It's all about the money...

Money makes the world go round

In spite of the speed at which the situation with Covid-19 has developed and the way in which the difficulties are being reported through the media, I have been particularly reassured by the Chancellor of the Exchequer's announcements regarding support for businesses and employees, and hope that further announcements can be made for the self employed and sole traders that make up a significant chunk of our trading economy. His clarity in response to questions is quite refreshing (compared to my perception of the way in which some of his cabinet colleagues are coping with journalistic interrogation) and he speaks with a conviction unparalleled by other senior ministers in this crisis so far. 

I am, however, somewhat pessimistic about any future financial aid the government may provide to the transport and/or tourism industries. Currently, their pricing strategies are indicative of daylight robbery at worst, and are discriminatory at best. As a teacher (without children, albeit irrelevant), I am only able to book travel at particular times of the year, in much the same way as many families should not travel during term time. In education we have, every year, the issues of parents withdrawing their children during term time for a family holiday because they simply cannot afford (although also in some cases they point blank refuse to pay) the inflated school holiday prices imposed by the travel and tourism industries. I understand the rudimentaries of supply and demand, yet I am of the belief that if these industries are relying on the public to utilise them and on government to "bail them out", they must be open to re-evaluating their pricing strategies so as not to penalise a significant chunk of their target market. Every working person will be paying their taxes which will ultimately (though understandably not immediately) fund these bail outs - *if* they happen. Though if they do, should we not be protected from price surges as a result? I remain pessimistic of such a significant change occurring, and should the price surges be outlawed as collateral for the government financial support, I would imagine travellers would face the increased prices all year round, rather than the reverse or, perhaps more fairly, a mid-point price. 

With regard to more local and immediate worries in the face of this global pandemic, I do believe that the government should have intervened in the panic buying/stockpiling phenomenon as soon as it became a significant issue for the masses. It was somewhat funny to start, and I think most of us believed it would blow over pretty quickly. But sadly it has worsened as the weeks have passed. Relying on the country to act sensibly led us to Brexit (remember that? *conspiracy theory: is the severity of coronavirus exaggerated to create a deflection of our attention from the disaster of Brexit?) and so relying on the use of common sense by the general public at such a time of fear and panic has been a frightful error of judgement (*or purposeful misleading à la Brexit - we all rememer that infamous message emblazoned on the side of a double decker...), leading to many people unable to eat healthily and without basic amenities such as soap and toilet paper. I don't imagine I'll be reimbursed for the additional cost of having to resort to takeaway meals in order to eat should things come to that...

But come on. How on earth have the shelves become so bare? The public have not been reassured and continue to empty the shelves (**edit: since lockdown, it's got a little better, but it'll be weeks before things feel a bit more normal when you walk down the aisles I think). I strongly believe the media has a part to play in this panic. Mainstream media has portrayed the political side of things, but social media has seemingly shown the reality - much chastising of people thinking about number one whilst possibly hiding a stash of loo roll and soap. But in seeing these pictures, it has created worry amongst many of us who would normally have let things ride their course. In all reality, who is going to let their supplies go as low as usual when they are seeing such pictures and reading such stories of fights in the aisles and a lack of food immediately available?

My fear in this regard now is that while there is currently no concern in industry and Whitehall about the amount of produce within the supply chain, we are seemingly heading towards such shortages as we wait for fresh produce to grow and for animals to be ready for slaughter. The spike in demand at this point must have longer term consequences. I accept that the food is in the supply chain right now yet we must also acknowledge that in normal circumstances, that food would have been on the supermarket shelves in two to three months, particularly in the case of long-lasting foods such as pasta, rice and tinned foods. In the case of fresh produce, I'm not quite sure how a future shortage isn't coming our way.

All things considered, the way in which supermarkets were slow to impose limits on the purchase of some items has somewhat hindered the situation at the chalkface. I believe questions must be asked of them in due course, as well as of the government, to ascertain why the public in the UK have been effectively permitted to act in such a selfish manner. I have to stress that the majority of people have probably been very sensible and reasonable, but as ever the minority have created and exacerbated the issue. The pictures and videos shared on social media of the situation in the supermarkets do not invite confidence in the current system of politely requesting restraint. Additionally, if the stories of checkout staff being made to cry because a customer is annoyed that they can no longer buy 15 cans of chopped tomatoes, we must ask what has become of our society that a small number of people think it's OK to make someone feel like a piece of dirt on the floor for doing what they've been told. Thinking about all those feel-good stories being splashed around to promote the community spirit that is seemingly coming alive, it makes you wonder what on earth is happening in the minds of people when they walk through those sliding doors towards the aisles. A portion of these people will be in that cross-section of the venn diagram, after all.

The supermarkets have let us down greatly. I do hope that our shopping habits will change in light of this and that local traders shall find they are supported by their communities in a far greater sense than they have been in more recent times. Currently, it is these local (and often sole) traders and shops that are better stocked and appear to be able to replenish their stocks more regularly. Luckily for me, many in my area haven't cottoned on to this yet and, in keeping with current trends, I selfishly hope they do not discover these gems until we are through this crisis.

Be kind. Stay safe.