This is the disgusting thing, really.
The current cost of living crisis is eminently solvable with focus and genuine investment from central government, and solving it would be relatively painless for most of the population (with the exception of landlords, anyone else who is heavily invested in property as a business and supermarkets). However that is a bridge too far for both parties, who'd rather make it about whether wages can keep pace with inflation (clue: they cannot) than solve a long standing vulnerability that will become many times worse than it is now if climate change imperils global food security.
It's harder to solve than you think, given that the above countries have been investing in affordable housing for some time. It takes time to turn the Titanic. The landlords going under
en masse, resulting in the banks pulling back, is usually the catalyst for the transition from boom to bust.
I am a simple soal. What vexes me is these price increases seem to end up with record profits for supermarkets and energy companies. Someone, somewhere, is taking the absolute piss. The margin on bread or petrol should be reasonably stable, no matter what happens to the raw material wholesale price they pay, surely?
Cost structure also matters. Think about it this way. COVID compelled mass layoffs and resulted in a lot of people leaving the workforce. Companies can't (or won't) hire fast enough to cover for increased demand. If companies are squeezing more out of fewer employees on higher wages, they can make more money than they made before. Anecdotally, that's the story I hear from young people who are in those sorts of jobs because they lack alternatives.
They're probably also saving on benefits because those kids can't afford to put money into things like 401(k)s and still make the rent payment, these days.
