It’s all our fault!!

[Dd852]

From London’s Daily Telegraph March 28

Early retirement has forced up inflation, says Andrew Bailey
Bank of England Governor warns that the shrinking workforce has pushed prices and interest rates higher
By
Eir Nolsøe
27 March 2023 • 9:21pm
andrew bailey
Andrew Bailey has blamed a wave of early retirement for forcing up interest rates and inflation as Britain battles the steepest price rises of any large rich country.

The Governor of the Bank of England said that a sharp decline in the number of people in the workforce was “part of the reason why we have had to raise Bank Rate by as much as we have”.

Blah blah … now I feel so terribly guilty.

 

[statsman]

So much I would like to say about this, but it's probably best if I bite my tongue and pass.

 

[pb4uski]

It's more Alan's fault than our fault. I'm not responsible for what happens across the pond.

 

[jim584672]

Someone has to be the scapegoat. Alan and his ilk are ruining Britain.

 

[Music Lover]

Someone has to be the scapegoat. Alan and his ilk are ruining Britain.

And the media acts like their media relations team instead of independent journalists.

 

[Andre1969]

Damned if we do, damned if we don't. In the past they were griping about people retiring too LATE. Staying in the workforce too long, and keeping those jobs from the young'uns. But then it's also your fault if you retire early?!

Oh, if you didn't have enough kids, it's also your fault, because that's contributing to the worker shortage today. Usually these blames are bandied about with Baby Boomers in mind. I'm sure that, thousands of years into the future, they'll STILL be finding ways to blame the Boomers on whatever the crisis dujour is.

 

[Car-Guy]

Say what? No "publishable" comment(s).

 

[DrRoy]

I don't think I set Fed policy, or started Covid, or had Russia invade Ukraine.

 

[Alan]

A couple of weeks ago I saw a retired IT consultant being interviewed on TV about this. He was 52 when the Covid lockdown happened, and then no in-office working for a while after that, and after a few months of not working he said that he talked with his financial advisor and realized that he didn't need to go back to work. The interviewer asked him what incentives would entice him back and he told them nothing could get him back to his old job. He had tasted the good life and it was good.

I can relate. I had lots of offers to consult when I retired at 55 but no way was I going back to even part time work.

 

[Chuckanut]

So, it looks like the plan to cure America's ills by reuniting with England will have to be put on hold.

 

[CRLLS]

If somebody has to be the scapegoat, I'll take the hit. Inflation is my fault. Okay, discussion over. Now on to a more important discussion. When should I take SS, or which Medicare plan should I sign up for? I'm just kidding on those questions.

 

[Toocold]

They had to find something else to blame for high inflation besides covid-related "supply chain" issues, rather than the fed giving away free money for so long. That was getting old.

We are easy targets.

 

[FLSUnFIRE]

I just don't see that. Early retirees are a small portion of the population and many/most retirees spend less in retirement than when working (perhaps less likely with ER folks that planned and plotted and now spend more) and thus were not likely the economic drivers of spending on the demand side of inflation. Perhaps a slight impact on the supply side with labor participation being lowered a smidge but I still think the relatively few numbers of ER folks are not the primary drivers.

 

[MichaelB]

They had to find something else to blame for high inflation besides covid-related "supply chain" issues, rather than the fed giving away free money for so long. That was getting old.

We are easy targets.

It’s not clear to me how Fed policy in the US led to high inflation in England.

So, it looks like the plan to cure America's ills by reuniting with England will have to be put on hold.

It wouldn’t work anyway. The English weigh things in stones and buy things with pounds, while Americans weight things in pounds and get stoned. Too confusing ..

 

[dmpi]

Retired seniors who carefully manage their spending and money is not inflationary. What IS inflationary is working your whole life, dying with a boatload of cash, and having the tax man and your benefactors blow it like there's no tomorrow.

 

[Major Tom]

The interviewer asked him what incentives would entice him back and he told them nothing could get him back to his old job. He had tasted the good life and it was good.

I can relate. I had lots of offers to consult when I retired at 55 but no way was I going back to even part time work.

I didn't get any substantial offers of work after stopping, but I can well relate to the reluctance to do any kind of remunerated work. I was a good employee - never, ever late to work, and I always made my deadlines. However, after experiencing what it was like not having to continually prove my worth to an employer, it was hard to contemplate voluntarily subjecting myself to that again. I was well known throughout the company and, in some ways, had carved out a niche for myself. Even after 16 years there, I still felt that I had to work to maintain my position, and the regard I enjoyed from others.

On the other hand, getting out of bed whenever I want to is priceless.

 

[Alan]

On the other hand, getting out of bed whenever I want to is priceless.

Exactly!!

I had 30 years experience in a very technical field that had a high demand and several of my colleagues who had retired before me took on consulting jobs or projects as it was much lower stress, no performance reviews etc. But I was just glad to be completely free of any paid work, free of any time or date restrictions etc.

 

[MichaelB]

On the other hand, getting out of bed whenever I want to is priceless.

Exactly!!
But I was just glad to be completely free of any paid work, free of any time or date restrictions etc.

I think people who have not yet retired just don’t appreciate how important this is or how good it feels.

 

[Gumby]

Yes, it is all my fault. And I am quite proud of the devastation I have wrought

 

[Walt34]

So, it looks like the plan to cure America's ills by reuniting with England will have to be put on hold.

At this point I'm rather doubtful that they'd have us back anyway, and almost certainly feel that in losing the revolutionary war they in fact dodged a very large bullet.

 

[NW-Bound]

The Governor of the Bank of England said that a sharp decline in the number of people in the workforce was “part of the reason why we have had to raise Bank Rate by as much as we have”...

Insufficient production relative to consumption will cause inflation. This basic supply/demand imbalance problem can happen anywhere, not just in England, whenever we do not have enough workers. So, what's the cure?

It's obvious. The people still working will have to work harder, darn it! Or they must be made to work longer.

Well, what if they can't or just don't wanna, like the French workers who go on strike right now?

Umm... We may have a problem here. In past inflationary periods, wages usually kept up with inflation, while investment gains tended to trail the rising prices.

So, as a retiree myself, I am prepared to face the rising cost of living. My WR may not stay as low as 1% forever.

 

[Music Lover]

So, as a retiree myself, I am prepared to face the rising cost of living. My WR may not stay as low as 1% forever.

Are you bragging or complaining?

I would never have worked long enough to reach a 1% WR rate, my free time is far too important to waste needlessly working.

 

[Calico]

Are you bragging or complaining?

I would never have worked long enough to reach a 1% WR rate, my free time is far too important to waste needlessly working.

I've been reading NW-Bound's posts for years, and never once has he struck me as being either a braggart or a complainer. In addition, his posts are always civil.

 

[NW-Bound]

I've been reading NW-Bound's posts for years, and never once has he struck me as being either a braggart or a complainer. In addition, his posts are always civil.

Thank you.

Are you bragging or complaining?

I would never have worked long enough to reach a 1% WR rate, my free time is far too important to waste needlessly working.

I would not and did not work till 1% WR rate either.

When I stopped working more than 10 years ago, my burn rate was closer to 4%. The market has been kind to me, plus I am a perfect example of Bernicke's spending model.

PS. Forgot that my wife is already drawing her SS too.

 

[sleddy]

I thought it was Putin's fault.