TDB has argued inflation has not peaked, that the global economy is warping and late stage capitalism exacerbated by catastrophic climate change will need a cup of tea and a lie down.
Food inflation just hit 12.5%
Food prices soar 12.5% annually – largest increase since 1987
The new figures from Stats NZ compared prices in April 2023 with the same month last year.
“The 12.5 percent annual increase in April 2023 was the largest since September 1987 which included the introduction of GST in 1986,” consumer prices manager James Mitchell said.
Grocery food prices were up 14%.
“Increasing prices for barn or cage-raised eggs, potato chips, and 6-pack yoghurt were the largest drivers within grocery food,” Mitchell said. “These were the same drivers for grocery food last month.”
Last month’s annual increase was 12.1%.
Mitchell said in today’s announcement fruit and vegetables prices increased by 22.5%, restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food prices increased by 9%, meat, poultry, and fish prices increased by 9.5% and non-alcoholic beverage prices increased by 8%.
“The second-largest contributor to the annual movement was fruit and vegetables. The increase was driven by tomatoes, avocados, and potatoes.
…Culture War fights make all the noise, but poor people aren’t sitting around the kitchen table cancelling people for misusing pronouns, they are trying to work out how to pay the bills!
Bread and Butter cost of living pressures are what the electorate want answers to, and that’s where the Left need to step up and push universal policy that lifts that cost from the people.
The Commerce Commission is clear that the Supermarket Duopoly should be broken up and the State should step in and provide that competition.
We need year long maternity leave.
We need a nationalised Early Education Sector that provides free childcare for children under 5.
We need free public transport.
We need free breakfast and lunches in schools.
We need free dental.
We need 50 000 new State Houses.
We need more hospitals, more schools and a Teachers aid in every class room.
We need climate change adaptation and a resilient rebuilt infrastructure.
We need all these things and we need to fund them by taxing the rich who the IRD clearly showed were rigging the system.
That requires political courage.
The food inflation will be worse next month, and the month after that.
Here’s a prediction for a storm to hit NZ next week…
…extreme climate event after extreme climate event, ever destroying the repair we’ve barely managed between events, plus ever spiralling inflation, plus the 25cent fuel subsidy coming off next month, plus staggering mortgage increases are generating a fear and anger not seen in the electorate before.
Voters want solutions, the Left have to step up and actually provide them if they want to win.
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Food inflation at record level,anyone for Labour’s bread and butter budget?Is it literal?
Thankfully Nationals tax cuts will help Bob, $2 a week to assist.
Of course Lex Luther will get $346 a week which is a lot of bread and butter, literally.
That’s gotta be a vote winner right?
Chippie grabbing all the sausage rolls has caused the prices to skyrocket!
You can’t even get a Leamington for love or money! Robbo has munched the lot.
Ang Brownstains has eaten Robbo.
The Banks are the ones with all the money some how they’re going to have to issue more loans for productive purposes.
All the easy stuff has been done. We’ll get there quicker if people open up knew businesses or get a second job. Got to get the money to where it’s needed urgently.
You’re right Sam, but few would invest in productive capital plan in this country at the moment.
Remember – money is mobile and so are the people that own lots of it.
You probably think that mobile money will ” trickle down”.
You have so much to learn.
What a naive Simplist view.
We need
We need
We need.
Yet you want the same bludy Gummint.
Look behind many price rises and you see the hand of government.
Increased price of Eggs. Government regulation no cage eggs
Increased Rents. Government regulation causing rentals to be sold.
Increased Veggie prices. Government regulation causing labour shortage and rotten fruit not picked.
SOCIALISM doesnt work!!!
Why do you think China/Vietnam introduced capitalism/free market
To get 100 Million out of Poverty
Capitalism in china and Vietnam is heavily regulated Ra, unlike here.
Not really.
But you can be executed if you do not follow the rules.
Nothing like a whole bunch of Anti China rhetoric before breakfast.
Having done business in China I might say that NZ is more restrictive in many facets of life.
