When does the "Cost of living crisis end"

[topcat2014]

There will always be inflation. The media created this thing called a cost of living crisis.

Recessions have a technical definition, so therefore a technical end.

What is going to be the trigger for society agreeing the cost of living crisis is over?

This is only true if we refuse to completely overhaul our economic system.

So it is probably true.

Selfishness is going to destroy the economy for everyone.

Yes and people did not live as long either, but healthy life expectancy has not increased. So that's a massive burden that our goverment made no plans for. We are being taxed to death.

Maybe we’ve come to the end of the remarkable era where things got better from one generation to the next. It’s not been happening for that many generations and certainly isn’t the long term norm.

I’m really curious what the people who want to massively reduce the dependency culture think the way to deal with that is. Many people are multi generational claimants who have no prospects of working and don’t have the skills to get one of the jobs available in modern Britain. So what is the answer here? Massive state subsidised mental health support, retraining support, basic job and life skills support. A comprehensive education to make up for their comprehensive education.

how do we fix what governments thatcher have allowed to go wrong? I’m not being goady, but there simply aren’t many non skilled jobs around, so what will these people do?? They need to be upskilled, treated for physical and mental health issues and then somehow get a job in the current competitive environment, for probably not much more than was being paid in benefits. I know something must be done, but how realistically do you do it and how much does it cost? Or are we talking about mass sterilisation or the poor, work houses, debtors prison etc and going full Nazi Victorian (or restore…)? It’s a really difficult problem that has been created over 40 years and if there were simply solutions, they’d have been tried!

It’s not a ‘crisis’. Crisis suggests temporary events that pass.

this is ‘the cost of living’

Not just the economic system but also the very concept of 'money earns interest'.
Which of course won't happen. We are going to do this the hard way.

This. Capitalism is doing exactly what it’s designed to do - it’s only an “crisis” because it’s now affecting the middle classes. Infinite growth was never a good idea, and GDP was never intended to be the foundation of the global economy. It’s time for degrowth and a whole new system of economic measurement. We need a sustainable economy that allows everyone regardless of earnings to access the basics they need to live, within the boundaries of the resources available. Anywhere else in nature, anything that grows and grows unchecked is called cancer.

Why not just build a big fleet of nuclear power stations, and permit more O&G as a stop-gap?

It needs political will but it doesn’t need a complete rewiring of our economy.

What are we to do?
Lower our expectations, tighten our belts, and thank the universe that we were not born in Sudan or any other poverty-and-drought-ridden place.

We are not a country that lets the poor and old starve on the streets.

I had more disposable income as a student on a maintenance loan and weekend job in 2006, then i do now as a working professional paying the single tax.
Its fucking ridiculous and im fed up.
And yes, sorry, but i am very close to someone who does not work and they genuinely, I mean this, have more disposable income than me on benefits + UC.
Whats the fucking point

Nail on the head.

Last night i went into Tesco and bought:
3 pizzas
1 big bottle of Oasis
1 packet of Pringles
1 bottle of wine
1 packet of peanuts

My "night in" with a friend cost me £30.

Massive supply-side deregulation, especially on housing and infrastructure.

It’s one of the few things we can do that doesn’t cost public money.

Is it when they get inflation under 2% again? <tumbleweed>

You have to wonder.

Some of my costs have been rising above inflation every year for my entire adult life. That has to stop at some point.

Or do we just start degrading our lives even further eg so many people now not using heating unless it’s really cold etc.

But none of those are essentials though! Not saying you are not allowed treats, but it’s not the same thing.

This. The cost of living crisis is over. This is the new normal. I think people will need to get used to living on a lot less in future.

No idea, but not anytime soon. Ukraine/Russia war ongoing, Iran war tipping over into other countries, another main war potentially brewing in next couple of years.

In reality though, many of us have a better standard of living compared to say 1970s - it wasn't a regular thing to have an annual break, coffee/lunch out our weekly treat of a cake started when I was 13, a lot more people didn't have tvs, telephones, heating, people had less clothes in their wardrobes, one car in family - it all costs money.

What would be the trigger for society to decide the cost of living crisis is over?

Probably when the food banks all close their doors for the last time because nobody needs them any more.

@Serenity75

I’m really curious what the people who want to massively reduce the dependency culture think the way to deal with that is. Many people are multi generational claimants who have no prospects of working and don’t have the skills to get one of the jobs available in modern Britain. So what is the answer here? Massive state subsidised mental health support, retraining support, basic job and life skills support. A comprehensive education to make up for their comprehensive education.

Part of the answer is to bring back our adult education system that was scrapped in the 90s and 00s at the altar of "uni for all". We used to have adult education colleges and Polytechnics that were "open" for a huge range of affordable/subsidised courses for all adults, not just 16-21 year olds, whether you wanted to learn to plaster, or arrange flowers, or train to be an accountant, or message therapy, or take GCSE and A levels, etc etc. It was all closed down when the government money was ploughed into Unis and 16-18 education instead, so basically removing the option for older people to re-train.

Given many of the new unis are struggling financially, perhaps they need to be converted back into polytechnics and do vocational/professional courses instead of degrees.

We need to make education/training accessible for ALL again, at any age, and part of that is making it affordable/subsidised etc.

As for "comprehensive education", we need to radically change schools, to give far better "alternative" routes, i.e. more trades/manual skills rather than obsessing about GCSEs in academic subjects. That way we may be able to stop the disenfranchised and get them to put their efforts into something they may actually be interested in.

We never really recovered from the 08 crash & it’s unlikely we will see much growth going forward. Things are only going to keep getting more expensive

Personally I don't think it will be for quite a long time. I read years ago about predictions of a global depression in the 30s and won't be surprised if it happens.

An ageing population does have an impact

I'd love adult education to come back!

I'd also use unemployed people to do useful things like walking along roads cleaning up the rubbish on the verges.

Nail on the head. At the time of the 2008 crash, economists were predicting it taking 10 years to recover to back where we were beforehand. Just as things were looking better, Covid struck, and that's another ten years to recover from. Add in the Iran and Russian wars, and recovery will be even slower.

I do think this is the "new normal" sadly. Along with North America and most of Europe, we're now in a period of long term economic decline. The good years are behind us.

Unfortunately, successive governments have also failed miserably to manage the economy and made stupid decisions, i.e. disincentivising work, the obsession with Uni's, making us reliant on imported food, goods and utilities, no control over unemployment/benefit claimants, no control over the illegal black economy (tax evasion, modern slavery, money laundering etc).

I think its disgusting we have a shortage of healthcare professionals yet require people to shell out 5 figures in retraining fees