Oh goody another ST journalist whinging about not being able to afford Waitrose anymore

[emkana]

this type of article always brings me out in a rash even though she is slightly more self=aware than others

it's a very salient point, tortoise.

and now that it's starting to affect more and more people across the board, there'll be more discussion of it.

'well, get rid of your car then' is a very simplistic and rather unintelligent and unoriginal retort. given that in many areas, public transport is too limited for many areas of work, nonexistent or even more expensive than running a small car; and that home prices - not just houses- and correspondingly, rents are too expensive in many areas where work is concentrated for families to live in, so they move out, many have to use a car to get to work and get food.

so where's the increased investment to expand public transport to suit the needs of a global economy? where's the increased legistlation to force employers to offer more telecommuting to employees? where's the socialised rental housing for low-income families so they don't have to live miles and miles from work? where's the roll back on VAT for essentials like fuel?

does the government really think the people it's now effecting the most, middle earners, aren't asking these questions already?

and yet the vast percentage of the price of petrol is tax.

great post florencefosterjenkins...

Tortoiseshell! did you get my e/mail?

Agree totally with expat.

expat - I agree! We have 1 bus route near our house. We could use the bus if we wanted to go to the out of town shopping centre or the railway station, but that's it. Couldn't get to any of the children's activities. Dh already cycles to work, kids walk to school - but it's those '3 mile journeys to gymnastics straight after school' that we need the car for. Or 3 miles to church at 8:30 on a Sunday (we work there so HAVE to be there on time!). So getting rid of the car just isn't an option.

and 'just move then' isn't an option, either.

1. a lot of people now can no longer afford to move because either house prices have appreciated too much for them to afford to live closer to the cities were activities are concentrated 2) many live a bit farther from work to be near family who are vital to childcare they need to work 3) with the housing market stagnating, it's not a given one can sell their home at all.

don't get me started on council tax, but i do agree with Eleanor - BIG increases, continuing decreases in services.

Stop wingeing. You're the ones who voted in New Labour and their economic model (tax and spend).

I never voted for Labour.

I didn't either.

Isn't there also the small point that it was largely the public school educated boys of the 'middle classes' who by profligate lending, ever more weird, wonderful, anonymous and unaccountable financial instrument construction that GOT us pretty much into this mess in the first place?

Isn't it the wilder excesses of those people who drove the prices up? And let's face it, it's only now appearing in the pages of middle class papers now it's affecting them personally! They didn't give a toss before that, I recall! The rest of us, dumb enough to do supermarket or NHS jobs had made our own beds (70 quid, Ikea) thus must lie in them.