Are we REALLY heading for very bad times in late 2022/early 2023?

[clv101]

Just done my monthly supermarket shop - many many prices up, lots extra 10-30 pence additions. That, and 199.9p diesel is impacting everybody. Even those perfectly able to afford the extra are still unhappy about it, feeling ripped off, fact that it's so obvious, in your face is having a significant impact on the national mood.

These rail strikes won't be the last this summer, I can well imagine strikes in other sectors.

[UndercoverElephant]

We already have an inflation thread!

Just type "inflation" into google news search and it looks like a realisation that inflation is what is going to end the world as we've known it. It's like a freight train hurtling towards us, and there's not a thing anybody can do about it.

[BritDownUnder]

Yes the prices for fuel continue to rise in Australia that I noticed when I was coming back from the airport.
If I was not getting 65c/km from my company for most travel then I would actually give a damn.

Just got back from looking at a generator protection relay at a LNG plant. They were practically high fiving each other over the price of gas. They did mention an increase in cyber attacks recently though.

It’s back to the 1970s and for exactly the same reasons. This time there are probably no more North Seas or North Slopes to come to the rescue. To suggest this is a phenomenon lasting a few months requiring no interest rate rises and control of money supply is simply fanciful.

[clv101]

This time there are probably no more North Seas or North Slopes to come to the rescue.

How about the Sahara!
https://www.rigzone.com/news/sonatrach_ ... 4-article/

[BritDownUnder]

I was thinking more of Western countries rather than an Arab country as they already have a lot of hydrocarbons.

Let's hope that it is beneficial for Algeria as they have pretty much squandered all the money that they have gotten from oil and gas exports thus far.

[mr brightside]

I'm getting perturbed somewhat by the continued use of the phrase, "in this day and age".

"My ninety year old grandmother left on a porters trolley in a hospital corridor...in this day and age". It worries me because people are obviously still wedded to the idea of continuous growth. The vast majority of us have yet to switch paradigms. The idea of unarrestable decline must be so unsettling that people won't even tolerate its presence, even when the evidence for it is right in front of their eyes.

[clv101]

I've long thought one the main benefits of holding the 'PowerSwitch' world view is the mental acceptance of what's coming. Some people, perhaps even the majority are going have a really hard time coming to terms with reality this decade.

[Vortex2]

Some people, perhaps even the majority are going have a really hard time coming to terms with reality this decade.

This decade??? Maybe a bit earlier than that .. like 2023.

My wife & I have come to the conclusion that we need to batten down the hatches NOW - just in case a maelstrom kicks off outside.

If we are wrong, we have lost little.

If we go even a little bit 'Sri Lankan', life will become horrible ... and, as you hint, many will end up with a sort of PTSD.

[Vortex2]

Supermarkets have resorted to adding security tags to packs of Lurpak as the price of 1kg of butter reaches more than £9 in some shops.

[adam2]

Some people, perhaps even the majority are going have a really hard time coming to terms with reality this decade.

This decade??? Maybe a bit earlier than that .. like 2023.

My wife & I have come to the conclusion that we need to batten down the hatches NOW - just in case a maelstrom kicks off outside.

If we are wrong, we have lost little.

If we go even a little bit 'Sri Lankan', life will become horrible ... and, as you hint, many will end up with a sort of PTSD.

I agree, my biggest concern is large scale rioting and civil disorder, including organised shoplifting, large scale thefts of fuel from filling stations, and organised abstraction of domestic gas and electricity. I am aware of certain local hotheads calling for such in my immediate area and doubt that this is purely a local situation.

Thefts of fuel from filling stations are already increasing both locally and more generally. Such thefts are not generally considered to be a police matter, if under £100. As thefts increase, I expect that more filling stations will require payment in advance.

Shoplifting has already been "decriminalised" and is not a police matter if under £100. It is alleged that gangs of travelers descend on supermarkets, each member stealing goods to the value of under £100.
I suspect that some supermarkets may move to delivery only, as this is theft resistant. Cleared funds are required in the bank account of the supermarket before they part with the goods.
Small local shops may increasingly adopt thief proof designs, which everyone hates, with calls to ban the practice.

Abstraction of gas and electricity is on the increase, Tampering with meters is now very last year. The new way is to dig up the road and make a new and unmetered connection to the mains. Sometimes a meter IS installed to make it look more legit. Since this meter is not on the database no one ever reads it and and therefore no bill ever results. This may be done in broad daylight as no one queries men digging up the road.

[Vortex2]

I suspect that some supermarkets may move to delivery only, as this is theft resistant.

Some retail outlets may prefer this sort of measure.

For example, I know that our local Screw Fix was much more profitable when they operated just Click & Collect during COVID.

[RenewableCandy]

The new way is to dig up the road and make a new and unmetered connection to the mains. Sometimes a meter IS installed to make it look more legit. Since this meter is not on the database no one ever reads it and and therefore no bill ever results. This may be done in broad daylight as no one queries men digging up the road.

Hah! I do.
I walk right up to them and ask, "How long's this going to go on for?" because I wfh

[adam2]

I observed one case of what I strongly suspected to be persons making an illegal connection to the electricity mains.
I attempted to report this, but gave up.
I tried the police non emergency number, who told me that "utility companies are allowed to dig up the roads and that any complaints about this should be directed to Western power". I don't think that the police operator really understood that I was reporting suspected crime, and not complaining about roadworks. They suggested various websites about roadworks also.
Western Power wanted endless details regarding MY account number, my address, and the like, in order to "process my report"
I then called 999 and was told that this was not an urgent police matter as "no one was in immediate danger"

[kenneal - lagger]

I can't afford the cable to connect even if wanted to, legal or otherwise! Last time I asked in 1983 the cable alone was going to be about £8k. PV it will be.

[adam2]

A bit more doom to add to the list.
Strike expected at felixstow container port. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-62332822

The threat of a strike does not of course mean that a strike will actually occur, but with the growing militancy in trade unions I consider it likely.

Supply chain issues are already a problem, with "just in time" systems turning into "not in time" Any significant strike could have serious consequences for food supplies. Hopefully most of us are stocked up for just such an eventuality, but I worry about the effects on wider society, not just on myself.