Macro solutions to cost of living crisis
Discussion
Sir Keir Starmer hasn't made any comment on raising the minimum wage as far as I can see since September 2021.
Millions of people working full time at minimum wage and claiming benefits - rightly - as it's not enough to live on. Benefits that come from the taxpayer, while the biggest minimum wage paying corporations (Amazon, Tesco etc) make record billions, with the bosses on record millions.
The taxpayer subsidising big business. Minimum wage workers have zero disposable income to put back into the economy.
Truss tax cuts etc. aren't going to do it. The poorest pay virtually no VAT anyway - no VAT on food, children's clothes etc.
Put the minimum wage up to £12. Force the re balancing of the economy with the tight labour market.
Inflation currently comes from the supply side, not demand. The idea that this would fuel inflation is laughable.
Millions of people working full time at minimum wage and claiming benefits - rightly - as it's not enough to live on. Benefits that come from the taxpayer, while the biggest minimum wage paying corporations (Amazon, Tesco etc) make record billions, with the bosses on record millions.
The taxpayer subsidising big business. Minimum wage workers have zero disposable income to put back into the economy.
Truss tax cuts etc. aren't going to do it. The poorest pay virtually no VAT anyway - no VAT on food, children's clothes etc.
Put the minimum wage up to £12. Force the re balancing of the economy with the tight labour market.
Inflation currently comes from the supply side, not demand. The idea that this would fuel inflation is laughable.
hstewie said:Largechris said:
Sir Keir Starmer hasn't made any comment on raising the minimum wage as far as I can see since September 2021.
Millions of people working full time at minimum wage and claiming benefits - rightly - as it's not enough to live on. Benefits that come from the taxpayer, while the biggest minimum wage paying corporations (Amazon, Tesco etc) make record billions, with the bosses on record millions.
The taxpayer subsidising big business. Minimum wage workers have zero disposable income to put back into the economy.
Truss tax cuts etc. aren't going to do it. The poorest pay virtually no VAT anyway - no VAT on food, children's clothes etc.
Put the minimum wage up to £12. Force the re balancing of the economy with the tight labour market.
Inflation currently comes from the supply side, not demand. The idea that this would fuel inflation is laughable.
Minimum wage workers don't vote in large numbers, pensioners do. Which is why the state pension will go up more than the minimum wage.Millions of people working full time at minimum wage and claiming benefits - rightly - as it's not enough to live on. Benefits that come from the taxpayer, while the biggest minimum wage paying corporations (Amazon, Tesco etc) make record billions, with the bosses on record millions.
The taxpayer subsidising big business. Minimum wage workers have zero disposable income to put back into the economy.
Truss tax cuts etc. aren't going to do it. The poorest pay virtually no VAT anyway - no VAT on food, children's clothes etc.
Put the minimum wage up to £12. Force the re balancing of the economy with the tight labour market.
Inflation currently comes from the supply side, not demand. The idea that this would fuel inflation is laughable.
fido said:
Scandinavian levels of home insulation - we need to cut down on energy waste and should literally start at home(!)
Not necessarily; we also need to be designing to allow homes to cool quickly too as the average summer temps are increasing and our winters are milder. More insulation might be great in the winter but in the 30-40 degree heat we're having right now, many properties are unbearable as they only retain heat...Funk said:
fido said:
Scandinavian levels of home insulation - we need to cut down on energy waste and should literally start at home(!)
Not necessarily; we also need to be designing to allow homes to cool quickly too as the average summer temps are increasing and our winters are milder. More insulation might be great in the winter but in the 30-40 degree heat we're having right now, many properties are unbearable as they only retain heat...On hot days a well insulated house will keep cooler than one that isn't insulated.
Funk said:
fido said:
Scandinavian levels of home insulation - we need to cut down on energy waste and should literally start at home(!)
Not necessarily; we also need to be designing to allow homes to cool quickly too as the average summer temps are increasing and our winters are milder. More insulation might be great in the winter but in the 30-40 degree heat we're having right now, many properties are unbearable as they only retain heat...Only in the last 10 years have there been serious attempts to insulate the new builds
So perhaps out of some 30 million homes in the U.K. it’s probably more than 25 million that are lacking in energy efficiency
Without pretty much rebuilding the entire housing stock at immense cost you’re pissing in the wind really
Earthdweller said:
Largechris said:
Lets stay on topic
Which is what ?Macro solutions to reduce the cost of living ?
Large scale efficiency gains in housing …is by definition exactly that
"Quick fix solutions to get us through this winter with fewer suicides while laying the groundwork for a stronger growing economy"
Not
"Rebuilding the nations housing stock by 2047"
Earthdweller said:
So perhaps out of some 30 million homes in the U.K. it’s probably more than 25 million that are lacking in energy efficiency
It's not just for new builds. My parents have had cavity wall insulation and triple-glazing for ages. It's nice and cool in summer as well. Will have this done to my next place. We have to start somewhere. The next one is transport - we should concentrate less on the the 'green' agenda and look at MPG - I propose mild hybrid systems on all new cars 2.0litre and over.Edited by fido on Friday 12th August 13:46
Largechris said:
Sir Keir Starmer hasn't made any comment on raising the minimum wage as far as I can see since September 2021.
Millions of people working full time at minimum wage and claiming benefits - rightly - as it's not enough to live on. Benefits that come from the taxpayer, while the biggest minimum wage paying corporations (Amazon, Tesco etc) make record billions, with the bosses on record millions.
The taxpayer subsidising big business. Minimum wage workers have zero disposable income to put back into the economy.
