The Great Squeeze: Cost of Living Crisis 2022

[BigT]

For me the shocking part of the table above is not the top part but the bottom, basically 50% of the country has only around 7% of the wealth, there should be an investigation into this as to why?
Some of this comes down to budgets and lack of knowledge on how to actually manage them.
When so many overspend why the heck is basic economics not compulsory in schools so people don’t get themselves into these debt cycles.
A lot of those in that 50% will have well paying jobs.

 

[BarryZola]

Let me give you an example. We (well, those in the corridors of power etc) celebrate the likes of Dave Lewis (nicknamed Drastic Dave). I believe he was knighted or something recently due to his services to business or some rubbish like that. The guy basically is brought into businesses to improve profits and his way of doing this is to sack lots of staff and erode the remaining staff's benefits. Extra rates for working overtime, unsociable hours etc were completely removed or reduced as well as lots of other things that made the paypackets and work-life of those on the shop floor undeniably worse. His latest completed hatchet job was Tesco which he was Chief Exec of for several years. For completing his 'streamlining' he was rewarded with bonuses in the millions of pounds in his final year alone. These people who are willing to improve company profit at the expense of people or anything else are highly celebrated and rewarded. That's what's gone wrong.

 

[Funcone]

It's really weird how people are poor. I can only assume that they weren't smart enough to buy shares in an oil company.

 

[rob666]

Should just let the poor eat the rich, that might balance things out a little.

 

[BigT]

Should just let the poor eat the rich, that might balance things out a little.

That’s an interesting theory but you haven’t really thought that through have you, if the poor eat the rich then what happens afterwards?
Let’s assume that they then take on that wealth of the person they have eaten they then become rich and are themselves eaten by someone poor. (Capitalist cannibalism)
The other way of looking at it is if the poor man doesn’t take the wealth then he is still in the same position I.e. poor but at least with a full belly, what then happens with the money? Surely the family won’t want it as they don’t want to be eaten so in the end you end up that everyone is poor and no rich left to eat. (Socialist cannibalism)

 

[JAperson]

That’s an interesting theory but you haven’t really thought that through have you, if the poor eat the rich then what happens afterwards?
Let’s assume that they then take on that wealth of the person they have eaten they then become rich and are themselves eaten by someone poor. (Capitalist cannibalism)
The other way of looking at it is if the poor man doesn’t take the wealth then he is still in the same position I.e. poor but at least with a full belly, what then happens with the money? Surely the family won’t want it as they don’t want to be eaten so in the end you end up that everyone is poor and no rich left to eat. (Socialist cannibalism)

@rob666 I think your characteristic leg pulling is failing again. Perhaps arm pulling next time?

 

[DistortAMG]

The only issue I see, is there will not be enough rich to go round the poor.

A few fatties might feed multiple, but still. The numbers do not add up.

 

[BigT]

The only issue I see, is there will not be enough rich to go round the poor.

A few fatties might feed multiple, but still. The numbers do not add up.

Surely the whole socialist theory is built on there being enough fatties to go around?
But like you say the numbers don’t add up.

 

[DistortAMG]

Surely the whole socialist theory is built on there being enough fatties to go around?

Well yeah, there is that. Fatties for all.

 

[rob666]

In "Eat the Rich", I was quoting Rousseau, you peasants.
Err...and Motorhead.
Probably.

 

[BigT]

Well yeah, there is that. Fatties for all.

The problem I have is fatties probably won’t taste very good.
I mean it’s not like I’ve eaten humans but if we compare to pigs then fat pigs definitely don’t taste as good as slim ones.
Then we have the issue of what’s fat? I mean are we talking Alison Hammond here or someone like Andrew Flintoft who’s well just a bit round?
Also in these Woke times we are going to get in a lot of trouble, we are being very fattiest, I can see marches on parliament now about how it’s not equal opportunities and all that.
Yep, definitely opened a can of worms with that eating the rich lark.

Maybe we will just have to stick with the theory the rich are rich because they were either lucky and born that way or have worked their backsides off and the poor were unlucky and born poor and haven’t.