But hey, regurgitate the shit pumped out by western media.
Executed for not following the rules. What the ferk are you smoking!!!
Push that 100+ million back in to poverty!!
Yea Right.
Yes it is really
Difference being you would be told to put your price down end of story.
At penalty of execution if you do not follow the rules.
Ra Henare you are correct,Socialism doesn’t work and there is plenty of proof.
last, but social democrat (re northern europe)countries do, I know you don’t know the difference so buy a book
gagarin I’m very well travelled more than most.
I certainly know the difference between socialism and social Democrat they are effectively chalk and cheese.
You espouse more bullshit than most Bob.
How can you possibly know how you have travelled more than most? That’s an incredibly arrogant statement to make but one we have come to expect from you, the most arrogant and ignorant person that comments hear. Just an aside there is more evidence to suggest socialism does work than doesn’t.
Food’s not the only thing affected by inflation.
Bob has an over inflated opinion of himself.
He however will agree.
Clearly rampant true capitalism is not without its issues either
“Look behind many price rises and you see the hand of government.”
Inflation is a global issue, helped somewhat by the pandemic and Russia/Ukraine war. But look behind the hand of government and you’ll see big money interests manipulating affairs. There are few governments today that are not being led a merry dance by the billionaire class….
Supermarkets: now we have had that review which didnt impact us much, they cant do another anytime soon so lets increase our prices and who cares.
Pretty sure an increase in percentage in profit has been added to these inflationary spikes we have.
The inflation will only end if the unsustainable debts are bailed out, and rates are normalised (at least a 2% real rate, no more Fed currency creation, and raising reserve requirements).
Prices will stop rising, but to make them fall without destroying living standards, you have to increase production of goods: new local factories and local farms (which nobody is even proposing).
Even though real rates are still negative, the bank failures have already started.
The central banks, who are still unwilling to simply write off all the unpayable debt, will be forced to cut rates to prevent mass defaults and a huge 1929-style collapse, complete with riots and a new Hooverville.
Their only option left will be to inflate away the debt (and force institutions to hold the old, low-yielding paper).
Once the Fed has devalued the currency, and used the newly-created paper currency (bank reserve certificates) to buy bonds off the banks (thus lowering rates), it will become inflation as soon as those reserves are lent out (because the amount of paper currency in circulation has risen).
Prices will rise and real wages will fall, which is what the central banks are likely aiming for.
Taxing the rich will not get enough money to pay for all the needs and wants on your list which are all valid. We need to start drilling for oil and gas again and the government needs to stop wasting money and productivity needs to be aided by removing unnecessary controls which are holding back firms .
We should have a tax system that doesn’t put all of the burden on salary and wages and gst, regardless of your individual wealth.
Trevor who is we? Who will drill for oil (which we are doing)? We have the most profitable banks in the world but does that fill our coffers? What makes you think private wealth translates to public infrastructure? It doesn’t by itself
On average this approach has worked very well in our favour. So much so that the average human is thriving more than ever and the wealthiest humans even more so.
Let’s do a tax switch tomorrow. Drop GST on food and replace it with personal tax and increase GST on non essential luxury goods.
I would argue that taxing capital gains has not helped us
Te Maaori Party wants to remove GST off essential food items.
Agree a political response is crucial.
We all have our chance in October to deliver that political response.
Worst. Government. Ever.
Worst. Government. Ever.
N A T I O N A L
I’m predicting continued interest rate hikes to at least 8%. Why? Core inflation data combined producer inflation data combined with history combined with gut feeling. The Reserve Bank can’t announce that’s where it’s going right now, because it will utterly collapse the capital markets immediately. But I’m becoming increasingly confident that is where it’s heading. Buckle up, because people will not be able to make mortgage payments predicated on 4.5% interest for 30 years that are soon going to be north of 10%.
