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LETTER: Does anyone else see the 'insanity' of inflation?

Don’t fall for the blame game. It’s time for a rethink. You are not the cause of inflation, says letter writer
coins money budget increase

CollingwoodToday welcomes letters to the editor at [email protected]. Please include your daytime phone number and address (for verification of authorship, not publication). The following letter from Dennis Rizzo was originally sent to OrilliaMatters.
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We are not the problem.

Inflation is making life tougher. We are all feeling it. And the news tells us it is because of a) supply chain delays, b) cost of goods, c) the price of fuel, d) all the above – a litany of possible and likely sources which most of us have no way of verifying.
 
Businesses complain that supply increases are causing inflation. Consumers complain that price-gouging is the cause. The government complains that wage increases are fuelling the inflationary trend.
 
Wages?
 
The pandemic opened some eyes. Workers are finally realizing that they have some clout in determining fair compensation in the face of decades of rising costs. There has been little relief and, as we saw with Bill 28, continuous push-back on paying a living wage.
 
Comes along with a brief side comment by Tiff Macklem, Bank of Canada governor. He sets the interest rates which have, so far, failed to slow inflation. When asked about that failure, he said it is obvious that “…until we have higher unemployment, we will have inflation because workers can demand higher wages. Industry is at the mercy of worker demands.”
 
Huh?
 
So, what the lead economic guru in the country clearly says is to thrive and continue growing, business depends on a large cadre of unemployed workers who seek work for whatever wages are offered. In the absence of this, apparently, businesses cannot reap sufficient profits. Workers must be in precarious status so that businesses can control wages and remuneration.
 
Does anyone else see the insanity in this? Should we accept this and simply mosey on with our miserable ways?
 
Don’t fall for the blame game. It’s time for a rethink. You are not the cause of inflation.

Dennis Rizzo
Orillia

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