 

[Themeparksandy1981]

The other problems is budgeting. Like I see people at work who needing OT to pay the bills. Like 1 person is paying nearly £500 pm for a car on lease, tax and insurance then as they travel around 35-40 miles a day they got to be filling up there diesel car twice a month.

 

[Alastair]

The problem I have is fatties probably won’t taste very good.
I mean it’s not like I’ve eaten humans but if we compare to pigs then fat pigs definitely don’t taste as good as slim ones.
Then we have the issue of what’s fat? I mean are we talking Alison Hammond here or someone like Andrew Flintoft who’s well just a bit round?
Also in these Woke times we are going to get in a lot of trouble, we are being very fattiest, I can see marches on parliament now about how it’s not equal opportunities and all that.
Yep, definitely opened a can of worms with that eating the rich lark.

Maybe we will just have to stick with the theory the rich are rich because they were either lucky and born that way or have worked their backsides off and the poor were unlucky and born poor and haven’t.

This is a serious topic, not the Tavern, can I just remind us all

 

[BigT]

The reply was as serious as the original comment deserves, disgusting comment about the poor eating the rich.
Ridicule deserves silly answers in serious subjects.

 

[rob666]

Honest philosophy, not a disgusting comment.

 

[jon81uk]

I think the Government need to force theses garages to drop there prices. I wasn’t paying much attention to the petrol prices to last week to we popped to Costco and they were charging £1.55 a litre for petrol and £1.65 for Diesel.

I'd rather the government put more effort into running public transport effectively so we can move further away from private car ownership being a necessity.

 

[deanW]

I think the Government need to force theses garages to drop there prices. I wasn’t paying much attention to the petrol prices to last week to we popped to Costco and they were charging £1.55 a litre for petrol and £1.65 for Diesel.

Lucky! All of the prices near me have dropped recently from around £1.90 to about £1.75 and everyone is saying how the price is good…

That price is NOT good.

 

[AstroDan]

It is disgusting what is happening in the UK at the moment. Having just returned from a theme park road trip over the past fortnight, the price of unleaded petrol in France and Germany is currently hovering around €1.70 a litre (£1.45). Inflation is also running lower.

The con really is on here in the UK with our utter shambles of a government as they just 'let the market do its work'.

The market does not work in so many areas.

 

[Matt N]

Is the cost of living crisis not an issue elsewhere, though? Surely our European neighbours are suffering just as much as us, if not more?

I must admit, I’m surprised that petrol prices are lower in Europe. I’d have thought that petrol and energy prices in Europe would be higher, if anything, as don’t nations like Germany have an incredibly high reliance on Russian gas compared to us?

The question we have to ask ourselves is; if Europeans aren’t suffering as much from the cost of living crisis as us Britons are, what are they doing to prevent a crisis from emerging?

 

[AstroDan]

Is the cost of living crisis not an issue elsewhere, though? Surely our European neighbours are suffering just as much as us, if not more?

I must admit, I’m surprised that petrol prices are lower in Europe. I’d have thought that petrol and energy prices in Europe would be higher, if anything, as don’t nations like Germany have an incredibly high reliance on Russian gas compared to us?

The question we have to ask ourselves is; if Europeans aren’t suffering as much from the cost of living crisis as us Britons are, what are they doing to prevent a crisis from emerging?

I am talking specifically about fuel - although the French government are currently reducing gas/electricity rises to 4%.

Petrol prices are lower in most of Europe due to government action.

Here, our government are offering a 5p/litre discount. This compares with the following:

Germany:
The tax burden on petrol in Germany will be temporarily reduced by 29,55 cents per litre - or almost 35,2 cents per litre, including VAT. Taxes on diesel will be reduced by 14 cents per litre, or 16,7 cents with VAT.

France:
The French government is to offer a 30-cents per litre ‘refund’ on fuel in France, which, when added to the 20 cents announced by TotalEnergies, could see prices of €1.50 per litre at some stations. Prices are currently around €1.70 per litre as the current government discount is 18-cents.