"Britons must accept they will be poorer" says Bank of England

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"Britons must accept they will be poorer" says Bank of England

Postby dutchman » Wed Apr 26, 2023 2:16 am

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Households must accept that they will be “worse off” if inflation is to be tackled, the Bank of England’s chief economist has said.

Huw Pill said households had shown a “reluctance to accept” that inflation would lead to a decline in living standards and that workers would need to stop asking for pay rises to ensure prices could start falling.

Speaking on the Beyond Unprecedented podcast, Pill said: “If the cost of what you’re buying has gone up compared to what you’re selling, you’re going to be worse off.

“So, somehow in the UK, someone needs to accept that they’re worse off and stop trying to maintain their real spending power by bidding up prices whether through higher wages or passing energy costs on to customers.

“What we’re facing now is that reluctance to accept that yes, we’re all worse off and we all have to take our share.”

Pill joined the Bank of England in September 2021 and was paid a salary of £88,154 and benefits of £7,029 during his first six months at the organisation.

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Re: "Britons must accept they will be poorer" says Bank of England

Postby rebbonk » Wed Apr 26, 2023 11:56 am

Tell the companies that are scalping us on prices. How many companies have raised prices in order to improve their profitability and keep their shareholders happy? How many CEOs have had massive pay increases? Etc., etc....

If Pill(ock) want's us (the plebs) to accept this, it must be enforced equally throughout society and business.

Incidentally, as I have been typing this, I've just had a text from Barclaycard telling me that my minimum monthly payment is going to increase. Of course, they are spinning it as a benefit to me, but all it will do (or would do if I didn't pay it off every month) would be to add to my cash flow problems,
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Re: "Britons must accept they will be poorer" says Bank of England

Postby dutchman » Sun Apr 30, 2023 3:09 pm

Bank of England boss at centre of row over 'poor' comments lives in flat owned by parents

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The Bank of England boss who told people to just accept they are poorer lives in a £1.5million flat owned by his parents.

Huw Pill, 54, who earns £190,000 a year, sparked outrage when he said workers should stop asking for pay rises during the cost of living crisis.

But we can reveal he makes do in his mum and dad’s posh apartment in a private lane in Kensington – one of London’s most expensive areas.

Mr Pill declined to say if he pays for his home – or if he regretted telling a US podcast that Brits “need to accept they’re worse off”.

Unite union leader Sharon Graham said: “You couldn’t make it up. He jets off to America to explain to a podcast audience that being worse off needs to be accepted – while of course he isn’t. It is absolutely jaw-dropping that bankers like Huw Pill should lecture about sacrifice for the common good.”

Mr Pill, an Oxford educated ex-Goldman Sachs economist, is the Bank of England’s chief economist, responsible for analysis used for policy decisions.

His home is owned by Sir Malcolm Pill, who was the Court of Appeal’s longest-serving judge, and Lady Roisin Pill, a sociology professor, according to the Land Registry. They bought it in 1989. Their son has been registered at the flat – near embassy buildings and Kensington Palace – since 2017.

Mr Pill was paid a £7,662 relocation allowance upon starting at the Bank in 2021. He was previously a senior lecturer at prestigious Harvard Business School in the US.

Laurence Turner, of the GMB, added: “It looks like he’s not living in the real world. His comments were not just outrageous and condescending, they’re hypocritical too.”

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Re: "Britons must accept they will be poorer" says Bank of England

Postby rebbonk » Mon May 01, 2023 12:02 pm

The man is an ass.
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Re: "Britons must accept they will be poorer" says Bank of England

Postby dutchman » Mon May 15, 2023 11:06 pm

‘I shouldn’t have told households to accept being poorer’, admits Bank of England chief

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The senior Bank of England official who told households to accept being poorer has admitted that he should have used “less inflammatory” language.

Huw Pill, the Bank’s chief economist, acknowledged that he should have chosen his words with more care after telling British families to “accept that they’re worse off” following a surge in inflation.

In an online Q&A session on Monday, Mr Pill said: “If I had the chance again to use different words, I would use somewhat different words to describe the challenges we all face.

“I think the viral response to my words perhaps hasn't been very helpful to our communication or our understanding of the situation.”

Mr Pill, who earns nearly six times more than the average person, came under fire last month for urging workers to stop asking for pay rises as part of efforts to prevent the economy overheating.

He argued that such demands only increased prices further and continued to drive up prices.

Speaking on the Beyond Unprecedented podcast by Columbia Law School in April, Mr Pill said: “[People] need to accept that they're worse off and stop trying to maintain their real spending power by bidding up prices, whether [through] higher wages or passing the energy costs through onto customers.

“What we're facing now is that reluctance to accept that, yes, we're all worse off and we all have to take our share.”

Mr Pill was rebuked last week by the Bank of England’s Governor, Andrew Bailey, who took issue with the chief economist’s wording.

After raising interest rates to their highest level since 2008, Mr Bailey said: “I don't think Huw's choice of words [were] right to be honest.

“And I think he would agree with me.”

The Bank of England has refused to accept responsibility for persistent inflation, although Mr Bailey insisted that he was not blaming workers and businesses for high prices.

The Bank instead warned that stubbornly high food prices mean inflation will remain higher for longer. Inflation stood at 10.1pc in March as measured by the consumer prices index.

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Re: "Britons must accept they will be poorer" says Bank of England

Postby rebbonk » Tue May 16, 2023 12:34 pm

May I repeat my previous comment...?

The man is an ass.
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Re: "Britons must accept they will be poorer" says Bank of England

Postby rebbonk » Fri Jul 07, 2023 2:33 pm

The hypocrisy of the BOE...

Bank of England bosses accept pay rise, despite telling others not to

Bank of England bosses have accepted thousands of pounds in pay rises, despite telling ordinary workers not to ask for more money.

openDemocracy can reveal every senior official at the bank – except for the governor, Andrew Bailey – has had their salary increased, averaging more than £4,300 each.

Bailey has repeatedly urged Brits not to ask for big pay rises during the cost of living crisis, claiming it could make inflation worse and destabilise the economy. Last month he said: “The UK cannot continue to have the current level of wage increases.”

The bank’s chief economist, Huw Pill, even said people “need to accept” they are poorer.

But new records show Bailey’s top team saw their own wages go up in the last financial year, with his deputies each now earning between £348,000 and £378,000.

Comparisons with the previous year cannot be made with every official, because some only joined the bank recently.

But accounts name Bailey as the only person who “declined to accept” the pay rise – although his total pay still stands at more than £498,000.

On top of this, the governor cashed in £99,000 in lieu of his pension, bringing his total remuneration to almost £598,000.

Records also reveal his salary is now eight times more than the average salary for staff at the Bank of England, which stands at ​​£62,189.

The comments from bosses at the bank telling ordinary workers not to request big pay rises has sparked anger among trade union leaders.

But its annual accounts, published yesterday, show 537 of its staff are now paid more than £100,000 – a 14% increase on the year before.

Earlier this year, Bailey called for “restraint” on wages, warning that big increases could “get out of control”.

He told the BBC: “We do need to see a moderation of wage rises… I don't want to in any sense sugar that, it is painful. But we need to see that in order to get through this problem more quickly.”

And last year he said: “I do think people, particularly people who are on higher earnings, should think and reflect on asking for high wage increases.”

In November, he told MPs he would not accept a pay rise because of the economic crisis. “It's not for me to decide, but if I was offered one I would not accept it,” he said. “I would politely decline as I have done before.”

The Bank of England has been approached for comment.

Source: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/bank-of-england-bosses-accept-pay-rise-wage-restraint-economy-inflation/
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