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Analysis finds Australia’s inflation being driven by company profits, not wages

theguardian.com

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Re: Analysis finds Australia’s inflation being driven by company profits, not wages

#301

Post by refurb »

kasey_junk wrote: post #297
refurb wrote: post #294

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All general means in that sentence is that the price increasing factors are more prevalent than the price decreasing ones. It doesn't. Inflation is an erosion of value of the currency . General means "across the board" because the currency is worth less. Sure, if there is a glut of apples and the price drops you may not notice the inflation baked into the price, but it's there. And if there is a shortage of oranges t…

You’re arguing circularly. Currencies are worth less when things cost more. Things cost more when prices increase. If a central committee increased the price on everything without changing the monetary supply that would still be inflation. Similarly if the invisible hand does it or if there is broad collusion amongst producers.

Its not circular because its different drivers of price.

If gas prices rise the purchasing power of my dollar remains the same for most items.

If inflation goes up, my dollar buys less of everything.

Re: Analysis finds Australia’s inflation being driven by company profits, not wages

#302

Post by exodust »

Benjamin_Dobell wrote: post #85
exodust wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

NAB - the big Australian bank that uses children in their ads, reading scripts in a grown-up manner about the importance of money: https://youtu.be/bk952JcRyok They've aired several ads like this using children to convince people that NAB is "more than money". On supermarket profits. I've noticed price-jacking has reached a new level. Seemingly in collaboration with the brands to deceive customers. For example, "50%…

> That's AUD $1.50 per tablet / USD $2.23 per tablet I have no idea how much dishwasher tablets ought to cost, but you've applied the exchange rate in reverse. $1.50 AUD is currently about $1 USD.

You're right, my bad. To clarify, I chose dishwasher tablets as a common product among many I've noticed sharply increase in price here in Australia.

AUD $48 for a pack of 32 tablets is about USD $32. When I look on Walmart US site, they are selling the same brand and similar product (Finish Powerball Quantum) in a 50 pack for USD $15 which is about AUD $22. I don't expect Australia to be the same equivalent price, but the price difference here is crazy.

Re: Analysis finds Australia’s inflation being driven by company profits, not wages

#303

Post by TheSpiceIsLife »

trog wrote: post #103
TheSpiceIsLife wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Coles branded dishwasher powder works fine, $0.39 per 100 grams. The next cheapest is more than three times the price and doesn't do anything the Coles branded product doesn't.

Coles brand has never worked for me. Try the Aldi tablets. They are very cheap and Choice scores them as the best.

I ran the numbers, looks like the Coles powered, which works fine for us on mains water no issues, is about 9 cents a wash, using less than 25 grabs powder at $0.39 per 100 grams. The powder goes in the doeser, plus a small amount in the main compartment so the first rinse cycle is doing a pre-wash.

No Aldi here in Tas, but I'd have to break the tables to approach price competitive.

Re: Analysis finds Australia’s inflation being driven by company profits, not wages

#304

Post by Nursie »

refurb wrote: post #240
Nursie wrote: post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If the only factory producing widgets blows up and the price goes up (and the price of everything else dependent on it) the value of the currency isn't eroded at all. As proven by the fact that the cost of goods unrelated to widgets is unchanged. But if it happens across an economy due to, for instance, a rise in the input costs of fossil fuel which plays out across multiple sectors, this can push prices up across…

Yes, prices can rise broadly due to oil prices rising, but they come back down when oil prices drop. And the price rise isn't because the currency is less valuable, so its not the type of inflation that concerns economists - the kind that drives consumers to spend rather than save or invest. Just like the converse - if energy costs dropped due some new technology, it’s not deflationary (each dollar is worth more than…

> And the price rise isn't because the currency is less valuable

> Just like the converse - if energy costs dropped due some new technology, it’s not deflationary (each dollar is worth more than before).

If the price of everything rises or falls, the currency is more or less valuable when compared to goods, and this is a type of inflation which affects consumer behaviour, particularly if that rise is sustained.

Inflation in many countries is measured against some sort of 'basket of goods' that are (in theory) chosen to reflect costs that affect everyday life.

I'm not trying to dismiss money supply as a factor, clearly it's a huge factor, particularly over the longer term.

Re: Analysis finds Australia’s inflation being driven by company profits, not wages

#305

Post by jay_kyburz »

jay_kyburz wrote: post #300
gruez wrote: post #298

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I am suggesting governments should consider putting together not-for-profit, but self funding organizations, with fair and reasonable salaries for all employees, to produce good and services for its people. What specifically does this entail? Is the government providing starting capital? Or is it in charge of creating the organization and letting them handle the rest? >If for profit companies can't produce a better…

>What specifically does this entail? Is the government providing starting capital? Or is it in charge of creating the organization and letting them handle the rest? In my imaginary utopia, they are public servants paid salaries and benefits directly. The government already provides heaps of starting capital for business it wants to get get off the round. >According to wikipedia ABC receives more than a billion dollar…

>In my imaginary utopia, they are public servants paid salaries and benefits directly.

