Inflation

[Dobbin]

Hi Folks,

I have been self employed for most of my life.

I don't really have an issue with some people getting Housing Benefit.

However if you want to stay in an expensive area then you should pay your own rent or move to an area that is within reason.

Why should anyone's hard earned go to the likes of this.

SOME families have been paid almost £200,000 each in housing benefit to live in some of the country’s most expensive areas, figures released under the Freedom of Information Act show.

The highest-paid include a family in Oxford who have received £189,694 since January 2004 for a seven-bedroom house. It costs the taxpayer £521 a week in rent.

A similar total has been paid to a family in Camden, north London.

A claimant in Westminster has been paid £76,000 in 12 months.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/p ... 860248.ece

Dobbin

[Iron]

I agree.

I couldn't believe the fuss that was made last year about the fact that housing benefit cuts would mean people couldn't afford to live in expensive parts of London!

I really don't see why my taxes should pay for someone to live in Mayfair, especially when essential services like the police and the NHS are feeling the pinch.

Jeff

I don't really have an issue with some people getting Housing Benefit.

However if you want to stay in an expensive area then you should pay your own rent or move to an area that is within reason.

[onemichael]

If you are in debt like the government it is good to have high inflation, if year ends with 5% plus inflation in real terms your debt is 5% lower. If they are paying interest of around 6/7% in real terms they are only paying 1/2%. I wonder if this is the reason that the bank is quite happy to let inflation go. WHILE WE SUFFER.

[Euler]

It looks like interest rate rises are on the horizon: -

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters ... e_six.html

[Iron]

“By a continuing process of inflation, government can confiscate, secretly and unobserved, an important part of the wealth of their citizens.”

John Maynard Keynes

If you are in debt like the government it is good to have high inflation, if year ends with 5% plus inflation in real terms your debt is 5% lower. If they are paying interest of around 6/7% in real terms they are only paying 1/2%. I wonder if this is the reason that the bank is quite happy to let inflation go. WHILE WE SUFFER.

[Iron]

Inflation up to 4.4%: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12815228

It's no doubt due to one-off factors yet again, meaning there's no case for raising interest rates...

Jeff

[Euler]

Interesting comments from Next on price pressures.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12845398

[superfrank]

Budget 2011: National Savings inflation-beating products to be [re]launched... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/budg ... nched.html

[superfrank]

A little bit of inflation is a good thing, right? Well, that's one way of looking at it, and if you were being charitable, it might even provide a decent explanation of why the Bank of England appears to have given up on the inflation target.

Britain's £200bn time bomb of debt interest http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comm ... erest.html

[Iron]

I agree with the article.

Inflation may effectively reduce the national debt, but if we become poorer in real terms as a result, then it seems a bit of an own goal. Also, our inflation today will result in us having to pay bondholders higher rates of interest in years to come, so we're just kicking the can down the road...

Jeff

Britain's £200bn time bomb of debt interest http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comm ... erest.html

[Euler]

Wall mart CEO expects inflation

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industrie ... tion_N.htm

[Iron]

I don't think George Osbourne's budget will do much to stave off oil price inflation...

Jeff

[Iron]

Yet again the Bank of England show themselves to be about as useful as a chocolate fireguard: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12999546

Jeff

[Iron]

And they will doubtless use today's growth figure (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13206430) to justify putting off raising interest rates...

Jeff

Yet again the Bank of England show themselves to be about as useful as a chocolate fireguard: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12999546

Jeff

[Iron]

I see that oil has fallen sharply in price over the last few days.

Maybe I'm just getting cynical in my old age, but I doubt petrol at the pump will fall in price as a result...

Jeff