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jambutty · 11-09-2007, 19:56

The problem with inflation figures and pay awards is they still use percentages and to add insult to injury senior managers and officers get a higher percentage rate than the hoipoloi. That’s you and me.

I understand that the inflation figure is derived from the cost of the National Shopping Basket that is a selection of goods that most people buy but does not include mortgages (it should). However from time to time some goods are discarded and replaced by others. I don’t for one moment suppose that the discarded goods have risen sharply and are replaced by goods that have hardly moved at all. Nah! That would be cheating. It is also rather strange that the inflation figure for October is usually the lowest for the year. It wouldn’t have anything to do with the fact that pension and benefit increases are based on October’s inflation figures would it. Nah! That’s being cynical!

The point I am making is that when the price of bread goes up it goes up the same amount for everyone, regardless of whether you earn £200 per week or £5,000. And the same applies to most other goods. In other words if the National Shopping Basket costs £100 and inflation is at 2.5% it would cost £102.50. So to keep pace earnings should go up by £2.50. So the rich get richer (at out expense) and the poor get poorer. 2.5% of £200 is just a fiver. But 2.5% of £5,000 is £125. To be fair if bread has gone up by 10p it should go up by £2.50 for the rich people. Obviously that does not happen nor could it be done that way.

So to try and offset the disparity the chancellor hammers the rich with higher taxes. But all that does is the upper echelon just claim a higher salary (because they control the purse strings) so the end cash result is the same as it was, or more likely more. This in turn means that there is less money to distribute in wage increases lower down. The chancellor gains with more taxes coming in and the senior managers also gain but we down the bottom of the barrel lose out – again.

It’s no wonder that the people are getting fed up and ready to go on strike for a fair deal. The only problem is that it is we the ordinary folk who do the suffering as there are no trains or buses or the Post Office is closed just when we need it most or the rubbish doesn’t get taken away.

11-09-2007, 19:56	#7
jambutty Apprentice Geriatric Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Darwen, Lancashire Posts: 3,706 Liked: 0 times Rep Power: 89	Re: Strikes! The problem with inflation figures and pay awards is they still use percentages and to add insult to injury senior managers and officers get a higher percentage rate than the hoipoloi. That’s you and me. I understand that the inflation figure is derived from the cost of the National Shopping Basket that is a selection of goods that most people buy but does not include mortgages (it should). However from time to time some goods are discarded and replaced by others. I don’t for one moment suppose that the discarded goods have risen sharply and are replaced by goods that have hardly moved at all. Nah! That would be cheating. It is also rather strange that the inflation figure for October is usually the lowest for the year. It wouldn’t have anything to do with the fact that pension and benefit increases are based on October’s inflation figures would it. Nah! That’s being cynical! The point I am making is that when the price of bread goes up it goes up the same amount for everyone, regardless of whether you earn £200 per week or £5,000. And the same applies to most other goods. In other words if the National Shopping Basket costs £100 and inflation is at 2.5% it would cost £102.50. So to keep pace earnings should go up by £2.50. So the rich get richer (at out expense) and the poor get poorer. 2.5% of £200 is just a fiver. But 2.5% of £5,000 is £125. To be fair if bread has gone up by 10p it should go up by £2.50 for the rich people. Obviously that does not happen nor could it be done that way. So to try and offset the disparity the chancellor hammers the rich with higher taxes. But all that does is the upper echelon just claim a higher salary (because they control the purse strings) so the end cash result is the same as it was, or more likely more. This in turn means that there is less money to distribute in wage increases lower down. The chancellor gains with more taxes coming in and the senior managers also gain but we down the bottom of the barrel lose out – again. It’s no wonder that the people are getting fed up and ready to go on strike for a fair deal. The only problem is that it is we the ordinary folk who do the suffering as there are no trains or buses or the Post Office is closed just when we need it most or the rubbish doesn’t get taken away. __________________ Thanks for reading. If you have a few minutes to spare please visit my web site at http://popye.bravehost.com