Cost of living going up despite fall in housing costs
(CNS): Despite the lingering recession in the Cayman Islands, the community continues to face inflation in the face of high transport costs as well as food and drink. According to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the quarter ending March 2012, inflation increased only marginally by 0.1% compared to last year. However, in reality Caymanians are spending 6.4% more on transport and fuel and over 5% more on food & drink compared to this time last year. The relatively low inflation rate was as a result of a fall in the cost of renting, which accounts for 40% of the goods basket used to measure the CPI.
“The downward pressure to inflation arose from the housing price index which declined anew by 3.9%,” Finance Minister McKeeva Bush said this week on the publication of the latest statistical information.
The increase in food costs was led by a whopping 11% rise in seafood, a more than 9% increase in oils and fats, a growth of 8.8% in the price of fruit and a more than 7% increase in soft drinks, including mineral water, as well as fruit and vegetable juices.
Since the last quarter results the CPI decreased by 1.1% because of housing costs, which declined by 4.9% due to the movement in imputed rentals for housing
Meanwhile, since December last year restaurants and hotel prices increased by 5.3%, driven mainly by a 38.1% increases in the average cost of accommodation services. Hospital service also drove up the cost of health care by 1.6%. Clothing and footwear went up by 1.6% above the level in December 2011 and miscellaneous goods and services went up by 1.2%.
The transportation index experienced a net increase of 1% due to increases in the average cost of vehicles purchased – some 6.4% — and transport services which went up by more than 2%.
Category: Local News
seriously ridiculous high cost of living in every aspect. I'm not sure how much of this we can take. A bag of grapes is about 12.00 CI DOLLARS. A can of tuna use to be .79 cents and now its double the price. If it was only that it might not be so bad but CUC went up again, so did my childrens cost for lunch by an additional 25.00 per month. So did the water bill, I can go on. Forget home insurance and even life insurance, it's unrealistic how much it cost. It's pathetic, how much more can we tolerate?
FYI, oil has fallen below $80 a barrel in the US and its predicted that gas prices could hit $2.50 a gallon by November.
http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/blog/morning-edition/2012/06/gas-prices-could-hit-250-a-gallon-by.html?ana=twt
Wonder if we'll see any price drops down here?
Better hope another Hurricane dont hit. Insurance will be impossible to afford. The dump..Electricty…I wish I could run my business like that and extort the public as you need me and not the other way around.
well UDP declared we were broke and jacked up infrastructure, work permit, licensing and business costs …on the promise of a balanced budget with a $5m surplus.
Does anyone else besides me remember this??
UDP has not managed to find any "investors" and no economic stimulus projects have started, except CEC which they smartly only collect nominal revenue on…in the meantime the UDP mismanaged the money we have paid them, Cohen fiasco, GLF settlement fiasco, no audited financial statements, no budget, passed on $0.25 fuel surcharge to consumers (remember?), failed to properly manage its existing budget (Gasboy is recent example), constant allegations of corruption and favortism
Then theres PPM – who claimed the total impact of US recession for Cayman was $200k (lost companies fees revenue) and overextended us for major schools projects and building new GAB
Both parties are piss-poor with financial management and budgeting
(dont start me on the Financial Secretary!)
Although the quality of candidates for office are so poor in Cayman, hopefully there is one with some financial management experience for the 2013 elections
oh, how I weep for my Country
And yet well paid public servants are still getting free gas with gasboy cards even though they can well afford to buy their own – sickening!
It's just a social service for Caymanians. If you are a resident and jealous, get over it.
Lemme tell you all a easy way out, Just move to Cayman Brac and tell them that you have no way to live and social service will put you up free of cost. Lemme give you one example, I know a single elderly man that social service is putting up in a one bedroom apt and he told them he didnt want to stay there anymore so they put him up in a 3 bedroom house. And mind ya he gah helper coming de every day too. So like i say when things get too hard una come Brac and let Social Service help una!
When cost of living goes up, so do the profits of the companies.
Don't be fooled . . . . .
That's if companies decide to raise prices on goods and services. But it is hard to do so, because more and more people (including skilled workers from a rollover policy) are leaving the island. And rather than seeing the company suffer from a high cost of living and intense government regulation, downsizing and letting go people appear to be the only alternative, which means more unemployment and increase crime.
Trust me, "don't be fooled," the only company that is really benefiting from this cost of living, is the company called "government" – those on the very top or allied with the government making the most of it. Regards
CUC is one of the main culprits! Just got my bill and it made my eyes water…..
You might be able to save on your water bill then.
Blame the price of oil and Mac's increased duties on fuel.
I got rolled over last year. I moved to a new job in the US. The grass is greener!!!
