The figure now stands at 2.5million. Surely this is a tragic waste of life. The system is broke – how many of these people could/would work if the system was more flexible? How many return to work too early because of the poverty sick pay of £1.10p per hour! How many are trapped by the under funding of the NHS causing rises in waiting times?
Regular pay rose by 7.8% excluding bonus’ . What rate of increase is offered to NHS workers? Inflation may have fallen to 6.9% but what is it since their last pay rise. And who gets a bonus anyway? Mainly the financial sector I believe? As I have said many times, the whole system is fucked!
Also in todays Guardian is an article about greedflation and how large companies and corporations are increasing profits (an wages at the top and dividends – all inflation increasing. Surely there is some clever person or AI that can produce a model that shows the impact on inflation of profits, wages, interest rates, rents, bonus payments, dividends, NHS expenditure, transport costs, food prices, deposit rates etc.. Move the slider left or right and it shows the impact.
We are told that the BoE has only one tool – interest rates, but this is not true. They could issue savings/education bonds matched to university fees for named children from birth, and open at anytime thereafter. Redeemable against uni fees and apprenticeship costs. They would suck money out of the economy, benefit future students and basically cost nothing other than the inflationary cost of rising fees? I know this benefits the rich and middle classes – but it could be set so that a percentage goes to subsidise poorer students with the contributions there to wing tax deductible. As you can tell I do not know what I am talking about! Just throwing ideas up!