'They're still eating McDonald's!': Caller fed up with people 'whining' over cost of living crisis
31 May 2022, 15:58 | Updated: 31 May 2022, 16:29
Caller is tired of people 'whining' about cost of living crisis
Tony in Hastings argues that people 'whining' about the cost of living crisis have their priorities in the wrong places.
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Shelagh Fogarty was speaking to LBC listeners about the continuing cost of living crisis and how it affects Brits struggling to pay their energy bills or even put food on the table.
Tony in Hastings phoned in to share his irritation with the continued coverage of the cost of living crisis.
"You hear it on the news daily, you only need to go look at newspaper websites and there's some poor unfortunate 'I can't feed my kids, blablabla.'"
The caller argued that the issue is people not spending their money in the correct way.
Read more: Distraught LBC caller breaks down after revealing she eats just one meal a week
"I walk around my town and see a lot of overweight children...I've just walked through my town and I've lost count of how many school age children I've seen eating McDonald's."
He went on: "These are kids who've probably got the parents who are these people whining.
"It's about priorities."
Read more: Soaring cost of food revealed as bread and crisps rise and pasta soars by 50%
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Caller 'disgusted' by 'arrogance' of caller fed up with 'whining'
Shelagh stressed that Tony's anecdote doesn't by any means, speak to the nationwide cost of living crisis where household budgets are stretched to breaking point.
"I personally know one family out of work...they're going on holiday in a few weeks" Tony said, adding that he as a full time worker "can't afford to" go on a foreign holiday himself.
Shelagh took exception to the caller's arguments.
Read more: Fears Sunak's windfall tax will make inflation even worse
"Tony, there are over 60 million people in this country, you're basing a view you've formed on some fat kids you've seen in Hastings; the amount of people you've seen go in and out of your local McDonald's, and some photographs in the newspaper of people getting a bit tee'd off when they're getting in a queue at an airport."
Tony stood firm, stating that "most of us, to more or less of a degree, are feeling [the cost of living crisis]", and some are "whining" about it more than others.
"I am genuinely hearing a lot of whining."
Shelagh couldn't believe the caller, stating he may be "in denial" about poverty nationwide.
Boris Johnson on cost of living crisis
Tony didn't stop: "I see people walking around who claim to have no money, who claim to not be able to make ends meet but I see those people walking around with cigarettes in their hand, with the latest smartphone..."
"You've checked the price of their phone, you've checked how many cigarettes they smoke a week, you know for a fact they're wasteful slackers, do you?" Shelagh asked, to which the caller asked if she knew the price of a pack of cigarettes.
"Smoking is not a cheap hobby these days."
Before Shelagh ended the call, Tony had his say on food banks, arguing that "we're not applying any common sense."
"If you open up a shop, and offer everything in that shop for free, you're going to have a never-ending supply of customers" he said, suggesting people using food banks don't need them as a matter of necessity.
