The JSPrice Perception

Rail strikes have been big news in 2022 (Image: iNews) If there's anything we can take from 2022, it's that people around the world have had enough. This feeling had been brewing for a good couple of years, but the global pandemic put emotions to one side while the majority followed 'the establishment'.  Now government restrictions are history in the UK, Britons have spent recent months reflecting on Covid-19 and their lives more generally. For example, many, myself included, were part of the ' Great Resignation ' crew, by changing jobs and houses. And the total reopening of the economy would have meant businesses were able to breathe a sigh of relief; though we quickly learned there was little chance of that with (over the course of the year)  growth forecasts downgraded , trade deals with powerful nations like the United States stalling , mounting debt , rising interest rates and inflation , markets going doolally over radical announcements - the list goes on

Martin Lewis (Image: Nottingham Post) Is it correct to say that we approached 2022 this time last year with relatively soft optimism? Even though the omicron variant of Covid-19 came to our lives with some government restrictions, there was a sense that it was the beginning of the end - not of the pandemic (that's still around), but end of the fact that we needed to stay at home for an illness that was now under some control. Thank you, science. However, that optimism was quickly met with sobering fear. While it was fantastic to start going outside without thinking too much about it resulting in spreading disease, there was a sense that nobody would soon be able to afford to go outside. Those industries (hospitality, theatre and retail in particular), who struggled during the height of the pandemic, knew that there would be new challenges on the horizon. The UK government arguably played down the ' cost of living crisis ' to begin with, despite even Conservative backbencher

Elon Musk (Image: WIRED) Up until recently had I not taken an interest in Elon Musk. Any news stories about him, my natural instinct was to blank them out - whatever he did, and whatever business he owned, they had nothing to do with me. It's only when he took over Twitter, for a reported $44 billion , that I felt as though I needed to learn a little about him at the very least, considering I'm one of its millions of users and that, despite me not 'following' him, the vast majority of his tweets still appear on my news feed. If any of you wanted to discover more about Musk, I suggest you watch the fantastic and fascinating three-part documentary series , aired on the BBC earlier this year. It explored his rise to fame, how he became the richest human on Earth, his successes and struggles, and his future visions. We heard from everyone who knew him, including his nearest and dearest, and business associates and colleagues who either hold him to the highest regard, disreg