Truss tax cuts etc. aren't going to do it. The poorest pay virtually no VAT anyway - no VAT on food, children's clothes etc.
Put the minimum wage up to £12. Force the re balancing of the economy with the tight labour market.
Inflation currently comes from the supply side, not demand. The idea that this would fuel inflation is laughable.
The poorest will pay VAT on Energy costs however, plus a fairly substantial green levy to pay on top of that in the case of electricity. Rather than everyone paying all that tax only to have some refunded through handouts, it seems far more efficient to me to just not charge the tax in the first place. Millions of people working full time at minimum wage and claiming benefits - rightly - as it's not enough to live on. Benefits that come from the taxpayer, while the biggest minimum wage paying corporations (Amazon, Tesco etc) make record billions, with the bosses on record millions.
The taxpayer subsidising big business. Minimum wage workers have zero disposable income to put back into the economy.
Truss tax cuts etc. aren't going to do it. The poorest pay virtually no VAT anyway - no VAT on food, children's clothes etc.
Put the minimum wage up to £12. Force the re balancing of the economy with the tight labour market.
Inflation currently comes from the supply side, not demand. The idea that this would fuel inflation is laughable.
Given all the stories about how cheap renewables are now (lol) maybe it's time to scrap the green levy and let them stand on their own two feet? I've seen estimates it makes up 25% of bills currently, which would be a useful saving - certainly bigger than trying to abolish energy company profits as some seem to suggest.
A big chunk off fuel tax would be useful also, considering diesel is used to deliver just about everything we buy.
Raising NLW would be inflationary, surely?
I am also deeply worried about the effects on the - for want of a better phrase - aspiration of the lower paid.
My case is a classic example. 20 years ago I used to be paid ~50% more than the staff I manage. I work a lot harder, and have a lot more responsibility.
Now, because of the repeated increases in NLW, my wage is only 30% higher than theirs - before tax btw.
I no longer need to put myself through the aggro of this job, so I'll be off next spring, and *none* of my staff have expressed any interest in taking the promotion to my role. Why would they?
TBH if I ever get another job it will be a 'brain off' NLW job; the next level up in most places is just not worth the extra graft and responsibility.
Of course, my employer (and many others like mine) *should* have kept my salary rising proportionally, but then the next level would have to rise, and so on.
TL;DR. The higher we push NLW, the more we'll have a workforce who are quite happy to park in NLW jobs.
I am also deeply worried about the effects on the - for want of a better phrase - aspiration of the lower paid.
My case is a classic example. 20 years ago I used to be paid ~50% more than the staff I manage. I work a lot harder, and have a lot more responsibility.
Now, because of the repeated increases in NLW, my wage is only 30% higher than theirs - before tax btw.
I no longer need to put myself through the aggro of this job, so I'll be off next spring, and *none* of my staff have expressed any interest in taking the promotion to my role. Why would they?
TBH if I ever get another job it will be a 'brain off' NLW job; the next level up in most places is just not worth the extra graft and responsibility.
Of course, my employer (and many others like mine) *should* have kept my salary rising proportionally, but then the next level would have to rise, and so on.
TL;DR. The higher we push NLW, the more we'll have a workforce who are quite happy to park in NLW jobs.
Get rid of Scotland? OK, might take a bit longer than this year; but the UK is an archiac structure and there is so much whining from the devolved nations now might be time to cut em loose.
England would have to nearshore the civil service and its nuclear deterrent for starts. Plus there's the obvious fiscal upside we can divert into reducing fuel tax.
England would have to nearshore the civil service and its nuclear deterrent for starts. Plus there's the obvious fiscal upside we can divert into reducing fuel tax.
Johnnytheboy said:
Raising NLW would be inflationary, surely?
I am also deeply worried about the effects on the - for want of a better phrase - aspiration of the lower paid.
My case is a classic example. 20 years ago I used to be paid ~50% more than the staff I manage. I work a lot harder, and have a lot more responsibility.
Now, because of the repeated increases in NLW, my wage is only 30% higher than theirs - before tax btw.
I no longer need to put myself through the aggro of this job, so I'll be off next spring, and *none* of my staff have expressed any interest in taking the promotion to my role. Why would they?
TBH if I ever get another job it will be a 'brain off' NLW job; the next level up in most places is just not worth the extra graft and responsibility.
Of course, my employer (and many others like mine) *should* have kept my salary rising proportionally, but then the next level would have to rise, and so on.
TL;DR. The higher we push NLW, the more we'll have a workforce who are quite happy to park in NLW jobs.
Although yours is an extreme example, what will happen in reality is that the employer will have to pay the going rate (i.e. much more) to replace you when you leave. I am also deeply worried about the effects on the - for want of a better phrase - aspiration of the lower paid.
My case is a classic example. 20 years ago I used to be paid ~50% more than the staff I manage. I work a lot harder, and have a lot more responsibility.
Now, because of the repeated increases in NLW, my wage is only 30% higher than theirs - before tax btw.
I no longer need to put myself through the aggro of this job, so I'll be off next spring, and *none* of my staff have expressed any interest in taking the promotion to my role. Why would they?
TBH if I ever get another job it will be a 'brain off' NLW job; the next level up in most places is just not worth the extra graft and responsibility.
Of course, my employer (and many others like mine) *should* have kept my salary rising proportionally, but then the next level would have to rise, and so on.
TL;DR. The higher we push NLW, the more we'll have a workforce who are quite happy to park in NLW jobs.
A mobile labour market is efficient like that.
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