I’ve been missing in action the last few weeks and I’m sure many government departments and 95% of the population have been delighted with my absence.
Bad news for those guys, I’m back, and I’m back with an opinion piece that will give you a glimpse into how I feel as we enter into the final weeks of electioneering, and what lies beyond polling day.
I do not plan on going into policy and specifics, I will leave that to the political GOAT, also known as Paul Speller, and you can read his election diaries here.
Instead, I plan on painting a particularly depressing picture for you all. Grab the wine and your glasses and prepare for the headache I will, inevitably, leave you with.
Are We Screwed?
By now we all know the problems coming up on the doorstep, we’ve witnessed the rise of the social media MHKs and some prospective candidates that I think may be attempting to become influencers.
However, from my seat, I’m seeing very few that have answers or understanding on what I’m about to get into.
First up, cost of living. The phrase we’ve been banging on about for decades, but how do we fix it? Where is it comparable with? And what makes us really have the crap end of the stick.
The Isle of Man has a notoriously high cost of living. I would argue we aren’t a million miles behind London – its living wage is £14.80 per hour, whereas ours is £13.74.
Now, before I get going into this and get called a hypocrite for all my petitioning against a minimum wage increase, you may start to understand my moral conflictions.
I believe the living wage calculation is a useful mechanism, but one that needs to be handled with extreme care, with much thought to other factors before driving wages up.
I’m using the living wage as a comparison with London, and income possibility, but also Manx mentality, routes to market, earning opportunities and passing trade.
More Than Wages
There is much more to the cost of living than just wages. I understand the constant chasing of higher wages. But look around, all that will do here is put the cost of everything up – it won’t improve a thing.
However, we do need to focus on the issues that result in us all feeling more squeezed by the month. There are limited routes to market for many businesses, but we also have incredibly limited earning opportunities and lack of passing trade.
We are incomparable with the UK due to lack of passing trade. Why? Of course, because we are an island, but just look at our connectivity, and I hate to agree with JT but he is right when it comes to airlines and prices.
Who on earth can genuinely afford that? Let’s say a family has £1,000 to spend on a holiday, where will they go? Here or Europe? It’s a no brainer, mainly because they wouldn’t be able to afford to come here thanks to our daylight robbery connectivity – look at our air passenger duty, or ferry prices set by our government-owned ferry service.
And it’s a shame, we have so many sectors and industries that would thrive from more visitors, and markets that haven’t been able to flourish due to our limited focus on tourism and the economic growth that could bring – that’s before I get started on our freight costs.
With more visitors, you have more passing trade, you have business doing better, which means staff could be paid more, sustainably. But when business is on its ass, you can shout about wage increases, but the hand that feeds you cannot afford to up them.
However, I do have a problem here. Whilst I am a complete Thatcherite and support capitalism, I have a strong moral distaste for a business that is profiting seven figures yet paying skilled staff with high responsibility a relatively low income.
Wealth distribution is something I have challenged many a time, and still stand by my views, however I think when someone is contributing significantly to a business they should be rewarded fairly for that effort, especially when some businesses can afford it.
Dare I say I have spent too much time with Speller and his predecessor, Turton, but I do agree on parts.
I’m potentially just more realistic on what most businesses can afford, and don’t think every business should be tarred with the same brush.
I also agree that if someone wants to be successful they should be entitled to do so and get up and start their own business.
At the end of the day, be the change you want to see in the world. But whilst there may be no work without business, there would also be no business without some employees.
Who is Deciding House Prices?
Away from wages, but linking in, someone who is in a secure job should be able to afford a home – the reality is, even they struggle.
Recently I saw a friend that lives in Lancashire and we were comparing house prices, she showed me what she was buying and the price – I laughed! The exact same house here would have been £500k; and for what?
Whilst I appreciate safety cannot be overlooked, neither can the cost of living here, nor indeed attempting to escape it. Unless you’re fortunate enough to already be on the property ladder, or wish to throw your entire youth into saving for a house, and the rest of your life scrimping to pay for it, it is unattainable.
I could be counter argued there that it isn’t unattainable, but I just don’t believe there is much worth buying here for less than £370k, whereas in the UK you can get something nice enough for just over £250k. We look even further afield to parts of Europe and what you can get for your money, and it begs even more questions.
People are still buying houses here, god knows who, but some people are. My gripe is who is setting these prices, and whilst I’m against regulation, I have to say something needs to be done.
Do I think building more social housing holds the answer? No. Making home ownership more affordable? Yes. Hard working people should not be priced out of being a property owner.
If it continues with limited earning opportunities, increasing costs, and limited business opportunity – who is going to stick around to pay taxes that fund the entire ecosystem? And that’s before I even get started on food security, education, healthcare or banking.
Currently, I think we are just screwed.
