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Life Imitating Art: Kafka Edition
Nov. 7th, 2007 12:15 pmI have just been economically raped. I don't know where to go to report this sort of thing, especially since I think the government itself is at fault. They'd probably just say I brought it on myself, anyway, what with my reputation and the way I dress.
I just bought 100g of wool for £7.95.
Why, in a country with so many sheep, is wool so fucking expensive? Back home, that amount of wool, of that quality, might cost $7.00. A lot of Americans here like to complain that everything costs in pounds what it would cost in dollars back home, but it's not usually true. Things are more expensive, of course, but it's usually only around 1.5 times as much, not double like the exchange rate might suggest.
Which is why I suspect the government is at fault. Now, I should point out that this is all hearsay, but still: Gary the Egg Man* told me that the UK government has some sort of monopoly on wool purchases from farmers, and they'll only pay below cost price. This means that most farmers don't bother, and most of the wool gets wasted. This is good for the likes of Gary, because it means he can get loads of cheap, raw wool which he can use to insulate houses (how awesome is that?), but for compulsive knitters like myself, it means I can barely afford the materials for my hobby (I'm a complete fibre snob; I won't use non-natural materials). It creates (I assume) an artificial scarcity of wool that's actually been produced for its traditional use, driving prices up sky high.
I'll need to investigate the actual realities of this ('cause it's making me so angry!), but I suspect it's just another of those horrific lapses of logic that seem so prevalent in the marketing of agricultural products. Like Tesco charging slightly more for its 'local choice' milk, which ought to be cheaper--ought really to be the only option!--but because it's marketing to a particular demographic (the eco-conscious consumer), it gets to charge just those few pennies more.
I am fuming.
*So called because he sells local, practically organic, free-range eggs to students. He's also a landlord and does a lot of work on houses and gardens, and is currently working on turning some of his properties into 'eco-houses', so he has cause to know such things.**
**I steal blogging conventions like a fox steals hens. Fear me.
I just bought 100g of wool for £7.95.
Why, in a country with so many sheep, is wool so fucking expensive? Back home, that amount of wool, of that quality, might cost $7.00. A lot of Americans here like to complain that everything costs in pounds what it would cost in dollars back home, but it's not usually true. Things are more expensive, of course, but it's usually only around 1.5 times as much, not double like the exchange rate might suggest.
Which is why I suspect the government is at fault. Now, I should point out that this is all hearsay, but still: Gary the Egg Man* told me that the UK government has some sort of monopoly on wool purchases from farmers, and they'll only pay below cost price. This means that most farmers don't bother, and most of the wool gets wasted. This is good for the likes of Gary, because it means he can get loads of cheap, raw wool which he can use to insulate houses (how awesome is that?), but for compulsive knitters like myself, it means I can barely afford the materials for my hobby (I'm a complete fibre snob; I won't use non-natural materials). It creates (I assume) an artificial scarcity of wool that's actually been produced for its traditional use, driving prices up sky high.
I'll need to investigate the actual realities of this ('cause it's making me so angry!), but I suspect it's just another of those horrific lapses of logic that seem so prevalent in the marketing of agricultural products. Like Tesco charging slightly more for its 'local choice' milk, which ought to be cheaper--ought really to be the only option!--but because it's marketing to a particular demographic (the eco-conscious consumer), it gets to charge just those few pennies more.
I am fuming.
*So called because he sells local, practically organic, free-range eggs to students. He's also a landlord and does a lot of work on houses and gardens, and is currently working on turning some of his properties into 'eco-houses', so he has cause to know such things.**
**I steal blogging conventions like a fox steals hens. Fear me.