Oh also, these millions of jobs the government is providing. You could think of these as a UBI. Fairly easy to get. You can move around between them fairly easy until you find one you like with people you enjoy spending time with.

Re: Analysis finds Australia’s inflation being driven by company profits, not wages

#306

Post by sumedh »

tallytarik wrote: post #299
sumedh wrote: post #296

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I’m not aware wages on average increased during the pandemic. Did you switch jobs during Covid? Talk to your friends and colleagues who switched jobs and then get back to me. Before you link any random website, you have to figure out what is their agenda. There is lot of propaganda. These so called studies claim that immigration does not hurt wages, then you have to look into who is sponsoring these studies. Lot of…

> Talk to your friends and colleagues who switched jobs and then get back to me. They increased their salary! Did you know that lots of other people didn't change jobs during the pandemic? In fact, some people even lost their jobs! And lots of others kept the same job at the same salary (while inflation increased). From 14 March to 3 October 2020, for example, the ABS reported that wages were down -3.3% (and would be…

> Do remember that the world doesn't consist entirely of tech workers.

> But given you didn't provide any of your own sources to back up anything you're saying,

https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/bulletin/2022/jun/job-mo...

Re: Analysis finds Australia’s inflation being driven by company profits, not wages

#307

Post by brokenmachine »

landswipe wrote: post #216
Khaine wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Common sense. Employees can import foreign labour which has the effect of putting downward pressure on wages. Hence why wage inflation has stalled since COVID restrictions have been eased. And in terms of rental market, it has been widely reported. Westpac has forecast that Australian rents will continue to hyper inflate until mid-2024 because of soaring international migration. Westpac Business and St George senior…

'Employers', but I agree. The thing is, rental inflation is going to cause the property market to go pop... You can see it a mile away.

What will be the effects when that happens?

Re: Analysis finds Australia’s inflation being driven by company profits, not wages

#308

Post by brokenmachine »

firecall wrote: post #99
Grimburger wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The reserve bank governor is deeply unpopular Only 30% of people have mortgages, why should the remaining 70% care, many can even put money in savings accounts again after 15 years of them being basically worthless. He never said interest rates wouldn't rise either, he basically said they don't forecast the conditions that warrant a rise won't happen until then. Here's a pro-tip if you took on too much debt under t…

> Only 30% of people have mortgages, why should the remaining 70% care Because the remaining 70% rent, with many wanting to own a property someday. Higher mortgages mean higher rent. Australia has very little social housing. Renting for families is an unpleasant experience. You can be forced to move with little warning, and finding a new rental in your area can be very difficult and sole destroying. So many would lov…

>Higher mortgages mean higher rent

But lower mortgages also mean higher rent. I've never seen rent go down.

Literally everything means higher rent. Go figure.

Re: Analysis finds Australia’s inflation being driven by company profits, not wages

#309

Post by tallytarik »

sumedh wrote: post #306
tallytarik wrote: post #299

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Talk to your friends and colleagues who switched jobs and then get back to me. They increased their salary! Did you know that lots of other people didn't change jobs during the pandemic? In fact, some people even lost their jobs! And lots of others kept the same job at the same salary (while inflation increased). From 14 March to 3 October 2020, for example, the ABS reported that wages were down -3.3% (and would be…

> Do remember that the world doesn't consist entirely of tech workers. > But given you didn't provide any of your own sources to back up anything you're saying, https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/bulletin/2022/jun/job-mo...

Could you explain how that supports the point you first made?

My reading is that it says more people changed jobs than usual, and noted that changing jobs often leads to higher wages (in case I wasn't clear before - I agree!)

It makes no comment about immigration or a significant increase in wages during the pandemic (whether or not related to immigration), which I understand is your argument.

Wage growth in fact dropped significantly in the first year of the pandemic[1], before rising to its highest level in 10 years just recently - coincidentally(?) a year after we opened back up and our migrant arrivals increased significantly[2].

[1] https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/economy/price-indexes-and-...

[2] https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/overseas...

Re: Analysis finds Australia’s inflation being driven by company profits, not wages

#310

Post by defrost »

tallytarik wrote: post #309
sumedh wrote: post #306

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Do remember that the world doesn't consist entirely of tech workers. > But given you didn't provide any of your own sources to back up anything you're saying, https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/bulletin/2022/jun/job-mo...

Could you explain how that supports the point you first made? My reading is that it says more people changed jobs than usual, and noted that changing jobs often leads to higher wages (in case I wasn't clear before - I agree!) It makes no comment about immigration or a significant increase in wages during the pandemic (whether or not related to immigration), which I understand is your argument. Wage growth in fact dro…

Both of you dueling statistics re: Au might be interested the latest quarter figures, characterised by the ABC as:

Profits again outstrip wages amid accusations 'corporate Australia is driving inflation'

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-27/wages-rise-but-profit...

(I have no position, just throwing grist to the mill)

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