Work more hours and eat turnips if you can’t afford food, Therese Coffey suggests

[Duke Wellington]

On 2/24/2023 at 4:53 PM, pellinore said:

A problem is, a lot of poor people in the UK are carers, either for relatives or children, and they can't work more hours. Even if they could, the cost of child care would take away any economic advantages. And some people can't increase their hours - it's not feasible to tell your boss you'e going to stay late every night to earn more money, he wants to close at 5pm as usual.

I personally think its right that the peasantry takes the largest hit during times of high inflation.

We dont want it ruining businesses or the wealthy, both of which are the source of job creation. Some may argue its not right or fair, and maybe thats true, but we have a country and economy to run so they must come first.

I`m not convinced the peasantry are really trying to make ends meet. For example high fuel costs? Buy some Primark jumpers rather than use your gas/electric fire. Hungry? Well try shopping at Lidl or Aldi or planting some seeds and bulbs. Not enough for alcohol and cigs? Well cut back on how much you drink and smoke. If they wont budget properly and spend within their means then they should receive no free money. 

Free money only comes when the peasantry really cannot afford to survive on minimum wage or benefits.

[Tatetopa]

1 minute ago, Cookie Monster said:

We dont want it ruining businesses or the wealthy, both of which are the source of job creation.

Eyes closed and living in the past?  It is a fact of capitalism that demand creates jobs.  Businesses exist because of demand, wealth accumulates to those who control supply.  No wonder your nation is going down the tubes, no wonder you are sitting in genteel decay, too many living in the18th century.  

[Duke Wellington]

50 minutes ago, Tatetopa said:

Eyes closed and living in the past?  It is a fact of capitalism that demand creates jobs.  Businesses exist because of demand, wealth accumulates to those who control supply.  No wonder your nation is going down the tubes, no wonder you are sitting in genteel decay, too many living in the18th century.  

The high inflation is being driven by a lack of supply (caused by Russian sanctions) coupled with high demand (caused by the post coronavirus surge).

We need to lower demand while minimising the damage to our organisations. One of the downfalls of a democracy is each person having a vote, including the peasantry, during this scenario. They will use their voting power to ease their financial situation and damage our organisations in the process. It will also increase demand when we need it to be lower until both situations have resolved themselves.

A peasant vote for financial help, is a vote for even higher inflation!!!

[Tatetopa]

Just now, Cookie Monster said:

A peasant vote for financial help, is a vote for even higher inflation!!!

And what does the ruling class vote for but financial help and protection for themselves. My God, they have lost the ability to cope with a world advanced beyond 1550 AD. Trying to maintain the  aristocratic grip beyond that eventually leads to 1789.  Have you noticed that the first tier world powers are not governed by a legacy aristocracy?  If your right to govern is based on inheritance rather than skill, your country declines. 

[Duke Wellington]

22 minutes ago, Tatetopa said:

And what does the ruling class vote for but financial help and protection for themselves. My God, they have lost the ability to cope with a world advanced beyond 1550 AD. Trying to maintain the  aristocratic grip beyond that eventually leads to 1789.  Have you noticed that the first tier world powers are not governed by a legacy aristocracy?  If your right to govern is based on inheritance rather than skill, your country declines. 

If that was true then the peasantry wouldn`t be moaning.

The right to govern is based on inheritance or skill, skills being what most of the lower echelons lack. And of course they dont inherit much!!! This has been the way of the world forever, even to this day. The system works, look at all our wonderful cities.

There will be no communism in the western world, or then we are ruined.

[Setton]

3 hours ago, Tatetopa said:

Eyes closed and living in the past?  It is a fact of capitalism that demand creates jobs.  Businesses exist because of demand, wealth accumulates to those who control supply.  No wonder your nation is going down the tubes, no wonder you are sitting in genteel decay, too many living in the18th century.  

Cookie inhabits his own little world. It bears little resemblance to the real-world UK.

[Tatetopa]

1 hour ago, Cookie Monster said:

The right to govern is based on inheritance or skill, skills being what most of the lower echelons lack.

I see the inheritance, I don't see the skill. Your beautiful cities were created by middle class merchants and burghers, not ruling nobility.

[Duke Wellington]

1 minute ago, Tatetopa said:

I see the inheritance, I don't see the skill. Your beautiful cities were created by middle class merchants and burghers, not ruling nobility.

The middle class are not the lower echelons.

They are skilled, and some of them will make a fortune rising to the upper class. Yes, in the past the upper class have had an inbreeding problem resulting in huge chins but these days they marry outside of the family.

[pellinore]

Enzo Oliveri, FIC UK’s president, said that following issues with rising costs and Brexit, now was a “very difficult” time for Italian restaurants, and warned that some may go out of business. “I don’t see any light at the end of the tunnel,” he said.

Some restaurants, Oliveri said, are adapting by moving their menus away from the ingredient, and instead offering “white” tomato-less pizzas and pasta dishes.

Chefs are using cheeses such as ricotta, or vegetables including courgettes or aubergines as a base and to thicken sauces. “White pizza, white sauces for pasta or less tomato. We’re making it a trend because prices are going up and because of shortages.”

Tomato-free pizza on UK menus as chefs choke on the price of fruit and veg | Italian food and drink | The Guardian

Edited February 27, 2023 by pellinore

[pellinore]

Riverford boss Guy Singh-Watson has explained why there is a worrying lack of tomatoes in the UK. He posted a video from a Tesco supermarket in Budapest blaming Brexit and 'pain-in-the-a*se' paperwork for our lack of the salad item.

The founder of the Devon-based organic veg box company, Riverford, has given his take on the UK's tomato shortage. He said companies will avoid doing business with us if they can due to the added paperwork Brexit has caused.

Devon farmer blames Brexit for tomato shortage from fully-stocked European Tesco - Devon Live

Edited February 27, 2023 by pellinore

[L.A.T.1961]

"worrying lack of tomatoes"

I am struggling to see how worrying and tomatoes can appear in the same sentence. 

[L.A.T.1961]

Chefs are using cheeses such as ricotta, or vegetables including courgettes or aubergines as a base and to thicken sauces. “White pizza, white sauces for pasta or less tomato. We’re making it a trend because prices are going up and because of shortages.”

So the Italians have not discovered bottled Italian tomato sauce. 

Not to worry as its well known that Italian pizza establishments are only for laundering UK mafia money, allegedly.  

[Essan]

On 2/26/2023 at 7:20 PM, Tatetopa said:

  If your right to govern is based on inheritance rather than skill, your country declines. 

But not nearly so much as it does when your right to govern is based on little more than TV popularity contests   

[Still Waters]

Turnips: how Britain fell out of love with the much-maligned vegetable

Environment secretary Thérèse Coffey’s recent suggestion that Britons should turn to turnips following tomato shortages did not go down as she might have hoped.

In trying to revive interest in local produce, Coffey could not have chosen a less glamorous root vegetable. But why do we now look down on the faithful turnip – was it always so unloved?

It’s not clear when turnips were first eaten in Britain, but they didn’t always have a bad reputation. The Old English word neep – a name now only seen in Scotland alongside tatties and haggis – goes back to at least the 10th century, but turnip (“turn-neep”) is only about 500 years old.

https://theconversation.com/turnips-how-britain-fell-out-of-love-with-the-much-maligned-vegetable-201007