Price Increases

[SueEllen]

Luckily at the moment the majority of us are OK. I still remember this thread - https://forums.contractoruk.com/gene...sing-gown.html Looks like you have to live on milk, apples, chips, pizza and potatoes if you can afford the electricity/gas to cook the last 3 items.

https://www.theguardian.com/business...rice-increases

UK consumers are facing significantly bigger increases in the price of some budget food items including pasta, crisps and bread, new experimental data shows, as poorer families bear the brunt of the cost of living crisis.

Highlighting the challenge for low-income households, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed prices for some low-cost groceries increased at a much faster rate than general inflation in the year to April.

The price of pasta jumped the most from a basket of 30 basic food items compiled by government statisticians, with an increase of 50% from a year earlier – more than five times the headline rate of inflation of 9% for the same period.

The figures also highlighted above-average-inflation price rises for crisps (up 17%), bread (16%), minced beef (16%) and rice (15%).

The ONS decided to compile the experimental data, tracking price changes for the lowest-cost everyday groceries sold by supermarkets online, after the anti-poverty campaigner Jack Monroe highlighted the risks facing the poorest households in Britain from much faster increases in the price of budget brand items.

However, the ONS said it found the inflation rate overall for the 30 everyday groceries it selected was about 6%, roughly the same as the 6.7% average inflation rate for food and non-alcoholic drinks in the past year, with the price of some budget food items including potatoes, cheese and pizza falling over the period.

Monroe, who held talks with the ONS over compiling the data, welcomed the publication of the figures, saying they backed up her own research and evidence from January. “The hikes in the value brands and basics have been much higher than average inflation stats,” she tweeted.

“As I have said for 10 years now, and as many others have pointed out before + alongside me, it’s FAR more expensive to be poor. And now the literal experts in data gathering and statistics are helpfully, methodically, forensically backing that up. This feels like huge progress.”

[ladymuck]

It is hard. A friend of mine used to be perpetually broke and even though she knew better value could be had buying non perishables in bulk, she just couldn't afford the initial outlay. Even if I helped her out by getting big packs of things she wasn't able to replace them at that level when they ran out.

[agentzero]

Income inequality has worsened over the last 12 years. Unusually, all the data supports this. Worse still, wealth inequality is also much higher. As someone who earns a lot of money, I am distinctly uncomfortable with this but don't know what to do to help out, except buy people bulk items of food. Messy divorces and life events can happen to everybody, as attested to by many people who write on this forum. It could happen to any of us too.

Worryingly, the wealth inequality is stark in the younger generation. It seems easy for older people to tell the young just to work harder and just try harder, but this ignores the statistics. If working harder doesn't resolve your income or wealth inequality then there is little incentive to drive yourself to an early grave by working 3 jobs and working all the hours possible. I think we are approaching the point at which something fundamental has to change in order to distribute wealth more fairly. Income is resolvable using legislation and heavy handed economic measures, but wealth inequality is harder to target because it takes decades to fix.

If anybody here doubts this situation, get yourself volunteering at a foodbank. If you live in a rich Tory shire then just do a few nights or days, particularly if you're not in contract now, in poorer areas. Talk to people. I did this and my perception of just how bad things are is now much more realistic and unfortunately much worse.