Purchasing power: the big political swindle?

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Purchasing power: the big political swindle?




by Christophe » 24/12/07, 10:12

Here is a piece of news that annoyed me quite strongly as everyone cries for their "purchasing power". This only concerns Belgium I believe.

Bank cards: new record of transactions per minute 22/12/2007 19:02

The pace of bank card transactions hit a new record high on Saturday, the first day of the weekend before Christmas. "Atos Worldline" (ex-Banksys) indeed noted a record of 16 transactions per minute shortly before 9.110 pm.

The previous record had been set at 8.882 transactions on Saturday December 23, 2006. According to the Atos spokesperson, it will be possible to establish as of this Sunday whether this Saturday also broke the record for the number of transactions per day. But we should not be far from the 4,3 million electronic transactions noted this same December 23 of last year. (NLE)


http://www.levif.be/belga/economie/78-2 ... inute.html

So obviously the purists will say that we should also take into account the average amount of transactions. It prevents a transaction is a purchase, so it's purchasing power and from this bridge of view, it doesn't seem to be going down ...
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by gegyx » 24/12/07, 16:03

To be good, yes! To be good that not ...
There is no need to be a purist to understand that there is a slight increase in transactions / minute of bank cards, compared to last year.
But it is not normal to conclude from this that purchasing power has not decreased. You have to be in bad faith, or be a politician in place ...
By looking a little, 2006 was better than 2005, and itself stronger than 2004 ....
I know what I'm talking about, when I say that in France, everything is done to delete bank checks, and to favor the card or electronic wallet.
Young people are increasingly being offered a savings account with a withdrawal card.
It's normal for card transactions to increase, as this has been the goal of banks' efforts for years.
From there to conclude that Europeans are more and more comfortable is to defeat logic.
The bank card with code is easy, so people rush into it ...
There are card readers at all merchants now.
For a check, you need a tablet to write, to have a pen, to take out your wallet to often present 2 pieces of identification, while you have to fill the bags with things bought, without losing any, and without forgetting the wallet .
There is an environment that is made to facilitate the credit card.
For a young person, it is less cumbersome.

For the decline in purchasing power, for me, it has been obvious for a few years, when I have the same job.

The food has increased enormously.
The end-of-year purchases are a sort of outlet for people in need, to have a family celebration, and to meet up with friends and forget about the growing vicissitudes.

Hangover, is for next year ...

This is why I don't want to wish you a happy new year 2008, because that would really be a sham!
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by Christophe » 24/12/07, 16:59

Yes you are right the electronisation of bank payments is a factor to take into account. Since I have a bank account I had to use 2 or 3 checkers maximum, so I use very little this payment method ... if I'm not mistaken I never used a check in a store.

As for the increase in food it is surely because of ... biofuels ... and speculation by the various players in the food industry ... I have also made a short text to this About today: https://www.econologie.com/ecobilan-des- ... -3567.html

It may be an economic opportunity: buying less marketing and more food content is not what matters after all?

Take something too crazy about food: the price of pastries in French supermarkets ... they are 30 to 40% more expensive than that of Belgian pastry bakers (I did not compare with a French pastry cook by cons). Obviously the quality is not the same ... We can therefore estimate that with equal quality, it is more than 50% more expensive in the French large distribution than it is the craftsmen! Where is the bug in your opinion? Here too, it may be a chance to revive the economy (at least in part) by stopping to support businessmen and bringing back to life self-employed and artisans!

Here is the period of the confectioner's truce which has precisely this precise origin (in other according to Wiki: http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tr%C3%AAve_des_confiseurs )!

Otherwise the increase in rents and the price of real estate is, on the other hand, rarely what comes to mind when people talk to them about "purchasing power" ... it is nevertheless a position of important expense to live not?

For the happy new year 2008, don't push it anyway ... aren't you going to wish us a bad year anyway? Come and eat Belgian pastries it will cheer you up! : Mrgreen:
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