Inflation - when is this going to end?

Kompany Car said:
Increasing the minimum wage just causes wage inflation across the whole of the economy, from the low paid right up to those in the higher echelons.
To me, the solution and I said it before is to increase taxation on those earning over £70-80k per year using the same sliding scale that already exists for people earning 125k, downwards. Also increase capital gains tax which predominantly only affects the wealthy.

With the tax revenue gained from this you use it to supplement salaries as an additional benefit which may well equate to £15 per hour.
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You want these fuckers to tax the rich?

This will happen the same day Putin will come out as gay.
 
Kompany Car said:
If only the people in charge were educated enough to apply simple economics without worrying about upsetting their core voters or their mates in business, we might get somewhere.
We know what the main driver is for inflation (Energy costs) so the answer is to invest in things to reduce it. If that needs to be done under the banner of a government owned company then so be it. Get those wind turbines and nuclear plants built. The Hinckley Point C project has taken too long, mostly due to indecisive management and politicians, Wylfa Newydd had the plug pulled after loads of development because the government couldn’t agree how to finance it. We also need to get energy storage in place and a programme of insulating homes.
By getting the energy situation back under our control regardless of if it takes 5yrs or more will allow us to emerge from the inevitable recession much quicker and in a way that will reduce our manufacturing costs. Not only that but it will keep people employed.
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Good idea. Just a quick question, you’ll be happy to have one at the bottom of your road?
 
MafeotulBlue said:
You want these fuckers to tax the rich?

This will happen the same day Putin will come out as gay.
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As someone who already pays around 60% tax when you factor in national insurance, what’s the point in having money if you live in a disfuctional society, riddled with crime.
The simple alignment of CGT and income tax would raise in excess of £14Bn. It would also stop remuneration being paid in shares as a tax avoidance ploy.
They are on about having a government backed loan to the energy companies for the next 2 yrs to stabilise the cost of energy to the public. The cost being touted around was £100Bn to be paid back by the tax payer over 10yrs. Just the change in capital gains tax over that 10yr period would raise £140Bn.
 
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metalblue said:
Good idea. Just a quick question, you’ll be happy to have one at the bottom of your road?
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Yes, much healthier than having a motorway nearby.

The problem with nuclear is that everyone uses Chernobyl as a point of reference which was a flawed design with lax operating procedures. Some mention Fukushima but the root cause was the earthquake followed by a Tsunami, which thankfully we don’t suffer from.

This fear of Nuclear is akin to how everyone is horrified when a plane crashes because hundreds die, but fail to take account that planes are far safer than walking or driving where, just on the Uk roads, over 1300 are killed every year and 20k are seriously injured.

In the vanishingly small possibility that there is a major nuclear meltdown, it would make no difference if you are 1 mile from it or 50 miles.
 
inbetween said:
The critical issue is everyone needs a pay rise to cope with inflation but right now we're slumping into a recession so many companies can't afford it, it's a perfect storm. It's also a unique problem in that inflation isn't being driven locally but rather globally. The price of energy just as an example has gone up because of factors we cannot control. The price of food and other goods is going up because of supply issues occurring globally post-COVID. All of this is why I think the BoE was incredibly stupid to increase interest rates, it'll make no difference and harm people more.

Ultimately this isn't a profit making crisis so attacking profits is not going to change anything because the fact is gas prices have increased by 500% since last year. The energy companies are making profits off the back of volatility and not outright profiteering.

Imagine if you ran a pub and the price of beer went up 500% in a year. You couldn't sell pints at the same price as before so you'd have to increase prices. However, what would you do if beer prices fell for a short period? You'd buy tons in and still sell it at the new price for easy profit. This is how the energy companies are making a lot of money but the reality is generally still the same, the price is still 4x/5x higher than what it was last year.

