AIBU to be totally confused (cost of living crisis)

[LittleBitHeiressLittleBitIris]

AIBU to not be able to understand/ grasp the scale of impending disaster that is building over the increased cost of living?

I genuinely don't see how millions of people with outgoings that are about to be actually higher than income is going to play out.

I'm not trying to be goady and obviously realise no-one has a crystal ball but am I missing something? Has this ever happened before in other recent times/ other cultures and what was the result. I can't even imagine what could happen.

I feel really clueless! Any ideas/ opinions/ further reading much appreciated 👍

Some batshit replies on this thread if ever I read them.

Let's hark back to a hundred years ago, they got through it just fine. Erm, newsflash, the world has changed massively since then. Trade has changed massively and we are reliant on imports.

And someone stating that if people don't ask for pay rises it's their own fault. Erm, i work at a uni where there have been strikes recently. I still can't see any pay rises on the horizon so sod off with your silly comments. People can ask but it will be met with a hard 'NO'. Never heard such bullshit in my life

@PurpleThursdays the country will get through this time though. But some individuals will massive suffer.

And the other PP saying it's not the job to make sure people have a good life.

Ermmmm when you pay taxes for the majority of your life and get taxed AGAIN when you come to draw your pension on money that's already been taxed when you are working, I think it fucking well is up to our government to make sure people get something back. Good health service would be a start. All the money gathered in road tax and I see pot holes wherever I go.

Or should we just doth our caps to our betters and feel grateful for the shit deal we get. Aye, alright then. Such fucking cobblers!

People who are moving away from the UK: Where are you going? Genuinely interested!

Mumsnet does make me laugh viable solutions to the impending apparent doom is that we all start living by candlelight but asking for a pay rise is incomprehensible ? If that’s the level of intelligence and negotiation skills available it seems posters are no doubt being overpaid already

@PurpleThursdays yes we are supposed to doff our cap and acceppt that people earning £100k plus should pay less tax proportionately than the poorest.

@Cocomarine

Just ask for a payrise? I can’t really reply to that without breaking rules about ad hominem attacks 🤷🏻‍♀️

My husband runs a small business. Let’s say it’s a nail bar. One of his staff just asked if a pay rise would be possible. He’s split up with his girlfriend and is trying to get a higher mortgage to buy her out. Going rate for his role in our town is NMW. My husband already pays him £1 above NMW, because of his personal ethics. He wants to pay £1 above the new NMW rate. He’s worked out he can do that, by taking less than NMW himself. On paper, he should close the business. Prices have already been put up, but there’s only so much the customers will take. There are other “nail bars” in town which are used as money laundering operations and use illegal workers on less than NMW. So you can get his “nails” cheaper on the same street. He has nowhere to go with pricing. He has decided to take less than NMW himself to keep the business going. It will keep 3 staff in a job. He can only afford to do this, because I’m earning.
So that staff member? He’s actually going to get his £1 over new NMW, and it’s coming from my pocket. (and I’m happy with that, and the employee doesn’t know)
But - the £2 over that he “just asked” for? No way.

It isn’t as simple as “just ask for a payrise” and you’d have to be thick to think it was.

There are other “nail bars” in town which are used as money laundering operations and use illegal workers on less than NMW. So you can get his “nails” cheaper on the same street. He has nowhere to go with pricing. I am continually shocked by just how little enforcement of almost everything there is in the UK. We could have good quality public sector jobs and a much better quality of life if we just employed more people to enforce existing laws more thoroughly (or in fact, at all).

@Bringsexyback Yep. Employers are happy to pay people whatever you want based on your negotiation skills. Don't be so stupid.

@Bringsexyback

Mumsnet does make me laugh viable solutions to the impending apparent doom is that we all start living by candlelight but asking for a pay rise is incomprehensible ? If that’s the level of intelligence and negotiation skills available it seems posters are no doubt being overpaid already

With your level of intelligence you should realise that businesses costs are going up too so of course they aren't going to give it pay rises Willy nilly. Not rocket science.

[quote alltheapples]@Bringsexyback Yep. Employers are happy to pay people whatever you want based on your negotiation skills. Don't be so stupid.[/quote]
One of my clients actually just gave their team of 5% pay rise without even being asked which begs the question why didn’t they ask there was probably 10% on the table there that they could’ve had

@Bringsexyback

Mumsnet does make me laugh viable solutions to the impending apparent doom is that we all start living by candlelight but asking for a pay rise is incomprehensible ? If that’s the level of intelligence and negotiation skills available it seems posters are no doubt being overpaid already

It's been explained to you more than adequately. You are free to stick your fingers in your ears and go lalalallalala but that doesn't alter the actual facts.

Your client can obviously absorb the cost. Many other businesses cannot. It's not one size fits all.

@Bringsexyback okay I think you are just here to be goady. No one could be that thick.

I think a lot of people are forgetting that there are plenty of people on v good income who gave ver little outgoings. They will be fine. And there's more people like that than you would think.

I’m sick to death of listening to people whingeing about how they can’t change their loss in life you can’t it’s about your choices we all make them

@shabbalabba yes I know plenty of people will be fine. And plenty of people will not. The growing inequality in this country is shocking.

The public sector are probably in the strongest position of all of those to demand pay increases but they’ve just lost their balls.

You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about.

I work in a school. My Line Manager has no control over what I'm paid. The Head Teacher has no control over what I'm paid. Who exactly do you think I am in a strong position "demand" a payrise from? Shall I storm Nadhim Zahawi's offices and insist he raise my salary immediately?
Like other public sector services, schools have been systematically starved of resources for a decade and then covid came along and decimated our already woefully inadequate budgets. It has nothing to do with staff not having the balls to ask for a pay rise. Sneering at public sector workers who are struggling to make ends meet despite working harder than ever when you clearly know fuck all about the system they work in is pathetic.

You can choose empathy but you're probably wealthy and don't give a shit.

We are in unprecedented times. The disaster of Brexit, then Covid, now the brink of WW3 in Ukraine. What will the next 12 months bring?

@neverbeenskiing just ignore, they are deliberately trying to wind people up.

@Silvershroud

We are in unprecedented times. The disaster of Brexit, then Covid, now the brink of WW3 in Ukraine. What will the next 12 months bring?

It isn't unprecedented. It just hasn't been this bad for a long time.

[quote alltheapples]@neverbeenskiing just ignore, they are deliberately trying to wind people up.[/quote]
True, no one can be that thick.

Have Very little

It’s just frustrating I don’t individual level obviously I don’t care about any of you but on a collective level you actually do have the power to help those that you proclaim you are most worried about the poor and yet you’re actually choosing to do absolutely nothing about it it’s ludicrous

@PurpleThursdays Great comment, this sums up my thinking too. I'm older than lots of people on here - late 60's and would have liked there to be significant progress and a decent comfortable life compared to the 50's,60's and 70's. The Government takes us all for fools. I help my grown up children a lot financially but they've had a nightmare with the NHS and accessing a consultant for my grandson. We deserve decent public services, however this takes considerable investment and the Government have pushed their austerity agenda for a decade. I worry that they will not intervene with the costs of living increases to any meaningful extent which will indeed mean child poverty and general poverty will be on the increase. Unacceptable and very depressing. But until this lot are voted out we're all heading down the slippery slope.