When crises collide:

#NHScrisis (and #LongCovid) contribute the largest proportion of 'economically inactive' #workers....

driving labour shortages in a time of #inflation & #costoflivingcrises,...

while #greedfaltion (yes its a thing), drives both #inflation & decline in real wages...

causing some pressure (as a lagging factor) on wages to rise.

So what is the #BoE going to do; yes raise #interest rates to drive a #recession to compound the economic damage.

It looks like #classwar & is!

Ben Jennings on #CostOfLivingCrises #BT #AI - political cartoon gallery in London original-political-cartoon.com

https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2023/04/26/34-year-old-mom-left-the-us-for-europe-and-spends-just-59-a-day-raising-3-kids.html.

#europe #germany #america #costoflivingcrises #moving

Cycling round the #LuneValley yesterday, I was struck by the relative quietness of the roads during a working Monday... sometimes, it seems like our recent travails have had a major impact on road usage (locally at least).

My guess is #workingfromhome, high #petrol prices (forcing more consolidated car journeys - join gin together previously operate journeys) & the general #costoflivingcrises have reduced the amount of time we spend on the road... which may be no bad thing!

So while the Guardian compares record #automotive industry profits, to claims the sector 'cannot afford' to comply with new emissions standards, I think the more general issue is how these firms have been able to maintain profits (like #BigOil has) when all around is in crisis....

Call me cynical, but I might be wondering whether the global #costoflivingcrises & its attendant #inflation, have been a useful mask for some profiteering...

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/apr/20/europe-top-five-carmakers-more-than-double-profits-since-2019

Q. despite the post-Covid labour shortage remaining relatively stable (which is to say a shrunken UK workforce), will the continuing #costoflivingcrises, #banking turmoil & the likelihood end of money saved during the #pandemic, lead to a shift back into work for people who for the last two years have taken themselves out of the labour market?

If so & there is a 'rush' back to work, will there be an associated period of (unwelcome) wage deflation as returnees bid down #wages?

h/t FT/Lex

A wave of #union activity is rippling across the USA, giving workers historic boosts in pay at a time when the #CostOfLivingCrises looms over most of our heads.

Read about the achievements accomplished so far:
https://www.csmonitor.com/Business/2023/0330/Labor-strikes-are-rising-and-winning-pay-hikes

Federal budget 2023: Grocery rebate is the right direction on food insecurity, but there’s a long road ahead
#Canada #Politics #Food #Inflation #IncomeSupport #FoodInsecurity #Grocery #CostOfLivingCrises #CostOfLiving #GroceryRebate
https://the-14.com/federal-budget-2023-grocery-rebate-is-the-right-direction-on-food-insecurity-but-theres-a-long-road-ahead/

I see #centralbankers are wary of a wage rise-#inflation spiral setting in across the world as #workers struggle to maintain standards of living... But, they seldom seem troubled by the #profits rise-#inequality spiral, which has reduced workers share of overall surplus over the last decades, and of course lies behind #strikes to counter the #costoflivingcrises.

Its time for central banks to (re)think how they understand the pressures in the (global) system!

(plot spoiler: they won't!)

Q. what lies behind the 22% increase in the number of people who are receiving at least one prescription #antidepressant between 2015/16 & 2021/22, rising to over 10% of the UK's population?

The positive interpretation is that we are less willing to hide #mentalhealth issues away & thus treatment is more out in the open;

The negative interpretation is that the UK's increasingly problem-ridden #capitalism is driving a #mentalhealthcrisis via #costoflivingcrises

Of course; it could be both!

Much like the #energy firms doing well out of record energy prices, it now seems the #banking sector is following:

#Lloyds bank has just announced greatly increased profits - up 80% year on year, for the last quarter - from raised #interestrates;

Its ever clearer a key element of the #costoflivingcrises has been a flow of funds (ultimately) to #corporate #managers & #shareholders.

But, pretty much (of course) what one expects from the UK's #rentiercapitalism!
To those who have, more is given!

The UK has an #investment problem (we invest too little in our #economic development). The Q. is what can we do about it?

Martin Wolf (FT) says its a #savings problem & UK needs to save more; but has he not noticed the #costoflivingcrises?

Others might point to the balance on the current account & say actually the UK's investors need to reshore (refocus) their #investments in the UK (i.e. too much gores out, not comes in)!

Don't blame those who cannot save, blame the footloose #Bankers!

Clear Barret who writes about #personalfinance in the FT has just used an acronym that I was unaware of but looks to become more relevant:
CAFTERs... [Can't Afford to Retire].

As the #CostOfLivingCrises continue to take their toll on people's ability to save/plan for #retirement, will the CAFTers become a significant political force I wonder?

Will a CAFTers political group form to represent their interests?

Whatever #tory politicians are saying about international causes of the #CostOfLivingCrises, the UK's stagnation & other problems in the #economy, strangely a range of comparable countries are not so effected... yes (you knew I was going to say this): the independent variable is the #Tory Govt. (and #Brexit of course)...

Many followers, I know, will say a lack of growth is a good thing for #environmental reasons, but it needs to planned for not fallen into if we are to protect the vulnerable!

Lets be clear:

A #recession 'avoided' is not a crisis averted... its a lucky statistical anomaly for the #Tories in a sea of #CostOfLivingCrises, #economic decline & around social crisis....

Here's a Q.:
have the #pandemic & #CostOfLivingCrises accelerated a shift in #workers attitude(s) to work?

On the one hand, given employers (continuing) view of staff as a cost to be controlled/reduced, more workers are seeing the purely contractual character of much work & withdrawing goodwill & keeping an eye out for alternatives.

On the other, young people (at least the ones I know) seem much more interested in 'meaningful' work that high wages & 'crap jobs'

Is a social shift underway?

“Oh hey come and work for one of the most highly commercialised productions on the planet and get paid NOTHING! If you have previously volunteered for the Olympics, City of Culture, planning for the coronation we want to hear from you!” #CostOfLivingCrises #eurovision #liverpool

RT @pipp100@twitter.com

@markofbattersea@twitter.com What do the #ToryGovt worry about? Certainly not the diabolical damage #Brexit has done to the country. Or give much thought to the health of every man woman & child #CovidIsNotOver #CostOfLivingCrises The only worry they have is not winning the next #GeneralElection

🐦🔗: https://twitter.com/pipp100/status/1618783907431972864

RT @claireXanda@twitter.com

There isn’t enough money to feed the kids,no money for nhs,no money to heat our homes,no money for the poor but there is money for a privileged useless family to spend on a useless party so they can get dressed up&look down at us #CostOfLivingCrises #AbolishTheMonarchy #NotMyKing

🐦🔗: https://twitter.com/claireXanda/status/1617234524294856707

RT @markeverett1977@twitter.com

@GOV2UK@twitter.com #GeneralElectionNow
#ToriesOut200
#BrexitBrokeBritain
#BrexitWillNeverWork
#ClapsDontPayTheBills
#CostOfLivingCrises
#EnoughIsEnough
#GeneralStrikeNow
#MentalHealthMatters
#SOSNHS
#PPEScanda
#PayNursesLivingWage
#ToriesDestroyedOurNHS
#ToriesDestroyingOurCountry

🐦🔗: https://twitter.com/markeverett1977/status/1617354666219831298