NRT: Inflation and poverty
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- Date published:
4:13 pm, May 4th, 2017 - 8 comments
Categories: class war, economy, national -
Tags: brighter future, CPI, inequality, inflation, no right turn, poverty
I/S at No Right Turn writes…
The CPI is out today, and it shows that the poor are getting poorer:
A recent jump in the cost of living hit the lowest paid Kiwis much harder than the big spenders, new figures show.
In the first three months of the year, inflation for all households jumped one per cent, bringing annual inflation to 2.2 per cent, the highest since 2011.
On Thursday Statistics New Zealand released the household living-costs price indexes, giving a breakdown of how price increases hit different groups.
The figures showed that the rise hit the lowest earners the hardest. Beneficiaries saw their overall costs rise by 1.4 per cent, almost three times the increase faced by the 20 per cent of households with the highest spending.
This is a long-term trend. Since National took office, inflation for poor households has been nearly twice that of rich households. Meanwhile, benefits are indexed to the CPI, but since that’s lower than the actual inflation rate for people at that income, beneficiaries are legally forced to fall further and further behind.
That’s unfair, and its easily fixed. Graeme Edgeler has drafted a bill to fix it, and the sooner an MP takes it and it is drawn from the ballot and passed, the better.
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Can anyone tell me- does CPI include housing – like rent and mortgages??
No it does not.
Not as a measure of inflation.
Some housing costs are included – rents, property maintenance, rates and the cost of purchasing a new house minus the land.
The consumers price index (CPI) gives you information about changes to the prices of consumer items New Zealand households buy, and provides a measure of household inflation.
You can find out about price changes for 11 CPI groups: food, housing and household utilities, health, recreation and culture, education, communication, clothing and footwear, transport, alcoholic beverages and tobacco, household contents and services, and miscellaneous goods and services.
http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/economic_indicators/CPI_inflation.aspx
Link to what exactly? Seriously that just a front page. And housing and household utilities if you follow the link is 3.3%
When other sources are saying house prices in Auckland are running upwards of 11%.
Just one example
https://www.barfoot.co.nz/market-reports/2017/march/market-update
Wellington is now over 20%
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/322532/wellington-house-prices-up-20-percent
With Hamilton is not far behind, but slowing down to Auckland levels
http://i.stuff.co.nz/business/87475339/House-price-growth-slowing-down-in-Hamilton
So I’ll stick with mine, that these figures are not represented in the stats, otherwise this government would be out on their ear now, not at the election.
The question was does CPI include housing – like rent and mortgages so yes, you witless knob, some housing costs are included – rents, property maintenance, rates and the cost of purchasing a new house minus the land in the CPI.
You trust everything you read then.
How that working out for you?
The Brighter Future.
Note once again how one of these articles puts an emphasis on how much beneficiaries spend on their disgusting smoking habits,(ignoring the majority of us who have quit or never smoked in the first place)and, being a Stuff artical naturally comments are open allowing for the inevitable nastiness. Any opportunity for these “commentators “. And of course no point in trying to counter with reality.
In effect, by focusing on tobacco, any possible sympathy for our position has been cancelled out. Or was that the intention?