I don't think there is any solution other than the government has to step in and subsidise bills for those who need the help. The problem with this is it's extremely expensive and well the only way to pay for it long term is with tax rises and you won't see any Tory propose that one. I really doubt a windfall tax would raise enough, we're talking perhaps millions or maybe a billion if we're lucky. That amount isn't going to pay for people's energy bills until the Ukraine war ends which will likely carry on for years.

As I've mentioned on this thread so many times, we're in a proxy war with one of the largest economies and one of the world's largest gas producers. We cannot be surprised that things are going to get tough because this is the price of our choices. It's the right choice in my opinion but it's going to be difficult because of it.
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A very good post but regarding the beer/pub analogy there's a big difference for me. Going to the pub is a lifestyle choice and if a pub puts the prices up and makes more profit because the wholesale beer price has dropped temporarily then customers can always decide not to bother drinking in there, whereas keeping warm during the winter is a necessity. For that reason, I still believe the energy companies are taking the piss out of us with their multi-billion pound profits while half the country faces not being to pay even 50% of their energy bills during the winter, unless significant help is forthcoming. @Blue Maverick had it spot on the other day - the energy companies aren't taking a hit, don't seem to want to take a hit, and are seemingly happy to expect us lot to bear the brunt of it while pretending to care when asking the government to intervene. Fact is that they don't care - they're just shitting it that millions will only pay what they can afford as opposed to what they owe and they can see those multi-billion pound profits turning into multi-billion pound losses in the blink of an eye unless meaningful help is forthcoming.
 
Kompany Car said:
Yes, much healthier than having a motorway nearby.

The problem with nuclear is that everyone uses Chernobyl as a point of reference which was a flawed design with lax operating procedures. Some mention Fukushima but the root cause was the earthquake followed by a Tsunami, which thankfully we don’t suffer from.

This fear of Nuclear is akin to how everyone is horrified when a plane crashes because hundreds die, but fail to take account that planes are far safer than walking or driving where, just on the Uk roads, over 1300 are killed every year and 20k are seriously injured.

In the vanishingly small possibility that there is a major nuclear meltdown, it would make no difference if you are 1 mile from it or 50 miles.
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Very noble of you. The vast vast majority wouldn’t be so benign to it mate which is half the battle in getting these built - countless legal challenges and the such.

As a consequence it will also impact the value of your house. So another legal challenge for damages awaits.
 
M18CTID said:
A very good post but regarding the beer/pub analogy there's a big difference for me. Going to the pub is a lifestyle choice and if a pub puts the prices up and makes more profit because the wholesale beer price has dropped temporarily then customers can always decide not to bother drinking in there, whereas keeping warm during the winter is a necessity. For that reason, I still believe the energy companies are taking the piss out of us with their multi-billion pound profits while half the country faces not being to pay even 50% of their energy bills during the winter, unless significant help is forthcoming. @Blue Maverick had it spot on the other day - the energy companies aren't taking a hit, don't seem to want to take a hit, and are seemingly happy to expect us lot to bear the brunt of it while pretending to care when asking the government to intervene. Fact is that they don't care - they're just shitting it that millions will only pay what they can afford as opposed to what they owe and they can see those multi-billion pound profits turning into multi-billion pound losses in the blink of an eye unless meaningful help is forthcoming.
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I understand it's important for people but seeing this as a profit problem is the wrong way to look at it. I'm not bothered either way and I'd rather of course people keep their money but it's just not reasonable to expect gas prices to cost for example as they were in 2019. The price of gas has increased by 400-500% in one year so the pub analogy is correct either way, it's the government that has to step in to solve the problem of whether people can heat their homes.

The way these companies make profit has nothing to do with your bill, it's everything to do with getting the price right when the gas is bought months in advance. Don't forget that bills are capped so to make any profit the energy company has to supply you at a price that is less than that cap or else they're bankrupt. An energy company that makes a lot of profit did well at controlling costs, it didn't do well at charging people because it has no control over what it charges people.

This is the stupidity of those who want to both pay less (reduce the cap) and tax energy company profits to pay for it.... If you reduce the cap then profits are reduced and the result is you can't tax profits that don't exist.
 
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