Comments on: Cost of Living

By: A Mother

A Mother — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 01:06:13 +0000

@Spud
Lol. So true.

By: Spud

Spud — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 08:53:54 +0000

I know what has decreased, wallet sizes.

By: A Mother

A Mother — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 23:11:09 +0000

@Phil. Nope. I admit inflation is not my forte. Child development and how children learn is, Hence why I’m studying in order to enter this field and not economics. I’m still interested though and am learning slowly though this site and feel I’m slowly grasping the concepts. Thank you for explaining that to me.

All I know is that it is now too expensive to make mac and cheese and to buy meat. When I buy meat I have chop it up and add a tin tomatoes and make it into a stew with vegies. Even mince I add spiral pasta and vegies to make it go further and have given up buying pasta sauces and make my own. All this and I’m still finding it hard. I’m sorry but can’t stand the taste of powdered milk, and refuse to buy lemonade instead of milk, so maybe that is my problem. Two toddlers plus me = $25-$29pw on milk alone, now price of milk has risen to over $4. I’m now considering using a ratio of 1.1 milk with powdered milk.

I had chops the first time in 18mths due to my brother staying from AUS and him buying them. He couldn’t believe the prices over here. Unfortunately I can’t follow him.
I’m stuck here in NZ.

What has fallen Phil?

I live on the bare necessities. My only luxury is $20 a week for childcare in order to study. This allows me 8 hrs to cram as much as the 25hrs I have to do to pass. I don’t have a car (too expensive) so I use the cheapest dial up per month available in NZ, so I’m able to study from home. I cannot stretch to cover 2 days childcare.

My landlord must be feeling the pinch too as my rent has increased on top of everything else. Please tell me what has decreased. Even though my internet and phone has remained stagnant, power, rent and food hasn’t.

By: Conscientious

Conscientious — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 08:21:14 +0000

Labour you really are asking for a whole pile of trouble when you continue to post things like this. You have no moral high ground to claim as you were in government for 9 whole years and allowed a high salary of $70,000 to become an average wage while still taxing them as though they were rich. You allowed wages to remain stagnant while food went up by 12% and petrol by God-knows-what. You also allowed the average house to become 6 times the average wage. Stop the whinging and come out with some solutions. You created this mess, help fix it.

By: Michael

Michael — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 05:03:26 +0000

My view is that over time the government should move to refund everyone for all the GST that would typically be incurred by someone on a benefit (as well as well as getting rid of/refunding income tax up to that level of income). This would be in lieu of removing GST on food, on power and the other things people want it removed from.
The cost of living according to the typical spend of a poor person is at times going to rise at a different rate to the inflation rate and this should be taken into account when calculating benefits etc.

By: Phil

Phil — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 01:37:14 +0000

Inflation hasn’t kept up with the increase of food.

I ask this without intending to sound smug, but; do you actually know what ‘inflation’ is?

Food Prices make up about 1/4 of the CPI, which is our official measure of inflation. They are not two distinctly separate measures.

Remember also that while food prices might have risen more than the general level of inflation, there are going to be others that have fallen. it all balanes out

By: A Mother

A Mother — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 00:17:51 +0000

@Fedora Jane
Inflation hasn’t kept up with the increase of food. When pies were 0.50c and rose, inflation kept up. Its stopped doing that. That I feel is the difference.

By: Tracey

Tracey — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 22:54:56 +0000

All this talk about closing the gap with Australia BUT no talk of strengthening our unions (like Australia), being proactive – doubling the first time home buyer grant, paying a cash amount to ALL Australians…

One thing I will say for the Aussies is that their Government is proactive in times of crisis, ours is entirely reactive and poll driven…

I agree with herodotus, both parties are reactive. national talked changed but is too scared to really change anything. I don’t see Labour offering up anything different. How about some statements about exactly what Labour WOULD do, today, if they had been government. Don’t just slay the sitting Government offer us a REAL alternative.

By: Tigger

Tigger — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 20:40:09 +0000

indiana – Reducing GST is different to not increasing it.

By: indiana

indiana — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 20:34:31 +0000

Shouldn’t Key reconsider that action given current circumstances?

Did Labour ever consider reducing GST during their times?