What Is It With The 20% Increases On Food?

[El Cid]

58 minutes ago, Anna B said:

Profit. The only thing that counts. It never seems to occur to people that some of these companies are so rich they could absorb some of the cost themselves.

Our high streets are full of chains that have forced out a lot of the competition, so 'shopping elsewhere' is not always a realistic option.

 

One of the unfortunate consequences of the 'free market economy' is that as the winners get richer they can afford to buy out all the competition.

We have had the profit motive for decades. Young people educate themselves and go to uni for the jobs with better pay.

Yes we need a spirit of community in local towns and villages. But peoples living standards, including yours, has improved because of the profit motive.

[hackey lad]

2 minutes ago, Anna B said:

Happy for you 🙄

Can you mention it again , so I dont forget it ?

[Rockers rule]

38 minutes ago, Anna B said:

Profit. The only thing that counts. It never seems to occur to people that some of these companies are so rich they could absorb some of the cost themselves.

 

Our high streets are full of chains that have forced out a lot of the competition, so 'shopping elsewhere' is not always a realistic option.

 

One of the unfortunate consequences of the 'free market economy' is that as the winners get richer they can afford to buy out all the competition. After that happens they can name their own price. Most chains have parent companies that have parent companies until it ends up choice is just an illusion as at the top of the chain nearly all the subsidries are owned by the same few people. 

 

It's called 'winner takes all' or Neoliberalism.

 

 

Shopping elsewhere is only one part of the equation, shopping sensibly, planning meals and finding alternatives has become a lost art form.

Stews, casseroles, curry's etc can all last at least two days & taste better than that sado single microwave meal that just cost you a fiver.

 

Top tip.

Use one of the smaller trolleys at the super market  .  

Shop local doesn't work anymore, all the local shops are Aldi, Lidl, Farmfoods or Iceland  .

 

Keep safe out there  .

 

 

 

[Anna B]

19 minutes ago, El Cid said:

We have had the profit motive for decades. Young people educate themselves and go to uni for the jobs with better pay.

Yes we need a spirit of community in local towns and villages. But peoples living standards, including yours, has improved because of the profit motive.

Yet we see from the Pandemic the jobs that sustain the economy and are desperately needed, and most of them don't require a degree. It's these that should pay well to ensure enough people want to do them. But instead the security, working conditions and pay have fallen behind.  

 

Continual  Economic Growth cannot go on for ever. It's unsustainable. When I look at the pointless stuff people are expected to buy these days I despair. What about the planet? What happened to Responsible Capitalism, when people paid their proper taxes and money trickled down through the system to everybody's benefit?

 

This free for all we have now has to stop somewhere, before all but a few are impoverished. 

Edited February 12, 2022 by Anna B

[El Cid]

3 minutes ago, Anna B said:

I agree, but it's out of control. Continual Growth cannot go on for ever. It's unsustainable. When I look at the pointless things people are expected to buy these days I despair. What happened to Responsible Capitalism, when people paid their proper taxes and money trickled down through the system to everybody's benefit?

This free for all we have now has to stop somewhere before all but a few are impoverished. 

As I get richer in older age, I wonder what it means. I can buy anything that I want online and it will be delivered to my home, within reason.

Do I want a brand new car, I tend to just keep saving for retirement. I know my pension increases with CPI inflation, so it will devalue over time, because CPI inflation is not measuring real inflation.

If it went up by RPI then I would be happier.

[Anna B]

54 minutes ago, El Cid said:

As I get richer in older age, I wonder what it means. I can buy anything that I want online and it will be delivered to my home, within reason.

Do I want a brand new car, I tend to just keep saving for retirement. I know my pension increases with CPI inflation, so it will devalue over time, because CPI inflation is not measuring real inflation.

If it went up by RPI then I would be happier.

You're lucky. A lot of people are already on the breadline with nowhere to make savings. Rising inflation is going to finish them off. Will food banks, already stretched to the limit, be able to cope with rising numbers? What the hell is happening in this country that we've come to this?

 

Of course rampant inflation is good for the government. It will help them with their enormous debts, so don't expect any help from them.

[El Cid]

1 hour ago, Anna B said:

You're lucky. A lot of people are already on the breadline with nowhere to make savings. Rising inflation is going to finish them off. Will food banks, already stretched to the limit, be able to cope with rising numbers? What the hell is happening in this country that we've come to this?

The only foodbank local to me opens once per week and posts on facebook for people to come for free food.

[Dromedary]

3 hours ago, Anna B said:

It's called 'winner takes all' or Neoliberalism.

No its called a free market economy.

 

Do you remember shop prices pre 1960s under the old Resale Price Maintenance laws when it didn't matter where you shopped as the prices were fixed by the manufacturers and could not be changed by the retailers? For example you could buy a tin of beans, a loaf of bread or even a car or fridge and they were  the same price everywhere as the retailers were not allowed to undercut the manufacturers set prices which meant no retail competition at all. When that was abolished, IIRC by a Wilson Labour Government, it allowed for supermarkets to flourish as they could then discount items, have their own brands, have loss leaders etc.

 

I think Tesco was one of the first to open in the UK after that happened and I think the founder of Tesco said "stack em high and sell em cheap." Fair enough the small local shops took a bashing as they could not compete with the supermarkets large scale buying but by and large it benefitted all with cheaper price, greater competition and a bigger selection. I remember there used to be a monthly publication in the 60s called Shaws Retail Price Guide which retailers used to set their prices by.

 

We have had several decades of cheap food partly down to the EU but I think those days are now coming to an end. 

 

1 hour ago, Anna B said:

Of course rampant inflation is good for the government. It will help them with their enormous debts, so don't expect any help from them.

Its the other way round, inflation means higher interest rates so the debts will increase quicker.

Edited February 12, 2022 by Dromedary

[Janus]

But is it?

 

I would have thought that higher inflation of goods means more vat for the gov-kerching.

 

If the government borrows their money from non UK establishments, how is the interest on government debt affected by the  UK bank rate?

Edited February 13, 2022 by Janus
Additional info

[Dromedary]

1 hour ago, Janus said:

But is it?

 

I would have thought that higher inflation of goods means more vat for the gov-kerching.

When it comes to inflation and food, which is what the original post stated, then there is no VAT charged so no extra for the government.

 

1 hour ago, Janus said:

If the government borrows their money from non UK establishments, how is the interest on government debt affected by the  UK bank rate?

The government borrows their money through bonds issued by the DMA and that can come from various sources but its the BOE that set interest rates in the UK and with government bonds its at the lower rate. Other countries that issue loans such as the US and the EU also have very similar national interest rates to the UK as well. 

 

A bit of an explainer about Covid and loans but applies equally to all government loans.

 

https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/coronavirus-government-debt-an-explainer/