Avviso di standard di vita: “Il decennio sembra desolante”

>British families will not see their income grow in the next five years while pensioners will be £1,500 better off, economic researchers have projected in a “bleak” analysis that cast a shadow over government plans to boost households’ budgets. 

>Chancellor Reeves claimed at this year’s Spring Statement that Britons would be £500 better off each year in a remark that was later questioned by leading economists and opposition figures while the Labour Party itself said the value would only come to light in 2029. 

We have a fundamental problem with how pricing and inflation works. In the name of efficiency we have developed a society geared towards taking away the absolute maximum of money from regular individuals as possible, when wages increase, companies simply increase prices to compensate. When you try to control for that (such as with energy price cap) you encourage maximal pricing strategies which take cheaper options off the table because the government has “authorised” the figure specified by the cap.

The issue here is Britain is primarily a service led economy, which does require a high degree of discretionary consumer spending to generate taxation and to stimulate businesses by having people able to spend in a discretionary fashion in this place or that, driving down prices via competition.

Competition in most privatised utilities is a joke, they operate as cartels and never knowingly undercut their competitors.

This is due to how many essential utilities which cannot be done without have been shifted to private hands, and how ineffective regulation is at dealing with them. Without an effective public option, people see the money in their pockets go less far, and feel like they can’t spend because they might need it for the next big bill/mortgage/essentials hike. This kills businesses that rely on discretionary spend.

The solution here is to put money in people’s pockets. But what we’re seeing is a business culture which prizes harvesting as much from consumers as possible, borrowing more to pay bonuses, then trying to hike bills even further to pay for their borrowing. When the shit hits the fan the company is sold and the people who did this walk away with no liability.

I’m working on dipping out of the U.K. for a bit. I’ve probably got 10 years until my parents will be an age that they need me a bit more.
I can’t stand the thought of a bigger drop in living standards. The social contract is breaking down.

Just don’t look at how far the US has pulled ahead. But the NhS!

I’m sure some more “difficult decisions” will have to be made that result in working people having less and worse services while those at the top and corporations continue to do very nicely, thank you.

That’s not news to those of us who have felt it for the past 9 months

Lets honest. It looks bleak for us. It looks fine for them.

We have to suffer, so that they can have wealth far in excess of what they need or deserve.

It’s ok gang, managed decline is what inspires hope for the future and love for the country.

As the vultures rip the last sinews from our bones I took will be proud that Kier stuck to his own fiscal rules.

This is who we are now. Austerity after austerity, and every action the UK takes costs 15x more  because we have to have 400 consultants sign off before we then pay outsourcers inflated prices to do anything.

(Please ignore the massive funneling of cash from your taxes to American arms firms)