Surely people are earning more now too and its broadly in line?
Like if you were earning 40,000 in 2008 and paying 10 euro for lunch that was grand, but now if you are earning 60,000 a year, you wont pay 15 euro for lunch.
Its probably a mentality thing.
I’d say that job is paying more like 50k now.
In 2008 and you could rent a one bed apartment in Limerick for proably €600? Be €1,200 now.
I actually did a walk around yesterday at lunch time and it’s very bleak. As you said, service industry is caught in vicious cycle now of rising costs and decreasing demand (due to rising costs).
A few price examples i can think of off hand
Cajun Chicken bap in Cafe Rose 9:50 to 13:50
Soup and Sandwich in The Glen 9 to 11
The old Z-weton lunch €10 to €11:50
Lana lunch €10.95 to €13:50
Plenty of food places shut up
I went to Carved (cc @Bandage) last week for lunch and they had casually raised the price of the sandwiches to 9.95 from 8.95, they hadn’t even updated the boards in there with the new prices. It’s only a euro but I doubt I’ll be back, paying a tenner for a takeaway sandwich, fuck that.
Some amount of money tied up in housing too.
It used to be €2.50 for a packet of sweets a couple of years ago. They have more than doubled in price since. I couldnt believe it when I saw the price.
Covid measures are a lot to blame for current inflation but there is definitely a lot of price gauging. Obviously war in Ukraine put a strain on energy prices but some of those increases are locked in because consumers have demonstrated an ability able to absorb them.
Some 400k public sector workers will see increases of 10% over next 2 years it was announced last week. This week you have swathes of different industries from telecoms, insurance, drinks companies all signalling price increases. Govt announces increases to excise on petrol and diesel. Levies on cans and bottles (which is another stealth tax). Talks of introducing latte levies on disposable takeaway teas and coffess. We are being run by imbeciles really.
I reckon our inflation rate is vastly understated and way above anywhere else in Europe. I’d like to see what a basket of goods in Newry costs vs Dublin.
We have one of the worst spending powers in the eurozone. The euro has been a complete failure for Ireland.
Go get a pounds worth of goods
There’s no sympathy
Yeah it’s definitely a covid element. People got out of the habit of doing these things and never went back. But your point about the higher wages isn’t really true as everything is more expensive now. Way outstripping any rise in wages
When your looking at burgers in a pub hitting the 20 quid mark you know the country is fucked.
Thats as good a marker as any.
I really dont get those prices. Surely the objective is to sell things. Absolutely no one is going to pay 5 euro for a bag of sweets. Whatever about prices rising in essential foodstuffs the likes of those sweets are the ultimate discretionary purchase
Price of cocoa is rocketing on the commodities markets apparently. The fat choccy munchers need to be hedging now
A tonne of cocoa is worth more than a tonne of copper
An ounce of breeding is worth a tonne of cocoa
Our work canteen is subsidized tho it’s limited… 1.50 for a cappuccino… 4.50 for soup and sandwich. 1.50 for a Carmel slice @johnnysachs .
Nothing wrong with that. Based on those prices they are probably subsidising 2/3 of the cost.
€16.90 for a carvery dinner in the 51 these days. My problem with the price point stems more from my status as a barstool republican, although I remember when it was €9.90 before increases to €10.90, €12.90 & €14.90 & then the latest one.
There’s one of those distinctly average / bordering on rotten Wow Burgers places near me & I noticed a while back their Burger Meal is €25! Burger, fries, can of mineral (tin if you’re a muldoon) & sundae in a little tub.
But as @Arthur says, plenty of these exorbitant prices fall into the discretionary spend category.
