Discretionary incomes up 4.5% over the year in UK

The latest Asda discretionary income tracker shows continuing good growth in average spending power, despite the recent rise in oil prices and the knock on effects to fuel. Food, clothing and other essentials still show little or no overall inflation, whilst incomes after tax are rising. So far there has been no squeeze on real incomes from a lower pound in the way so many forecasters predicted would happen this winter.

17 Comments

  1. Lifelogic
    December 29, 2016

    Indeed but the national living wage will destroy and export jobs, reduce profits, push up prices in some areas and leave companies with less to reinvest in their businesses.

    I beleive in free markets and Conservatives always will says Mrs Theresa May, who does she thing she is fooling. Not in health, education, long term care, housing, wages, provision of car charging points, transport, planning, farming, fishing and banking anyway. Where exactly does she beleive in free markets? Does she even know a free market means?

    She was after pro remaining in the EU, which is about as anti-free market as you can be.

    1. Lifelogic
      December 29, 2016

      Nor do they beleive in free markets in relation to electric cars. Here the market is hugely rigged by taxes and subsidies in favour of this rather premature technology. A technology which is clearly not really ready for roll out (for most people’s real needs anyway) due to the limited range and the very high cost, low capacity, limited life and the long charge times of the batteries.

      Do the R&D first, when it works roll it out. Rolling out duff technology because of a government rigged markets, tax subsidies and grants is very damaging to overall productivity and the economy, as we see with all the other green crap subsidies for all the intermittent energy nonsence.

      1. fedupsoutherner
        December 30, 2016

        @Lifelogic

        Absolutely, completely right on this one LL

  2. Mike Wilson
    December 29, 2016

    And yet one always has the feeling you are on a treadmill – no matter how hard you work – taxes and inflation make sure you never seem to have much left over to save.

    I see a lot of people are getting on the ‘put 2p on income tax for the NHS’ bandwagon – citing basic tax rates of 33% back in the 1970s. What they seem to forget is the massive increases in VAT and council tax since then – and the ever increasing duties on fuel.

    By the time I take income tax, national insurance, council tax, VAT, duties on fuel, car tax and taxes on insurance policies into account – the government already gets about half my money. So, a percent or two higher take home pay is, in the scheme of things, meaningless.

  3. Lifelogic
    December 29, 2016

    I just heard a long interview with Lord Hill on the World at One. He said nothing of any substance and talked very slowly, he seemed to think he was addressing dim five year olds rather than a radio 4 audience. No sensible questions from the BBC chap either. What is the point of such “interviews”? Has he been on the same media training course as T May perhaps? Why are these people in the Tory Party at all?

    The rule seems to be, say nothing as all unless it is blindingly obvious to everyone already and say it v e r y ….. s l o w e l y as if talking to complete idiots, also repeat yourself at least three times on each point if at all possible. Then again perhaps he learnt this from reading History at Trinity Cambridge, as it happens at the same time I was just up the road reading Maths and Physics.

  4. ian wragg
    December 29, 2016

    As a pensioner the biggest squeeze on incomes is from the government. Rising fuel prices due to the stupid renewable energy programme and council tax rises which take up any rise in pension.
    We continue to get squeezed yet we still fund pop groups in Ethiopia.

  5. Lifelogic
    December 29, 2016

    There is an increase in energy costs working through, but this could easily be far more than mitigated by the mete abolition of the absurd climate change act. An act which only five MPs voted against:- Christopher Chope, Philip Davies, Peter Lilley, Andrew Tyrie, and Ann Widdecombe three cheers for them.

    What a dire lot of scientifically and economically illiterate sheep/MPs we seem to have in power! Lions led by donkeys (0r sheep perhaps) as they say.

    1. fedupsoutherner
      December 30, 2016

      LL. You’re on top form today!!!

  6. Anonymous
    December 29, 2016

    We still haven’t left the EU so these figures aren’t the ones I’m concerned about. I share Newmania’s worries about businesses going under. The difference is that I think the EU project is insane, corrupt and anti-democratic and we have to take a risk to get out – the greater risk is to remain.

  7. hefner
    December 29, 2016

    John, Where did you dig this number from? I checked the ASDA Income tracker website. Its last comment is from end of October.
    And another post quotes a Ā£1,300 loss for a family by 2018.

    Reply Today’s publication of the latest annual figure

    1. hefner
      December 30, 2016

      Taken from “beforeitsnews” website?

  8. Sir Joe Soap
    December 29, 2016

    Please God Cameron as NATO secretary is a bad seasonal joke !

  9. John
    December 29, 2016

    Many more will have seen their pension funds increase at a superb rate. Most are in predominately equities with a weighing in UK equities.

    Many have seen their pension funds increase by 10 or 20% in the last 6 months. Some have seen much higher. That increase is many times higher than the small increase in the exchange rate paid on holidays. Not that that is important, we voted to leave for better reasons than short term gain.

    1. alan jutson
      December 30, 2016

      John

      “…….Pension funds increase at a suburb rate…..”

      Where have you been for the last 10 years when they were all but stagnant and or falling.

      Please do a comparison over the last 10 years, not the last 6 months for a true and meaningful calculation if you must.

  10. rose
    December 29, 2016

    Talking of economic forecasts going awry, Grayson Perryā€™s acceptance speech of his PSA award came at the end of the proceedings which were presided over by Jon Snow. Addressing the assembled politicians, journalists, pundits, and academics as “experts”, he pointed out to them that for all their intellectual knowledge, they may be missing something important:

    ā€œI think the word ā€˜truthā€™ is interesting. Because weā€™ve often talked about truth in terms of academic truth, statistical truth, empirical truth, scientific truth, but we talk very little about emotional truth. And I think that one thing that all of the experts here need to zhoosh up a bit is their emotional literacy. The liberal academic elite have let us down because they are not emotionally literate enough to really understand what fifty-two per cent of the population were thinking, or feeling, should I say.

    ā€œThereā€™s a whole world out there that we need to have more empathy with, even if we donā€™t like the results those kind of feelings bring about. But I thank you for this award from the experts ā€“ and I hope that next year you are giving an award for ā€˜most empatheticā€™ politician of the year.ā€

    Grayson Perry is the contemporary artist who also made the astoundingly subversive remark that “Art can be beautiful.”

  11. Hack-hack-hack-hack-
    December 29, 2016

    35 Russian diplomats are being expelled from the USA for interfering in the US Election, somehow. They have 72 hours to pack up their belongings and families. Actually I never believed so many Americans were dumb enough to vote for Hillary Clinton.

    Jeremy Corbyn’s election of leader of the Labour Party must have been hacked too. Unless we are to believe most Labour Party members are somewhat short of a full pint.

    1. rose
      December 30, 2016

      How did the Kremlin get Mrs Clinton to rant and rage at the electorate about their shortcomings, not once but twice?

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