I have an affinity for tragicomedy. Probably because my own life blends elements of the tragic and the absurd.

That serves me well as a narrator. A good biographer of socioeconomic trends traffics in juxtapositions likely to resonate with readers as especially stark. Capitalism in the 21st century is a story of egregious economic contrast, conducive to fatalistic sighs and despairing chuckles.

On Wednesday, a UK think tank said middle-income households “face a hit to their personal disposable income” of up to 13% in the financial year 2022-23. “We project that seven million UK households (one in four) will be unable to meet in full their planned energy and food bills from their post-tax income in 2023-24, up from around one in five in 2022-23,” the National Institute of Economic and Social Research wrote, in a report dated February 8. The blow to middle-income households could reach £4,000 this year.

If you’re inclined to suggest £4,000 isn’t a lot of money, you’re right. But you’re also wrong, and you may be Rishi Sunak who, while volunteering at a shelter in December, asked a homeless man, “Do you work in business?” (“No, I’m homeless,” the man told his prime minister. “I’m actually a homeless person.”)

According to the latest ONS data, real disposable income in the UK contracted for a fourth straight quarter in Q3.

Although the chart doesn’t appear especially striking at first glance, note that it’s exceedingly rare for real disposable income to fall four straight quarters. It happened around the original Brexit vote and also in 2010-2011, but before that, you have to go back to 1962 to find a comparable stretch.

NIESR actually has a brighter outlook on the overall economy than the BoE, which sees a seven-quarter downturn. Although the think tank said it’ll “certainly feel like a recession” to many in the UK, growth will probably eke out a gain this year. The title of the report was “Recession avoided, but prospects remain bleak for households.”

By contrast, the prospects aren’t “bleak” at all for UK stocks, which hit a record high Wednesday thanks to a second straight session of gains for BP, which, like its supermajor peers, enjoyed a massive windfall during the energy crisis that bedeviled Main Street.

BP’s shares notched an 8% gain on Tuesday, the largest earnings-day rally in at least 10 years after the company raised its dividend and topped up buybacks to the tune of $2.75 billion. BP made almost $28 billion in profits last year.

Irony atop irony is the notion that the FTSE’s climb back to record highs was aided and abetted by the beleaguered pound, which was no boon to everyday people struggling with the ripple effect of higher import bills.

Another irony: Sterling volatility was previously faulted for holding back UK stocks in the years since the Brexit vote.

In any case, it’s a difficult time to be a middle- or low-income earner in the UK. If, however, you “work in business” or own stock in an oil major, things are going pretty well.