Greedflation; the condition where business increases prices because of a crisis but refuse to reduce them when the crisis passes. It’s what I believe is happening now to most things we buy but especially to foodstuffs.
We could all understand when the oil price went through the roof last year as Mad Vlad tried to rebuild the Russian Empire by initially invading Ukraine. It was easy to accept that the rocketing price of fuel meant there would be knock-on impacts on everything, not that we foresaw just how horrific those impacts would be. Everything rocketed, fuel for the car, or lorry, electricity and the costs of growing and importing food.
Price of Brent Crude oil prices.
As we see the price of oil peaked around $120 a barrel and has gradually fallen to the point where it is now trading around $75 a barrel, similar to the price before Mad Vlad invaded.
But, and it’s a big but, have you seen these falls reflected in your shops etc.? No. Everyone seems to be trying to hang on to the price hikes they had to impose oblivious to the fact that people just cannot keep paying increased prices when their income is way below the increase rates. Businesses are starting to fail because people cannot afford to keep paying. But traders are still trying to hold on to those excess profits, there is only one way that can end.
Food prices are currently at over 19% as CPI (Consumer Price Inflation is at 10.1%,). The excuse of high oil prices driving inflation in food prices particularly is well and truly past. The chart below uses CPIH (excluding energy, food, alcohol and tobacco) which, to me is a false reckoning)
The charts show that as oil price has dropped the food price has climbed.
The time for the UK Government to be intervening is long past but as usual you have to ask who profits individually from higher prices leading to higher profits?
TABIS; (Things Are Better In Scotland,) a phrase coined by Paul Lewis, a BBC economics journalist.
As you will see from the link below it’s a handy way of describing the benefits of living in Scotland. At a time when we’re under assault from the media on a daily basis it’s a good way of turning the discussion and a very convenient acronym.
I’ve put Things Are Better In Scotland on mugs and T-shirts and it’s a good way of getting people to ask what’s better? This gives us the chance to explain that benefits from free prescriptions, the Scottish Child Payments, no Bedroom Tax to free Tuition are all benefits which we enjoy in Scotland but don’t apply to our cousins in the south.
The SNP have been in power so long now that people have forgotten what it was like under Labour/LibDem Executives. We need to keep reminding folk of just how much we have achieved with the restrictions of devolution.
‘Tabis: Things are better in Scotland’, BBC money expert says | The National