More salary, even with the taxes. Cost of living is 1/3. I now have a nice car and
a foreclosure 2008 house. My employer does not have to deal with roll-over, they
are pursuing a green card asap. It's 95 degrees and sunny. The beach is not all that… after
enjoying it for 7 years.
hmmmm which state?
but is it paradise? do you live in paradise??
Ever compared Cayman to Jamaica before? In terms of paradise, you should take a trip to Ocho Rios, Jamaica
Clothing and footwear went up by 1.6% wow… time to make a list and go shopping in Miami… opps… did I just saw a customs officer?
the cost of property insurance is the reason most people are crippled financially……and why the economy is struggling
for house owners it is like a second mortgage and for apartment owners it is the reason they have to pay $500 per month on strata fees for an average 2 bed…..which in turn makes property ownership financially unappealing and unviable….which leads to a depressed property market…..
And when there is a storm they look for any reason not to pay…or just go out of business after spending all your Money on their salaries and new offices. Great!!!!
nonsense… the reason cayman boomed after ivan was due to the insurance payouts….
Island Heritage were very fair with us — prompt and accurate. No messing about. And no, I don't work for them!
It should be called "The cost of corruption and incompetenc is going up."
I remember once a gallon of milk in Cayman cost around $3 dollars. You could boil the milk and it would have a layer on top of it. Now… you can boil that milk for longest time and the stuff they put in that milk, I swear must be the reason why it is costing so much.
Milking cows should be raised in Cayman to produce high quality organic milk. This can be developed as a cottage industry and the Government should provide assistance to people in this regard and build a small processing plant while setting up a collection net work. Small steps can be taken now to develop this industry for the long term sustainability.
I think you'll find that the only thing Govt produces is infact cottage cheese. They do so by spending vast amounts of time sitting on their backsides. It's really quite incredible!
yuk!
I don't know if I should rollover and laugh at the same time. Alden and Mac, get ready and milk deh cow!
I think planing should bring in a law that all new apartments and houses should have space for a cow. And the new schools should teach cow milking as part of their cericulum . Then i think….er….er I think…er..it’s my bed time now.
i endorse this message as well
i endorse this message
Yea…
I dont know what they put in that milk – so I just stick to a safe drink like beer…
And that is the reason why I am leaving Cayman Islands to live elsewhere. Get far from this uk-government system. The cost of living is becoming too high. It is hard to start and secure a business. A friend of mine who owns a business in town, told me that they just had to make major sacrifices and are considering closing if nothing picks up before the end of the year. You no wonder why there is so much unemployment, people looking jobs, and then you robberies and break-ins. It is so sad that we have come to this. Is PPM to blame? Is UDP to blame? I don't care who is to blame. I am sure both sides contributed well to the problem. What I am sure about and know for certain, you won't be seeing me in Cayman Islands coming next year. I will be somewhere else investing and using my money in a business friendly environment. I love my family and dread the thought of leaving them here, but I can only think about developing me and my immediate family, because at the end of the day, I don't trust government pension, I don't trust parties, I don't trust Alden, I don't trust McKeeva, and I don't trust Ezzard. I am so sorry, but I am being honest with you. Cayman is a very lovely place, but it is not conducive to my family's wellbeing, it is limited, not enough opportunities for my daughter, and you see society becoming more and more controlling, cctv camaras everywhere and uk government not doing a thing to better the situation, but spy on caymanians. It is a fearful outlook, but I am confident that God will lead me whereeverI go. My father told me, you better not go, because out there is a dangerous world. He is so set in his ways, but how I see it, if you don't seek how will you find. When he gets older that he can't help himself, he will need the support, and I being here in the next ten years, is just a gloomy picture. I have to leave, Cayman appears to be going down. I just have faith in whereever I go, God will lead me. I trust in my own potentail and his guidiance. Many more went before me, so I must try and do the same they did.
Best wishes to you and your family as you seek a better life in another land. I hope that as an expat you will be treated with respect, kindness and fairness.
I hope they give em a warm time. They did so to me!
Lots of doom and gloom. Out of interest, since you're leaving, where are you going to? What is the better option? Just wondering as I too want the best for my family.
I am sure he has it all figured out. It is a big world out there and trust me, Cayman is not everything. Linton Tibbetts and others had to do the same thing before they came back prosperous.
Good luck finding a place that panders to you better than here. I hear Mexico is hireing.
CI$100.00 million on a school for a great education ( i hope) but then dont have any food to feed the brain or electricity to study. Should have thought about another source of energy and that would save everyone money to spend in the economy. But then we more expats that Caymanians employed and holidays so the money is earned and gets spent or sent to another country. The Government then has to bend over and sell something to get more revenue with the promise or more jobs for Caymanians and the cycle continues. The crime goes up , infrastructure and way of life declines and then we get no investment in real estate which is a good source for now. Oh when will we get some free thinking and visionary leaders who really care about us and not a pay check and fame!