How much it costs to rent a one bedroom flat in London? A British pensioner cannot afford it.

 

Today´s state pension can be about 1,000 Pound a month. The rental price of a one bedroom flat is about 1200 Pound, minimum. Then you have to account for other expenses apart from rental payments. So, really, the state pension does not allow pensioners to rent a one bedroom flat anywhere in London, capital city of the United Kingdom,

It usually assumed that by the time somebody retires the said person would own his or her own accommodation. This is not the case and it will increasingly not be the case as more and more people cannot afford to buy property and would have virtually no assets. This a ticking bomb. It is not by chance and/or by choice that more and more adults do not leave the home of their parents. Marriage as an institution if vanishing. Today, more and more parents are not married. It is also the case that vegetatve growth is below replacement rates. There are less and less children. Coupled with unemployment is the fact that there are less and less active workers and more and more people depending on welfare payments.

Monies to pay for pensions are disappearing and pension payments are not enough to have proper living standards. Once again, the clock is ticking. A consumer market that does not have spending power, combined with businesses that do make enough to manage to stay afloat with increasing taxation and other rising operational costs is not the way to Paradise. In spite of annual adjustments, retirees are getting a lot less in terms of that whey need to keep living standards.

Everybody should be talking about these issues, but most people live in cuckooland, oblivious in terms of what lies ahead.

July 19th 2021: time to go back to business as usual?

 

Since images like this were taken, London has moved on and movement in the capital city is almost normal in terms of people going about their business, public transport is getting busier as the number of vehicles on the streets has also been rising.

On July 19th 2021 the country is due to go back to normality without any major restrictions but the issue of Lockdown has been politicized so much that it will continue to be controversial with those who want a full opening and those who talk about caution.

The new Health Secretary Sajid Javid seems to be on the same wavelength with Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak that is totally opposed to any more furlogh schemes as the level of expenditure is hurting the British Treasury after more than 12 months of over-spending to deal with the pandemic and the cost of measures implemented to keep the economy afloat.

Many marching on the streets of Britain have said that 'enough is enough'.

Having seen holes on British highstreets with renowned businesses that are no longer trading it is difficult to believe that normality will be back any time soon. We will also have to be creative when it comes to public transport and fares. Because of Lockdown several franchises had to be temporarily taken over and reduced passenger numbers have also affected branches of services run by the State. Whether this is a temporary setback or a more permanent state of affairs remains to be seen.

And what about shopping habits and working habits for all other businesses that depend of the numbers of people working in offices. Will they ever be able to return to business as usual or will they struggle to get customers back?

At this point in time, July 19th 2021 is still a promising re-start of activities for many and the government has committed itself to a full re-opening. We waited and waited for June 21st 2021 and just days before Lockdown measures were extended. There are almost two weeks to go before July 19th 2021. Could some similar happen once again?