Why one ply makes economic sense
THERE are many reasons why I didn’t study economics.
The most obvious one – that I’m a romantic, not a realist – came to mind today, when I bought my usual pack of toilet paper for R8 more than it cost three weeks ago.
You will tell me that my double-ply price can’t stay static because of petrol prices, global oil deals and inflation. It’s the nature of the beast, you might argue, and the only way forward is acceptance – or one-ply. But I don’t buy the pretty words politicians and economists woo me with when my back pocket takes a hit – more often than not.
No matter how many articles I read, I still don’t understand why things go up in price. Writer WP Miller says that it’s common to be confused by inflation, particularly when things such as consumer goods and services are most often affected; yesterday’s R2 apple becomes tomorrow’s R10 treat; and this even when the petrol price goes down.
He calls this the TP Index, since toilet paper is a modern necessity in most households and is therefore a good yardstick for watching how stretched our salaries have become. The TP Index is simple: toilet paper demand stays consistent and “doesn’t require much explaining” to consumers; yet the price has “roughly doubled in the past decade”.
As Miller explains, most of us are struggling to maintain an “adequate lifestyle in the face of stagnant or declining (or absent) wages, and this is made more difficult by the fact that the cost of living seems to go up year after year after year”. The majority of consumers see this as inevitable, but actually, money is a man-made institution.
How, he asks, does it come to be that money buys less each year? An apple this year is still the same size and type of apple next year – but could increase in cost by 10 to 20 times? The funny thing is, regardless of why or how this happens, it only hurts the people who most need protection from price hikes: the poor and working class.
My office assistant now manages to bring home only three bags of groceries on her R500 budget, when just a year ago, she comfortably fed the household on six bags for the same amount of money.
Throw me theories and call me crazy, but in my view, there’s got to be a better way – one that doesn’t continue to enrich fat cats (who are growing into mega-sized beasts the world over – just check stats on the globe’s richest families).
A few weeks ago, I held off buying a whole watermelon as I didn’t have enough money. That afternoon, friends and our kids shared a watermelon brought by Shona. Asked how much it cost, she said, “nothing”. Her six-year-old son had grown it – and more than 10 others of similar size – from a single watermelon pip.
Don’t talk to me about economics. LA FEMME image consultant Solette Rhodes spotted shopper Sanelisiwe Sokhela at the Baywest opening last week.
Here is where Sanelisiwe found her casual ensemble: ý White Foschini;
ý Black Foschini;
ý Leopard print top: Edgars;
ý Cream Foschini;
ý Black leather “biker” jacket;
ý Chunky gift.
Look out for La Femme’s fashion-spotter in Nelson Mandela Bay.
If we like your look, we’ll ask you if we can take a picture – and share your style.
sneakers:
jeggings:
cardigan:
necklace: