow down, but there’s no way these prices are reversing imo.

Prices won't come down they will rise from the crazy price they are just now, but will rise a few % a year rather than the 15 or so this year. Grimm

[Paulie Walnuts]

Prices won't come down they will rise from the crazy price they are just now, but will rise a few % a year rather than the 15 or so this year. Grimm

Yeah. We may even see really low levels of inflation for a couple of years and we’ll be told to be grateful that it’s so low.

[hibsbollah]

I live alone and have noticed that my weekly shop has went up by about £15, I got it back down to around my regular amount last week by just buying what was on offer but I'm not doing that every week, I'm in the position of not being on the breadline come month's end but I'm really noticing a difference, must be hellish for people with a family to take care of

Ive got two teenagers in the house. And they eat a lot, randomly, without really noticing whether you've allocated that bit of food for a meal or not. And if their mates show up they can properly make a hole in the weekly food budget. Mrs Bollah and me are both working and doing OK for cash, but its tough when you've got a household all stuffing their faces at all hours. And as you say, if you have teenagers in the house and you happen to be on or close to the breadline...key things like pasta bread and cheese going up 40%-50% in a year...doesnt bear thinking about.

[Dalianwanda]

Fair play to you mate, selfless and allowing your folks to keep a wee bit of dignity.

There was a really interesting documentary on TV about Lidl a few days ago which explored their business model. Recall one of the points was that they are much bigger with greater buying power than many think. Some tests with the public showed too that their home brands were actually preferred by members of the public who participated. I have to say I'm a fan these days.

I used to be a brand snob & only shop at Tesco & M&S shopping cost me a fortune. Now I only shop in lidl & the local asian markets. Lidl for most of the groceries & the asian market bulk buying rice, lentils, spices etc they work out way cheaper...I know its not for everyone but i have a couple of menus written and shop for them with as many cross over ingredients as possible so theres no waist. Im not trying to be frugal as I eat really well, it just works out way cheaper (and Ireland was way more expensive for cost of living that home was, wages used to compensate for that but not sure thats the case these days).

[silverhibee]

They just seem to be going up monthly in the big stores now, it’s going to be a very tough winter for a lot of people.

And fruit and veg are a joke that I buy, crap so it is, and extortionate getting as well.

[stu in nottingham]

Haven't tried any as yet but Asda are getting a few relatively good reviews for their new 'Just Essentials' range. Not sure how close it is to their previous 'Smart Price' home brand stuff. Often been said that the budget ranges of various stuff tend to be poor quality but it seems like Asda have at least put a bit of thought into this one. Fresh fruit and veg has been particularly recommended as good value.

[Paul1642]

Haven't tried any as yet but Asda are getting a few relatively good reviews for their new 'Just Essentials' range. Not sure how close it is to their previous 'Smart Price' home brand stuff. Often been said that the budget ranges of various stuff tend to be poor quality but it seems like Asda have at least put a bit of thought into this one. Fresh fruit and veg has been particularly recommended as good value.

Certain items are less likely to be poor quality than others imo. I can’t see how Pasta, Chickpeas, Fruit and veg, vinegar, eggs, peanuts and so on can be of any noticeably lower quality than their more expensive counterpart.

When it comes to Micro meals, Meat and sauces I’m a bit more sceptical but no matter what, it’s hard to argue with the prices of the range at hard times like these.

On the subject of sauces I recently started making my own and will never look back. I was amazed at how cheap and easy it is, not to mention how much healthier and better tasting your own sauce is.

I’ve recently been making a really nice pasta sauce out of a tin of blended plum tomatoes, a little bit garlic and an onion that you don’t even have to chop if your in a rush, just simmer it whole in the tomato’s for 30 mins then pull it out and bin.

I have also started buying budget cleaning and laundry products and noticed no difference at all. The only household items I still but the branded versions of are toilet paper, bin bags and kitchen roll as I find the cheaper ones a bit rubbish and flimsy.

Also Asda finally has its own reward scene which isn’t bad and they do a 10% Blue light card discount for those lucky enough to be eligible. It makes a big difference on a big shop although probably still comes in slightly more expensive than Lidl or Aldi.

Away from food my BT tv and internet contract is up in December and I’ll be moving to much cheaper alternative and Spotify premium is getting binned soon. I’m sure I can live with adverts.

Just a shame that I won’t get it enjoy any of these savings as they will all be going on gas and electricity.

[SteveHFC]

They just seem to be going up monthly in the big stores now, it’s going to be a very tough winter for a lot of people.

And fruit and veg are a joke that I buy, crap so it is, and extortionate getting as well.

Usually buy a Cosmos Pizza from Sainsbury's and it was £2 at the start of the year but it’s went up by 50p.

[HH81]

I don't go to supermarket often as the wife does the food shop but did end up in morrisons yesterday.

Needed a pint of milk, now I remember before covid kicked off I used to go to the tesco for one for my special k at work but now work from home. It was around 50p.

It was 89p. I was expecting it to be more but bloody hell.

The place reminded me of shopping in Jersey. Prices are just mental.

[stu in nottingham]

Also Asda finally has its own reward scene which isn’t bad and they do a 10% Blue light card discount for those lucky enough to be eligible. It makes a big difference on a big shop although probably still comes in slightly more expensive than Lidl or Aldi.


Understand the reward scheme has been trialled in certain stores recently and should now be running everywhere. I have a Blue Light Card and find it useful for a few bulk essentials such as cat food, coffee, cleaing stuff etc. at the beginning of the month. Otherwise, I think you're right that the German stores are still slightly more competititve.

Noted an introductory deal with Ocado shopping which is pretty good. The first shop of min £60 gives a free voucher for £20 off the bill. Prices don't seem to be the keenest but still a good deal. When I searched, deliveries were free too.

[Andy Bee]

Whilst on the subject of vouchers/rewards, I realise that this wont help a lot of people but for those that travel down south regularly and use a UK Fuels card for filling up. The Fleece at J42 on the M6 accept these cards for points on the Shell App. I fuel a truck up every night and have just filled my car with normal unleaded for £22 with points accrued over 14 days. I've also got a bundle of V Power vouchers still to be used.

[Stairway 2 7]

Wish blue light card deals were swapped for people on benefits deals. Why should a commander in the army or a plastic surgeon get it over people that are struggling to eat

[Scouse Hibee]

Wish blue light card deals were swapped for people on benefits deals. Why should a commander in the army or a plastic surgeon get it over people that are struggling to eat

Plenty of working folk are struggling to eat whilst some on benefits are sitting pretty, it’s not exclusive to either.

[Paul1642]

Wish blue light card deals were swapped for people on benefits deals. Why should a commander in the army or a plastic surgeon get it over people that are struggling to eat

Nice way to pick out the top 1% of the sector.

Many in the emergency services deal with more abuse, violence, death and trauma in a month than the average person will deal with in a lifetime and get paid a pretty crappy wage for the pleasure. That’s not to mention the long antisocial shifts which have a big effect on their family and social life and the fact that they got to work double as hard during the pandemic whilst most of the country were comfy in their homes.

The occasional 10% discount from a big company isn’t by any means an injustice.

[Stairway 2 7]

Plenty of working folk are struggling to eat whilst some on benefits are sitting pretty, it’s not exclusive to either.

Don't think many on benefits are sitting pretty. Low paid workers are often on benefits like working tax credits. Giving members of the army 10% off stinks of Sir Tom flag waving by the supermarkets

[Paul1642]

Don't think many on benefits are sitting pretty. Low paid workers are often on benefits like working tax credits. Giving members of the army 10% off stinks of Sir Tom flag waving by the supermarkets

Young lads joining the army are quite commonly from a poor background and trying to make something from their limited opportunity’s in life. They get to start on a whopping 16k a year which works out well bellow minimum wage if you break down the amount of hours worked. Why the hate?

[Stairway 2 7]

Young lads joining the army are quite commonly from a poor background and trying to make something from their limited opportunity’s in life. They get to start on a whopping 16k a year which works out well bellow minimum wage if you break down the amount of hours worked. Why the hate?

16k is when they are in training for 6 months. Then goes to 22k no the best but free dental, subsidised food and digs, great pension, driving lessons and other transferable training, career progression not bad for usually a young lad.

My Mrs, sister and sister in law get a blue light. Only 1 was people facing during covid.

It's performitory by the supermarkets, would never give it to people on benefits.

[Paul1642]

16k is when they are in training for 6 months. Then goes to 22k no the best but free dental, subsidised food and digs, great pension, driving lessons and other transferable training, career progression not bad for usually a young lad.

My Mrs, sister and sister in law get a blue light. Only 1 was people facing during covid.

It's performitory by the supermarkets, would never give it to people on benefits.

Wrong. 21.5k after many years of service, not straight out of training. Subsidised food that you wouldn’t feed to a dog. Subsidised accommodation that if of such a poor quality that many of those on benefits would turn down (usually in a dive of a town hundreds of miles from where you call home).”Great pension” is very questionable. Let’s call it okay and a perk of working your ass off. That and you only get it before state pension age if you do your full service. Driving lessons provided because they benefit the army.

I hear they are recruiting now. If it’s so great all those of able body on benefits will be queuing up to join.

If supermarkets want to give a small discount to some of the hardest working and most underpaid people in the country (a good % of those eligible for blue light card) then good on them and I’d can’t see any good reason for anyone taking offence at this.

Happy to clap for the NHS but god forbid they get a fiver of a pair of trainers or a free starter at a restaurant.

[degenerated]

Wrong. 21.5k after many years of service, not straight out of training. Subsidised food that you wouldn’t feed to a dog. Subsidised accommodation that if of such a poor quality that many of those on benefits would turn down (usually in a dive of a town hundreds of miles from where you call home).”Great pension” is very questionable. Let’s call it okay and a perk of working your ass off. That and you only get it before state pension age if you do your full service. Driving lessons provided because they benefit the army.

I hear they are recruiting now. If it’s so great all those of able body on benefits will be queuing up to join.

If supermarkets want to give a small discount to some of the hardest working and most underpaid people in the country (a good % of those eligible for blue light card) then good on them and I’d can’t see any good reason for anyone taking offence at this.

Happy to clap for the NHS but god forbid they get a fiver of a pair of trainers or a free starter at a restaurant.I've worked on 3 or 4 housing jobs for the MOD and latterly DIO, over the years, and they are anything but substandard.

[Zambernardi1875]

Whilst on the subject of vouchers/rewards, I realise that this wont help a lot of people but for those that travel down south regularly and use a UK Fuels card for filling up. The Fleece at J42 on the M6 accept these cards for points on the Shell App. I fuel a truck up every night and have just filled my car with normal unleaded for £22 with points accrued over 14 days. I've also got a bundle of V Power vouchers still to be used.

ive been contacted a few times to sign up for the uk fuel card. i take it they are worth getting?

[Pretty Boy]

Wrong. 21.5k after many years of service, not straight out of training. Subsidised food that you wouldn’t feed to a dog. Subsidised accommodation that if of such a poor quality that many of those on benefits would turn down (usually in a dive of a town hundreds of miles from where you call home).”Great pension” is very questionable. Let’s call it okay and a perk of working your ass off. That and you only get it before state pension age if you do your full service. Driving lessons provided because they benefit the army.

I hear they are recruiting now. If it’s so great all those of able body on benefits will be queuing up to join.

If supermarkets want to give a small discount to some of the hardest working and most underpaid people in the country (a good % of those eligible for blue light card) then good on them and I’d can’t see any good reason for anyone taking offence at this.

Happy to clap for the NHS but god forbid they get a fiver of a pair of trainers or a free starter at a restaurant.

I don't have any issue with Asda giving blue light card holders a discount.

The same discount as their own staff though? Who also get the worst pay of all the major supermarkets and piss poor maternity provision (unless your a middle manager or above, got to keep the plebs in their place). I'm not having that. They were very good at metaphorically applauding their staff and lauding them as key workers crucial to the countries infrastructure during the pandemic. Seems actually rewarding them in any meaningful way is a bit too much.

I suppose from a business point of view there is more good press to be had from giving NHS workers and the like a discount than actually looking after your own staff in tough times.

[Itsnoteasy]

Certain items are less likely to be poor quality than others imo. I can’t see how Pasta, Chickpeas, Fruit and veg, vinegar, eggs, peanuts and so on can be of any noticeably lower quality than their more expensive counterpart.

When it comes to Micro meals, Meat and sauces I’m a bit more sceptical but no matter what, it’s hard to argue with the prices of the range at hard times like these.

On the subject of sauces I recently started making my own and will never look back. I was amazed at how cheap and easy it is, not to mention how much healthier and better tasting your own sauce is.

I’ve recently been making a really nice pasta sauce out of a tin of blended plum tomatoes, a little bit garlic and an onion that you don’t even have to chop if your in a rush, just simmer it whole in the tomato’s for 30 mins then pull it out and bin.

I have also started buying budget cleaning and laundry products and noticed no difference at all. The only household items I still but the branded versions of are toilet paper, bin bags and kitchen roll as I find the cheaper ones a bit rubbish and flimsy.

Also Asda finally has its own reward scene which isn’t bad and they do a 10% Blue light card discount for those lucky enough to be eligible. It makes a big difference on a big shop although probably still comes in slightly more expensive than Lidl or Aldi.

Away from food my BT tv and internet contract is up in December and I’ll be moving to much cheaper alternative and Spotify premium is getting binned soon. I’m sure I can live with adverts.

Just a shame that I won’t get it enjoy any of these savings as they will all be going on gas and electricity.

Buying more expensive peanuts are definitely worth it. Most own branded peanuts are no where near the same quality.

[hibsbollah]

Rebecca Long Bailey on supermarkets profits;

"Cost of living: In total, the ‘big four’ supermarkets - Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons - recorded almost £3.5bn in post-tax profits in their most recent accounting periods, while their highest-paid directors earned a combined £17m. This comes after a National World investigation found supermarkets hiked the prices of basic range food and drinks products faster than inflation.

Myself and other MP's are calling for cost of living price controls and tax on ‘astronomical’ supermarket profits."

