The Winter of Discontent #2 Food, energy, transport, jobs, housing etc
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There are many problems to be addressed with a view to a ‘fix’. Many peoples mindsets need to change, we love to buy ‘stuff’ lots of it, not needed but wanted. Clothes don’t really wear out but are moved on for something more up to date or we just fancy a change. Primark has its place but it is crash and burn fashion, good for people that want a quick fix and don’t want to spend a fortune, kids wear and wardrobe staples. Not my thing but my teen likes it, along with lots of others. As mentioned up Thread many items have a Poundland kind of vibe, stick on nails, hair accessories, make up, socks etc. I get the appeal for some people. But probably a few months later it’s either in the bin because of the poor quality or they have moved on to the next cheap offering. I think the majority of people know they can live just as well with much less stuff. It’s breaking the cycle.
A needle and thread have made a huge difference to my clothing budget over the years. Enough of a difference that I now have more than one needle and more than one colour of thread
Also re Apple - socialist af but not willing to give up the additional security Apple provides, integration with my smart home, and lbr the most important thing of all, not looking like a PS2 character in pics lol
The thing is, there are definitely people who can afford to shop for higher priced clothes but go to Primark instead. I think it's fine to go to Primark and charity shops if they can't afford to buy higher quality clothes, but people have to look towards higher quality and stuff that will last. A lot of the time, cheap clothes will last a couple months then become useless, which then means they need replacing.
Most people probably don't even think about going to get shoes repaired, but instead opt to buy brand new ones and throw the damaged ones away. I know people like this and it does bug me that they just throw away £100-150 trainers/shoes, then buy new ones for similar prices.
Posted this two days go in another thread.Amazon moving into housing.
www.bloomberg.com
Amazon’s New ‘Factory Towns’ Will Lift the Working Class
Plentiful new jobs at higher wages in places with cheaper housing sounds like a solution to inequality.
www.bloomberg.com
I tend to buy most things second hand and go for things like m&s, next as although they are still fast fashion they are better quality than primary. I'm getting the girls onsies for after swimming lessons and on vinted they are £3 each plus £1.99 postage and on the next website £23/24 each! H&m seem to be good for jeggins for my youngest who's very slim and legs up to her armpitsA needle and thread have made a huge difference to my clothing budget over the years. Enough of a difference that I now have more than one needle and more than one colour of thread
And John LewisPosted this two days go in another thread.Amazon moving into housing.
Amazon’s New ‘Factory Towns’ Will Lift the Working Class
Plentiful new jobs at higher wages in places with cheaper housing sounds like a solution to inequality.
John Lewis to build 10,000 homes for rent
A trusted source of up-to-date news for social housing professionals – the only place to get comprehensive coverage of all the big topics.
This isn’t fair and is punishing the poorest in society. Amazon have made it highly inaccessible for some people to shop elsewhere, especially low income families living rurally. For example, some states in America where poverty is rife, Amazon will offer low prices to drive out any competition and make it more accessible with deliveries etc. But then will hike up the prices once they’ve driven everyone out.
Not to mention the amount of companies that own or have shares in other companies. You can’t boycott nestle, Coca Cola brands like that cause they own the vast majority of brands you see in the supermarket. You’d have to live off grid to avoid any kind of unethical consumption.
I can’t read the article (it’s paywalled) but to me that feels like Amazon doing the same thing to housing that they’ve done with everything else - trying to control a market to get to a point where they can name their price. I live near a town that’s potentially getting a big Amazon warehouse and there’s a lot of genuine concern about what will happen to wages since the town has lost some major employers recently. It doesn’t look like Amazon are offering ‘good’ employment or objectively ’good’ wages, it has the feel of vulture capitalism and Amazon taking advantage of what is already a slightly depressed area.Posted this two days go in another thread.Amazon moving into housing.
Amazon’s New ‘Factory Towns’ Will Lift the Working Class
Plentiful new jobs at higher wages in places with cheaper housing sounds like a solution to inequality.
I agree. The two largest companies on the planet are Blackrock and Vanguard. Blackrock has recently been buying up entire neighbourhoods in america.
Would most people really turn down an offer on their home that's 20-50% above the asking price?
