Thread by @VoteEsther

How to tackle the current climbing Inflation:
Consumer price index (CPI) June 2022 stood at 8.2%.
From the ONS report linked below:
ons.gov.uk/economy/inflat…

"The main drivers of inflation were from housing and household services (principally from electricity, gas and other fuels, and owner occupiers' housing costs) and transport (principally from motor fuels)."

From the Washington Post 8th August:
"Recent second-quarter earnings reports proffered eye-popping figures: BP posted second-quarter profits worth $8.5 billion, its biggest windfall in 14 years...

..ExxonMobil went one further — its $17.9 billion in net income was its largest-ever quarterly profit. U.S. company Chevron, London-based Shell and France’s TotalEnergies also recorded blockbuster results...

Put together, these five major companies made $55 billion this past quarter, as hundreds of millions of people around the world bore the brunt of surging prices at the pump."

The energy extraction companies have not seen an increase in cost; there are increasing the price of gas and oil (coal too) because they can, and meanwhile making super profits.

Any strategy to address inflation must address the root cause of the inflation pressure- greed by the fuel extraction companies. Anything else enables and encourages greed and profiteering #inflation #CPI #energycosts #energyextraction

For example, implementation of current neoliberal rhetoric to stamp down wage increases, whilst allowing the fuel cap to rise, will depress demand, worsen living standards and lead to recession, barely making a dent in the super-profits of the energy giants.

The chancellor could remove the 5% VAT on domestic fuel. He could reduce the £0.5295 (per litre) duty on petrol. Such measures would make no dent at all in the super-profits of the energy giants.

The Bank of England has increased the base interest rate by the greatest amount in 27 years. Monetary policy is not a solution to supply-driven inflation- which is not being driven by cheap credit. Instead, higher interest rates will push low-income borrowers further into poverty

So why is the UK Government so reluctant to address the problem at source?

@ferretscot revealed last October their investigation uncovering 43 peers entangled in big oil theferret.scot/oil-industry-4…

The solution, of course, isn't, as Gordon Brown has suggested, a temporary transfer into public ownership. The solution is taking the whole sector into public ownership, so the obscene profits being posted by BP, Centrica, Shell and others flow into the public purse.

Then, profits can be used to keep bills down and fund a just and properly planned transition to renewables, with no vested interest in increasing consumption. #publicownership #EnergyCrisis #EnergyPrices