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Cost of Living Crisis


Paco

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51 minutes ago, lichtgilphead said:

 

I note that DPB has avoided aswering the question posed. Income tax is roughly equal to around 25% (give or take a few %) of both the Scottish & Westminster revenue sources.

DPB - a direct question - What control does Holyrood have over the other 75%? Please compare & contrast with Westminster's control over their other 75%

It doesn’t control VAT, etc., etc., but it’s powers over IT rates, not allowances, give it sufficient powers to do things it wants to do.

In addition the Barnett formula gives it substantially more per head than the average for England.

So, what I’m saying is that if the SG wanted to pay rail workers more (I don’t think they should) they have the powers to do so.

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It doesn’t control VAT, etc., etc., but it’s powers over IT rates, not allowances, give it sufficient powers to do things it wants to do.
In addition the Barnett formula gives it substantially more per head than the average for England.
So, what I’m saying is that if the SG wanted to pay rail workers more (I don’t think they should) they have the powers to do so.


After drooling over Truss's tax cuts to "boost productivity",are you now suggesting that the SG should increase IT to fund pay increases?
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10 minutes ago, Dawson Park Boy said:

It doesn’t control VAT, etc., etc., but it’s powers over IT rates, not allowances, give it sufficient powers to do things it wants to do.

In addition the Barnett formula gives it substantially more per head than the average for England.

So, what I’m saying is that if the SG wanted to pay rail workers more (I don’t think they should) they have the powers to do so.

I believe that the entity owned by SG (ScotRail Scotland Ltd) have already reached an agreement with drivers & their union & that future strike action that will affect Scotland is on Network Rail (infrastructure managing monopoly) which is controlled by Westminster? If I’ve missed something, I’m very happy to be corrected. 

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2 minutes ago, Dawson Park Boy said:

It doesn’t control VAT, etc., etc., but it’s powers over IT rates, not allowances, give it sufficient powers to do things it wants to do.

In addition the Barnett formula gives it substantially more per head than the average for England.

So, what I’m saying is that if the SG wanted to pay rail workers more (I don’t think they should) they have the powers to do so.

Again, DPB dodges the question.

The correct answer is that Westminster controls 100% of it's revenue raising powers, whilst Holyrood only controls around 25%.

By the way, does the Barnett formula give Scotland more per head than London or northern ireland? Westminster's underfunding of the majority of the English regions is also a disgrace.

 

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Has Oaksoft given up with the daily Shell Energy briefings?

I'm now just over £700 in credit, and their monthly direct debit recommendations have fluctuated between £189 and £475 over the course of October. My actual bills have been for about £140 a month for the past six months.

Be better off with fuckin' @shull energy, amirite lol.

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The SNP have complete control over public sector pay..therefore decisions on what % rises to award are absolutely nothing to do with London...entirely down to decisions made by the Scot govt...either they think public sector workers deserve a rise commensurate with inflation/cost of living or they don't (and they dont)
The union members voted to accept the Scot Govt LA pay offer so I fail to see how your ire is being aimed at the Scot Govt here ?
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On 29/10/2022 at 12:59, Jedi said:

Preposterous that a right leaning party would seek to benefit the middle class?..Who mostly uses public services? Middle or working class? Who suffers more from the cuts to funding which are a result of tax freezes? The working class. Who has more disposable income in their pockets as a result of tax freezes?..Hmm..would that be the better off middle class instead...Preposterous right enough.

The SNP's natural base is the better off. Labour by contrast in trying to win a UK wide election have to try to appeal to all sections of society..no easy task.

If the SNP weren't appealing to the working class they wouldn't have horsed Labour in every election since 2011.

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5 hours ago, oaksoft said:

So, unless I've misread this, it's looking like the Scottish Government has spent £700m on enhanced public sector pay rises and now we're facing £615m of cuts to pay for it.

Emergency Budget Review: 2022-23 (www.gov.scot)

That can't be the case surely.  I thought there was a bottomless pit when it came to paying public sector workers.

NHS facing reprioritisations cuts to pay for train drivers.  

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44 minutes ago, oaksoft said:

As hard as this will be for mortgage holders, by far the biggest priority is to control inflation which was already starting to rise well before Ukraine was invaded.

High inflation is what is hurting the poorest in society the most.

The days of historically low interest rates appear to be over and it's hard to imagine them ever returning.

Absolutely correct.

The US, UK and the EU all have inflation rates of around 10% and all three are aggressively raising interest rates.

Painful but essential although, historically, rates are relatively low.

Hopefully, things should improve during 2023.

 

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9 minutes ago, jakedee said:

The idea that inflation caused by high fuel/ energy prices,foodstuffs etc can be controlled by increasing interest rates is absurd.

Correct. 

However it is the only weapon available to the BoE and so they will keep doing it regardless. 

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3 hours ago, Granny Danger said:

Not sure if this is the correct thread, but the idea that an increase in bank/mortgage rates will lead to a fall in house prices is being suggested again.  Vote Tory get fucked.

A lot of people would welcome a fall in house prices.

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1 hour ago, jakedee said:

The idea that inflation caused by high fuel/ energy prices,foodstuffs etc can be controlled by increasing interest rates is absurd.

Agreed. The inflation rate is being caused by increased fuel and energy costs. As we reach mid 2023, those rates will be similar to 2022, the impact will reduce, and inflation will rapidly cool as a result.

A classic example of applying a solution that worked before, despite the problem being completely different. You'd expect that from a manager out of their depth, not the Bank of England.

The reason for hiking interest rates is purely to keep up with the Fed. But even that isn't working as the pound dropped today.

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16 minutes ago, welshbairn said:

A lot of people would welcome a fall in house prices.

Who? If you couldn't afford a mortgage on a £250k house when mortgage rates were 2%, even if it drops to £200k at 6% the mortgage would be even less affordable.

House prices would need to drop by around 40% and mortgage rates not increase from where they are now before a house started to became more affordable for anyone who couldn't afford it 12 months ago. That is unlikely.

House price falls caused by increasing mortgage rates help absolutely no-one.

Edited by Todd_is_God
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