Reference :- We have been told not to expect any wages growth for years .

Reference :-    There is always a reason for wage restraint . This time it is the Covid pandemic .  

Here at the Sky Reply we have rarely heard an expression like "  Now is the time for meaningful wages growth . "   On the other hand ,  reasons for wage restraint are always plentiful .   

Ken junior wanted to know if " wage restraint " includes salaries and bonuses and dividends , which generally describes the incomes of the well to do .  To be honest , I don't know .  Gabbo informs us that we should look at share prices for an indication of how the affluent are weathering the latest financial tsunami raging across the trouble waters of capitalism . 

And good news  ! World wide share prices have seen the fortunes of billionaires rise by 27 % , or over 3 trillion quid, during the pandemic .  I guess that's because billionaires are so clever . All the mazuma that governments have borrowed has landed safely in their portfolios , and now it is up to the hard working taxpayer to amortise the debt .

" Some of that money will trickle down to working folk . "  Monte said . 

" No it won't . But the rich are trickling something down on us from above . "    Gabbo said . 

 I asked Gabbo to explain the situation simply for me . 

" Governments borrow cash and shovel it into the economy at ultra low interest rates .   The money is used by companies for stock buybacks  , the share market booms , and the rich get richer . The poor pay off the debt through taxation and reduced social services .  And the atmosphere of austerity is used to promote wage restraint so the rich benefit still further . "     Gabbo said . 

" I reckon it's time we listed The Sky Reply on the  Stock Exchange . "   I said . 

Your comrade , Ken .