Yes, BlackRock’s Home-Buying Spree Should Concern You
The general public doesn't normally look into companies like BlackRock, the largest asset management firm on the planet with over
Even if you want to avoid a big brand company they have their fingers on pretty much everything.
Unilever for example has 400 brands under their umbrella- including mayonnaise, dove, cornetto, ben & Jerries. Largest share owner is Blackrock at 11% then Vanguard. This is repeated in every single S&P500 company.
Then vanguard even has shares in Blackrock.
The largest holders for Time Warner, Comcast, Disney and News Corp are blackrock and vanguard.
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I do agree but I think the issue isn't what we buy but how much of it. Buying sustainably is amazing but if you're buying sustainably in excess then we've still got the same problem as it is still increasing demand, and still means things end up in landfill.
It's better to buy from primark once a year and look after that stuff than buy from sustainable fashion brands every day or every week
I mean it’s an incredibly complex issue and I’m not able to comment on what other people can/can’t afford, or more likely what they choose to prioritise financially. I’m a fully sold subscriber to sustainable fashion (and tbh, fashion) but abhor the classism that comes with the emporer’s new clothes wave of green washed sustainability on Instagram, like buffet dresses sewn by property investors’ wives mitigates an environmental crisis not.
I grew up really poor & am at the other end of the spectrum in adulthood. I don’t believe anyone is shopping in primark if they could either afford or accommodate better, for some people their priorities may lie in over stretching themselves on the mortgage, or a better car, or are shopping in primark so they can go to centre parcs once a year. People’s domestic budgets are complex and nuanced
Also on quality, eh, this is another reason why I think people will happily opt for the very cheapest options as the highstreet is much of a muchness now wrt quality. V few people are in a position to shop above the highstreet offering & if they are, they’ll pick key pieces eg coats and shoes.
I am willing to trust the motives behind John Lewis undertaking this sort of thing but I can't bring myself to give Amazon the same benefit of the doubt.And John Lewis
John Lewis to build 10,000 homes for rent
A trusted source of up-to-date news for social housing professionals – the only place to get comprehensive coverage of all the big topics.www.insidehousing.co.uk
These massive organisations already have so much power, if they own all our homes too then we're screwed and I wonder what power that would have over local government too, if housing becomes owned by organisations rather than families.
Could write another essay on this lol but a lot of these new build blocks in London are microcosms of exactly that. I rented in one briefly & I’d say of hundreds of flats less than ten were owner occupiers, it doesn’t make sense to buy them as they’re so poorly constructed and price over inflated & a lot of people that did buy them soon move out as they realise there are serious issues whether it be cladding, noise transfer, over insulation, etc etc (rented my first flat from a bloke who left because of the noise & pollution from a main road and concerns for his kids).
Anyway the last flat I ever rented was supposed to be a desirable block for yuppies in tower hamlets. 90% was owned by one company, probably 5-8% by smaller landlords, of which some had multiple flats. Any time it came to vote for changes that benefitted residents but incurred a cost, they were voted down as it’s not in the majority’s commercial interest. Block management are toothless to punish the big share holders (in essence) because they can vote them out! So things like over crowding, anti social behaviour, pests, etc run rife in those properties as they’re standard neglected flats held by investment companies PLUS there’s no recourse for them. I would honestly describe that block as a slum, it became such a shithole.
I have shoes repaired, however I had a paid I wanted repair and it wasn't possible to resole due to how they were made. Companies want you to buy again, its a bit like household item. My mum and dad have the original boiler in their house from the early 1930s. You would never get a modern day boiler lasting that long.
There's definitely planned obsolescence going on with products, marketing is pushing people to buy new phones every time their contract expires or upgrade ipads upon each release, and they stop doing software support for older versions but realistically some of these computers, phones, ipads could physically last much longer.
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Omg I love this / would love to know what that even looks like?! How cool though!
I live in an area that had a lot of post war building so a lot of the original owners are in their houses as 80/90 somethings now & love seeing some of the original features and am amazed some of them are still working, like the pre radiator heating systems.
This is absolutely true. My mother in law has a laundry basket (plastic) that she has a photo of my husband, now aged 38 sat in when he was a baby. It's still going strong. I am on my third plastic laundry basket in my adult life, all I do is carry clothes in it! I swear things just aren't made to last anymore.
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