Saeed Pourreza
Press TV, London
The pressure from the cost of living crisis, driven by soaring energy costs amid the war in Ukraine is pushing more and more Britons into poverty. Among those are citizens that show up at their jobs every day.
More and more businesses are on the brink of bankruptcy each day. Many have already been forced to shut their doors.
The government’s answer: unleashing tens of billions of dollars to protect businesses from rising energy costs:
But for many, such measures don’t go far enough. A global shortage of essentials from fuel to flour has seemingly made everything more expensive. Inflation in the UK stands at just under 10 percent---the highest in forty years and highest among all G7 countries.
In response---the Bank of England has raised interest rates to their highest in more than a decade in order to slow down people’s spending and bring down prices.
But the government is moving in a different direction---slashing taxes to get people spending, in a bid to grow the ailing economy. Good news for businesses but bad for inflation.
New Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s has announced cuts to taxes on the richest individuals and the biggest companies, along with lifting the cap on bankers’ bonuses. He and his Prime Minister’s theory is that if the rich are allowed to get richer, instead of shouldering more the nation’s tax burden, everyone will benefit. And it has a name: trickle-down economics. Very few economists think it’s a good idea.
In the past 10 years of conservative governments, the UK has experienced stagnated productivity, investment and wages. Many are questioning whether this government can really turn the tide on years of economic decline.