Lord Sainsbury, ex Labour peer and now funding the Lib Dems, will not be pleased.

[hibsbollah]

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/aug/19/uk-humanitarian-catastrophe-shotton-north-wales

[GRA]

Rebecca Long Bailey on supermarkets profits;

"Cost of living: In total, the ‘big four’ supermarkets - Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons - recorded almost £3.5bn in post-tax profits in their most recent accounting periods, while their highest-paid directors earned a combined £17m. This comes after a National World investigation found supermarkets hiked the prices of basic range food and drinks products faster than inflation.

Myself and other MP's are calling for cost of living price controls and tax on ‘astronomical’ supermarket profits."

Lord Sainsbury, ex Labour peer and now funding the Lib Dems, will not be pleased.



I can guarantee this will now be the case across most industries. Prices will be hiked across the board, even then they don't need to be, with general inflation given as the excuse.

[stu in nottingham]

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/aug/19/uk-humanitarian-catastrophe-shotton-north-wales

Thank you for the link to the article, Hibsbollah, it is absolutely spot-on. 'Apocalyptic' is a very apt word to describe the coming situation.

I attended a meeting with fellow mental health professionals yesterday and they report a very 'dark' and heavy past month with clients, one full of foreboding and anxiety amongst people and many displaying suicide ideation. I now find myself helping to organise food parcels and in some cases shelter for clients as a priority rather than their addiction or general mental health. Very soon too, we will see the helpers needing to be helped also.

[hibsbollah]

Thank you for the link to the article, Hibsbollah, it is absolutely spot-on. 'Apocalyptic' is a very apt word to describe the coming situation.

I attended a meeting with fellow mental health professionals yesterday and they report a very 'dark' and heavy past month with clients, one full of foreboding and anxiety amongst people and many displaying suicide ideation. I now find myself helping to organise food parcels and in some cases shelter for clients as a priority rather than their addiction or general mental health. Very soon too, we will see the helpers needing to be helped also.

I feel like we're sleepwalking into something really 'dark', as you say. Im thinking of going down to the local food bank and see if they need help. Ive had problems with mental health in the past and insecurity was the central feeling, whether in terms of relationships or financial stuff, its the same emotion. And unfortunately your profession is starved of funding and there isn't enough people like you doing the great work you do.

...and politicians PLEASE start being serious about calling this what it is.

[Pretty Boy]

I used to help out at a community shop in Niddrie and Craigmillar. It was a bit like a foodbank but people paid a small weekly fee (it was about £2.50 iirc) and for that they got about £20 worth of food. It worked well in the sense that people didn't feel like they were completely reliant on charity and the money coming in meant donated dry goods could be fleshed out with some fresh produce.

Due to other commitments I've not being able to do so lately. I still see one of the other volunteers at Mass on a Sunday and he was telling me it is pretty grim. He said there are people now unable to pay the weekly fee. No one is turned away but he said it is much more like a traditional foodbank now. He also volunteers with Bethany Christian Trust homeless outreach. He said there has been a steady increase in people who aren't homeless now coming to the centre or care van for a meal or some warm clothing. Again no one is turned away but it's a sad indictment of the state of the country and we haven't even seen the worst of it yet.

A bleak winter ahead. I'm a bit worried and I'm in a relatively fortunate position. I really don't know how people are going to survive.

[stu in nottingham]

I feel like we're sleepwalking into something really 'dark', as you say. Im thinking of going down to the local food bank and see if they need help. Ive had problems with mental health in the past and insecurity was the central feeling, whether in terms of relationships or financial stuff, its the same emotion. And unfortunately your profession is starved of funding and there isn't enough people like you doing the great work you do.

...and politicians PLEASE start being serious about calling this what it is.

I am sorry to hear of those past problems. Anxiety is an emotion that's so pervasive, its effects potentially spreading far and wide through our lives. I would say please do offer your help, the sense of wanting to help is obvious with you and I would follow that feeling. If I may say it will also help with your own sense of well-being in these difficult times for us all. A sense of community and unity amongst working people will help us survive these times.



I used to help out at a community shop in Niddrie and Craigmillar. It was a bit like a foodbank but people paid a small weekly fee (it was about £2.50 iirc) and for that they got about £20 worth of food. It worked well in the sense that people didn't feel like they were completely reliant on charity and the money coming in meant donated dry goods could be fleshed out with some fresh produce.


Sounds very good. On the latter point a problem I have witnessed is that of some homeless people being unable to use the majority of the contents of their food parcel due to not having the facilities to cook. One person I spoke to even had no tin-opener and not a penny to buy one with. (An extreme example I understand).

I hadn't quite realised the limitation of the help either. Three Trussell Trust parcels as a maximum for example, apart from special circumstances applied for. Thank God for soup kitchens and the like and the kind, selfless people that operate them.