If Labour Government intervenes prices will go up.
if the UNTOUCHABLE duopoly wasn’t screwing us royally the situation would be less serious…look at the lack of action of deceptive/fraudulant pricing not to mention the general gouging
The political response is more money to the military because the people do not matter. Only the powerful matter, the people on the other hand, they are ignorant and spineless, they don’t matter…to the politicians of the Western world.
The bob / peach combo first out the starting gate in a gust of brain-farts.
After 39 years of neoliberal fascism which has robbed us blind and enabled once-were tacky little salary earners become multi-billionaires over night we need outside help. It’s pointless and a waste of valuable time to think we can fix this by our scant few 5.2 million selves.
We need to open up AO/NZ’s books and take a long hard look at some extremely uncomfortable truths. A billionaire property speculator, a multi-billionaire panel beater with a commerce degree who claims he can smell money, an old family of con artists who hide behind a hardware store, a traveling pedophile who got early release because I can guarantee you he has dirt on others and a mope with a big and frankly average sculpture park who pretends he’s a farmer. None of whom are real and proper farmers it should be pointed out, who are the mainstay of our economy and supply us with our food.
One of the billionaires must have a spare Gulf Stream lying about somewhere, surely. Send one over to the UK to bring back a crew of forensic accountants and a legal team to prove me wrong. Go on. I dare you.
Farmers? Think of yourselves as blind, special needs hens standing knee deep in blind, special needs worms while surrounded by meth head foxes and psychotic starlings.
If it were not for the fact that I find this whole shit-show, cluster-fuck combo deeply distressing I’d find it all hugely hilarious. Not even Jacques Tati could write the bumbling comedic madness that is our farmer economy and our urban consumers.
Gotta be first, otherwise you get lost in the crowd.
And like clockwork, Free Peach with a brain fart.
Idle hands…
” Voters want solutions, the Left have to step up and actually provide them if they want to win. ”
My dear Bomber.
What “left ” do you keep referring to ?
Voters ( the lower to hard squeezed middle ) want solutions yeah I agree they are desperate…well the non middle class ones who no one represents at all )
Food inflation could of been alleviated had the rich mans spare party adopted the commerce commissions and the and TTWG and the the WEAG recommendations.
BUT NO.
If that is the left you are referring to then inflation can explode all it likes but there is no response to it from the imaginary ” left “
“well the non middle class ones who no one represents at all”
so true. The workers, the nurses, the teachers, the plumbers, butchers, roofers, builders, shovel hands and admin/sales staff……the workers that the Left has dropped in favor of gender woo other identity placeholders.
Apologies I meant to check my written text before posting.
” commerce commissions and the and TTWG and the the WEAG recommendations. “
When you don’t have a refinery and have to import all of your fuel. You get forever inflation. Diesel.
Who’s dumb idea was that to dismantle Marsden Point Oil Refinery?
The cost of everything will continue to rise for years to come, because of fuel costs and finance costs. 5%-7% inflation is the new inflation bracket. Get used to it.
agree.
How well is the closing down of Marsden Point working for us?
There are stories about jet fuel problems. From a resilience point of view I think we made a mistake to allow Marsden Point to close down.
One has to ask whether CC action influenced the decision?
Maybe if there is a plane crash with a load of politicians onboard caused by dodgy fuel. Then they’ll rethink the decision about the need for another oil refinery. Or even two plane crashes fully loaded with politicians even? I may be hoping for too much?
Ask fruit and vege growers if they received higher prices at farm gate. No they didn’t. Sitting between the supermarket duopoly and growers is another duopoly of wholesale fruit and vege markets that escape attention from media and politicians.
Nothing about where that money comes from. I’m from the right, right. Drop GST off all food. We are double taxed on food. It’s wrong. All governments need to learn to budget without that income. They take that few billion and spend it on anything but the cost of living issues. A bit like petrol tax. It has to stop. If they have to tax high incomes so be it. They won’t drop GST on food because consultants hourly rate is huge and they need lots of money to pay them. They need consultants because they have no skills except talk. That’s all governments do. All governments.
I would say that most of your solutions would further boost inflation. Certainly in the short to medium term.
