TDB has argued inflation has not peaked, that the global economy is warping and late stage capitalism exacerbated by catastrophic climate change will need a cup of tea and a lie down.
Food inflation just hit 12.5%
Food prices soar 12.5% annually – largest increase since 1987
The new figures from Stats NZ compared prices in April 2023 with the same month last year.
“The 12.5 percent annual increase in April 2023 was the largest since September 1987 which included the introduction of GST in 1986,” consumer prices manager James Mitchell said.
Grocery food prices were up 14%.
“Increasing prices for barn or cage-raised eggs, potato chips, and 6-pack yoghurt were the largest drivers within grocery food,” Mitchell said. “These were the same drivers for grocery food last month.”
Last month’s annual increase was 12.1%.
Mitchell said in today’s announcement fruit and vegetables prices increased by 22.5%, restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food prices increased by 9%, meat, poultry, and fish prices increased by 9.5% and non-alcoholic beverage prices increased by 8%.
“The second-largest contributor to the annual movement was fruit and vegetables. The increase was driven by tomatoes, avocados, and potatoes.
…Culture War fights make all the noise, but poor people aren’t sitting around the kitchen table cancelling people for misusing pronouns, they are trying to work out how to pay the bills!
Bread and Butter cost of living pressures are what the electorate want answers to, and that’s where the Left need to step up and push universal policy that lifts that cost from the people.
The Commerce Commission is clear that the Supermarket Duopoly should be broken up and the State should step in and provide that competition.
We need year long maternity leave.
We need a nationalised Early Education Sector that provides free childcare for children under 5.
We need free public transport.
We need free breakfast and lunches in schools.
We need free dental.
We need 50 000 new State Houses.
We need more hospitals, more schools and a Teachers aid in every class room.
We need climate change adaptation and a resilient rebuilt infrastructure.
We need all these things and we need to fund them by taxing the rich who the IRD clearly showed were rigging the system.
That requires political courage.
The food inflation will be worse next month, and the month after that.
Here’s a prediction for a storm to hit NZ next week…
…extreme climate event after extreme climate event, ever destroying the repair we’ve barely managed between events, plus ever spiralling inflation, plus the 25cent fuel subsidy coming off next month, plus staggering mortgage increases are generating a fear and anger not seen in the electorate before.
Voters want solutions, the Left have to step up and actually provide them if they want to win.
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