In this era of aging populations and youthful entitlement, something within the global populous seems to have gone awry.

Basically, at the bottom we have the producers doing the work and creating the goods; at the top we have the distributors sourcing goods from the producers and selling them to the consumers.

Sounds simple, and it is, rather, it was. It used to be.

Back in the day, for the generation we now know as ‘boomers’ and back beyond them, there was no issue with this arrangement, because it was simple and straightforward; one group produced while another group distributed.

It was with the advent of the ‘middle-man’ that things became less straightforward but the worst thing, now, with this wretched ‘middle-man’ taking a cut of the revenue, now everybody’s being paid less…

Now, what do capitalists do to cover profit shortfalls? They raise prices, that’s what.

…So, the distributor raises the price of the goods, thereby maintaining the existing profit-margin; of course, the producer also wants their profit-margin reinstated but, well, producers rarely get what they want and despite doing the real work thus arguably deserving the most, with the middle-man and distributors taking such a large portion of the revenue, the producers usually have to settle for the lowest profit-margin.

Now the distributor’s prices are higher, though, consumers are finding they need more money so demand wage increases.

A socialist government demands that, yes, wages do need to be increased, so the businesses start paying higher wages to all their staff (because to believe that a ‘minimum wage increase’ stops at the minimum wagers is naïve; what happens when the minimum wagers are being paid as much as the next wage echelon?), which is very expensive for the businesses…

Now, what do capitalists do to cover profit shortfalls? They raise prices, that’s what.

In New Zealand at least, generally, there are no regulations on what a distributor can charge for its goods; thus providing they remain competitive – which is where ‘price collusion’ comes into it (yes, technically illegal but, come on, how else are fuel companies supposed to properly screw their customers?) – they can charge consumers, while paying their producers, whatever they want.

The problem as I see it, in New Zealand at least, while most of us like to believe we live a wonderfully harmonic existence where our beloved socialist Government will protect us from any harm, comprising our population there are many of us who are in fact rabid capitalists and who will charge people, basically, as much as they can afford to pay.

The issue I take with ‘charging people as much as they can afford to pay’, is that, often, this is a lot more than the person doing the charging needs; the act of ‘charging people as much as they can afford to pay’ in order to reap ‘a lot more than that person needs’ is ultimately an attempt to get ahead of the rest.

The desire to ‘get ahead of the rest’, in New Zealand at least, (because it’s not just a small portion of us, many people do it) creates higher prices to the consumer which necessitates Government-imposed wage-increases to businesses which result in higher prices to consumers which is, inflation.

That’s my issue. I like money; I dislike inflation. Inflation is literally the killer of the value of money.

If everybody learned to be satisfied with a less financially competitive existence, in New Zealand at least, the dreaded ‘inflation’ that is making wages worthless while ultimately pushing up house prices, would cease to be such a scourge on our economy.

If everybody just learned how to live within their means and be content with a little less, there would be no reason to pay more.

Learn to be satisfied with less and you will have more.

 

 

Article by Tim Walker

Edited by Suttice Fied

Photography by Minnie Madders