In my experience inflation requires reducing demand, not increasing it.
In short, less government spending, not more; pay rises that are less than inflation, not higher. It is tough medicine but it works. Typically it takes a year or two to take effect. Usually follows by a period of sustained growth. Politically it is easiest done in the year after the election. More frequently done by conservative governments because it requires saying “no”, instead of “yes”.
Curb demand. Just don’t eat peasant. Just walk, with your buckets/ladder to your next job, peasant. Just live in that cardboard box, peasant.
We need, we need, we need……. any suggestions on how we are going to provide these things??
What ‘we need’ is greater productivity, more people working and paying tax. I dont have the answers to those questions but I’m not hearing any politicians talking about these things which is disappointing. We are making things more difficult than ever for business and I don’t believe our unemployment statistics at all. We have a class of people who don’t want to work and don’t have to because the rest of us a paying for them. I’m more than willing to pay more fair share to those in need but Im sick of paying for those who could and should be working.
And don’t start me on the amount of money that has been wasted by this government that would pay for a good chunk of your ‘we need’ lost!
The most important issue facing NZ is that our government is frozen staring at the encroaching problems. And there is no alternative government as that is choking with big lumps of trivia.
We were having a discussion the other day about hiring and the sort of money being requested by applicants now.
Some of the numbers may seem crazy for the roles yet the reality is, NZ is now an expensive place to live and more & more working people are failing to share in the rewards.
The problem isn’t greed, we aren’t paying enough for the changed world.
When the Left talk of taxing the rich they ignore the 1% and keep going after higher paid employees, many of whom aren’t living a life of milk & honey anymore. God knows how blue collar workers survive without pulling crazy hours, which brings other social costs.
On top of that, Labour stubbornly to move the tax brackets and are concentrating on identity politics BS rather than their core base.
I want to vote Left but not this lot, I wish we had an old-school worker’s party.
Tax breaks are the only way to move the dial.
Working people need to keep more of what they earn.
Then government is forced to find new sources of tax to fund public services.
With half the population shouting that tax breaks are stupid how are we going to get our government to cut taxes?
Labour won’t they don’t know how to replace the lost revenue.
Labour policy is increase taxation and regulation.
National will give tax cuts which will add to inflation. Very basic economics. Luxon will get $347 a week, supermarket workers who are essential workers $2 a week.
Nationals policy will take NZ to bankruptcy.
Yes CeeJ, we need a union movement and union leadership to demand redistribution of wealth, the end of neo-liberalism, and an end to the ridiculous privatisation and contracting out of public services, which enable foreign investors to make profits from public funding. Where is the CTU voice? Does it stand for Couldn’t Turn Up? Time for a national strike.
Bring on the bread queues!
It’s not as if this has ever happened under Socialism….
Those Who Do Not Learn History Are Doomed To Repeat It
We already have them,food banks throughout the entire country.
the ‘hungry 30s’ and ‘the great depression’ are not associated with socialism are they, the results of free market capitalism just like our current issues
I put some of our prices up a smidgen. The ute tax has to be paid somehow.
But as noted before on a good day I may get $3-3.40 a kg for what I see in a supermarket for 4 to 12 times more per kg.
because cannibal capitalism is now screwing SMEs welcome to the club peter
we’ll see plenty of heart tugging human interest stories and no analysis of the causes/prosesses from our media
gagarin update your spelling.
oh dear last is that your witty repost critisising typos?
shit if I pointed out the lack of grammar misuse of words and spelling mistakes I’d need a pay cheque from TDB
Bob didn’t start a sentence with a capital. Gosh that’s appalling.
Bob really does have narcissistic personality disorder gagarin.
And if you are on (or just below) the average wage and get a pay increase of 12.5% (dream on) then your NET OF TAX pay will be about $20 per week short of increasing by 12.5%. So that’s a tax increase on the poor. Way to go Labour.
even westpac economists are saying break up the duopoly and the nats(they’ll never do it) are floating a 3rd player option