gfromls Posted August 20, 2006 Share Posted August 20, 2006 The "real" rate of inflation hitting middle-class households is as high as 10 per cent - more than four times the Government's official rate, it is claimed. Economists are warning that the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the benchmark measure of inflation, is "meaningless" to millions of consumers, who have been victims of staggering rises in the cost of energy, council tax and school fees over the past 12 months. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml...0/ninflat20.xml Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bingley Bloke Posted August 20, 2006 Share Posted August 20, 2006 Nice to see the media starting to wake up to the nightmare that most of us have been living for several years now. Inflation, in my experience, is currently running at 16%. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xurbia Posted August 20, 2006 Share Posted August 20, 2006 I am fortunate enough to earn a lot more than the average wage and yet I don't feel well-off. I would have done 10 years ago though. Distorting the inflation figures isn't going to do this government one bit of good. All we need is a really cold winter and you'll see how many pensioners get wiped out because they can't afford to heat their houses. If the bulk of your money is above the 40% tax bracket then inflation feels one hell of a lot more than 10%. As soon as the MEW frenzy stems the income shortfall the impact of inflation is going to decimate the foolish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caledonian-Emigre Posted August 20, 2006 Share Posted August 20, 2006 The "real" rate of inflation hitting middle-class households is as high as 10 per cent - more than four times the Government's official rate, it is claimed. Economists are warning that the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the benchmark measure of inflation, is "meaningless" to millions of consumers, who have been victims of staggering rises in the cost of energy, council tax and school fees over the past 12 months. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml...0/ninflat20.xml How much is inflation a global phenomenon (I guess due to energy prices and raw materials plus rising wages in China) and how much of it is unique to Britain (high asset prices, wage rises over the past decade making the price of services more expensive, certain sections of society getting massive bonuses)? How does UK inflation compare to that of the Euro zone, the USA or Japan for example? Can you really have booms without overheating and inflation? Just a few questions to see the comparative global situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oracle Posted August 20, 2006 Share Posted August 20, 2006 How much is inflation a global phenomenon (I guess due to energy prices and raw materials plus rising wages in China) and how much of it is unique to Britain (high asset prices, wage rises over the past decade making the price of services more expensive, certain sections of society getting massive bonuses)? How does UK inflation compare to that of the Euro zone, the USA or Japan for example? Can you really have booms without overheating and inflation? Just a few questions to see the comparative global situation. inflation is a global phenomenon,it's dictated by commodity prices,which in turn are a fairly good barometer of the health of the global economy. The last 15 years or so have been odd.The demise of germany and the Tiger economies of asia left the likes of the US/UK consumer having to work overtime to keep the global economy going. ....the opposite is happening now,the likes of germany and japan are recovering and asia as a whole is gathering momentum...US and UK consumers are no longer required to the same degree,so they are destined to take a breather. export-led economies will do ok as they can export to each other even while IR's rise....their employment and domestic economies need it......Japan,germany,france are the mirror-image of US/UK and the pendulum has swung although most people don't realise it yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWLD Posted August 20, 2006 Share Posted August 20, 2006 CPI = Chav Price Index Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Correction Posted August 20, 2006 Share Posted August 20, 2006 The "real" rate of inflation hitting middle-class households is as high as 10 per cent - more than four times the Government's official rate, it is claimed. Economists are warning that the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the benchmark measure of inflation, is "meaningless" to millions of consumers, who have been victims of staggering rises in the cost of energy, council tax and school fees over the past 12 months. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml...0/ninflat20.xml Playing devils advocate, and not really understanding thigs like this, does this not make houseprices 10% cheaper than a year ago (less hpi of course) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenko3000 Posted August 20, 2006 Share Posted August 20, 2006 Playing devils advocate, and not really understanding thigs like this, does this not make houseprices 10% cheaper than a year ago (less hpi of course) Only wage inflation makes houses 'cheaper'. This thread is about price inflation, which eats into discretionary spending, in turn reducing the amount that is available to service a mortgage... so, this type of inflation actually makes houses more expensive, not less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DabHand Posted August 20, 2006 Share Posted August 20, 2006 Yeah for gods sake kill this repeated untruth. Inflation only makes houses cheaper if your wages match that rate of inflation. REPEAT 10 TIMES. Regarding the OP, we've already had the OAPs suffer 30 odd % effective inflation and now the 'middle classes' (who are they, anyone paying taxes eh?) are suffering 10 plus %. Just how farcical will this become whilst the govt trots out its increased shoe production figures each month?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casual Observer Posted August 20, 2006 Share Posted August 20, 2006 Regarding the OP, we've already had the OAPs suffer 30 odd % effective inflation and now the 'middle classes' (who are they, anyone paying taxes eh?) are suffering 10 plus %. Just how farcical will this become whilst the govt trots out its increased shoe production figures each month?? That's misleading; the reported 30 odd % was over 10 years. You can't juxtapose it to the story about 10% annual inflation for the middle class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billy-g Posted August 20, 2006 Share Posted August 20, 2006 I am fortunate enough to earn a lot more than the average wage and yet I don't feel well-off. I would have done 10 years ago though. Distorting the inflation figures isn't going to do this government one bit of good. All we need is a really cold winter and you'll see how many pensioners get wiped out because they can't afford to heat their houses. If the bulk of your money is above the 40% tax bracket then inflation feels one hell of a lot more than 10%. As soon as the MEW frenzy stems the income shortfall the impact of inflation is going to decimate the foolish. Very true. Very, very true. You know, if I had my time again, I think I'd just be a chav or a Gangster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
music man Posted August 20, 2006 Share Posted August 20, 2006 (edited) CPI = Chav Price Index Fair comment. Edited August 20, 2006 by music man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qetesuesi Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 CPI = Chav Price Index Or better, Chancellor's Phoney Index. Any other offers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Realistbear Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 (edited) The recent Mori poll posted here indicated that Gordon "Miracle Economy" Brown's spin factor was a minus factor. Apparently, those polled believe him In reality, he is the great spinmeister himself as it appears not a single economists actually believes inflation is dropping to 2.4% when prices for everything people need to buy are raging ahead by as much as 10-20%. http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/news/article....mp;in_page_id=2 But economists say this system is meaningless to most middle class homes because it excludes many of their staple costs, such as school fees, council tax, domestic help, and household insurance. Critics also argue that energy bills, petrol, health insurance and mortgage payments are under-represented in the system. Edited August 21, 2006 by Realistbear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnd Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 So, if wages are rising 3-4% - how long do we have with a 7%+ gap between the wages and prices before the economy just 'stops'? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OzzMosiz Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 I am fortunate enough to earn a lot more than the average wage and yet I don't feel well-off. I would have done 10 years ago though. Distorting the inflation figures isn't going to do this government one bit of good. All we need is a really cold winter and you'll see how many pensioners get wiped out because they can't afford to heat their houses. I Alas again. The pensions crisis will be eased!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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