IT MAY be issued four times every year, but for many people over the last decade or more the RPI figure achieves its true significance only when a pay deal is negotiated.

The rest of the time it is just a confusing mass of figures. Three-month baskets of goods are weighed against yearly trends with the added twist of RPIX, the inflation rate minus housing costs.

Rampant inflation, we might have thought, was something Third World countries and war zones endured. In Zimbabwe, for example, it stands at 2.2 million per cent. There, a loaf of bread costs one-third of a teacher’s monthly salary.

That puts Guernsey’s figure of 5.5% in some perspective, but it should not allow complacency in the States about how serious an issue this is.

The highest inflation rate for 17 years means that it is no longer just a figure on which to base a salary claim – it means many people are facing genuine difficulties in making ends meet.

A continuation of inflation at such a rate will rapidly worsen the situation. Only the fortunate will have bosses who readily match inflation at such a level with a commensurate pay rise. In tough economic times it is not only homes but businesses that look to cut expenditure.

The States has a duty not to add to that burden. Extra taxes and charges are always unwelcome, but at times they are irresponsible.

Yes, it is unfortunate that the island has been forced to soak up the cost of zero-10 at the very time oil prices have soared and the US and Britain teeter on the brink of recession.

But that is the situation the island finds itself in. While many of the forces behind the prices rises are beyond the island’s control, the States must do its best not to add to them.

Imposing punitive green taxes and offsetting States expenditure cuts with charges for previously free services will not endear this House to islanders already struggling to cope with the changes brought about to fill the black hole.

Perhaps members can even learn from Gordon Brown’s suspension of further increases in fuel duty in the light of booming oil prices and a worsening economy.