Price increases are ridiculous

[linazelle]

But the economy's JUST FINE! :sarcasm:

I make over $10K more than I did just two years ago, but with BushCo's non-existent inflation :eyes:, I feel like I make less.

Heating gas and gasoline prices are up and I'm hearing electricity is due to rise just as much this summer. Taxes are ridiculous--there've been two increases in the past two years and my mortgage increased $60 a month as a result. I've been away from work and returning today was the last straw. I went to the vending machine and the soda that was $1 is now $1.25. The smallest bag of Fritos that were $.65 are now $.85. I know that I can save money by taking my lunch, etc. But the point of this thread is, EVERYTHING just keeps going up and up and up. I do OK, and better than a lot of people and I'm beginning to feel the pinch. I am tired of being ripped off. How are people supposed to survive these days?

Oh well. Such is the life of a prole.

[Syncronaut Seven]

1. What are you on parole for?

Just wondering. ;-)

[Texifornia]

11. Er..I think that's Prole

as in proletariat.

[linazelle]

13. I am sure he/she was kidding. Note the smilie. n/t

[Warpy]

2. They're lying about inflation by

deleting things from the market basket formula that has been used for decades and substituting cheaper items and sometimes substituting consumer junk that is made overseas to provide a "deflation" that offsets the steep increases in food and energy.

If all you buy are plasma TV sets from Korea, then there isn't any inflation and the economy is just peachy keen. If you eat and have a roof over your head and have to drive a car to and from work, you know the economy stinks and that double digit inflation is back.

[hang a left]

9. I also read they aren't figuring energy prices in the equation as well.

eom

[skids]

3. Try this site...

http://shadowstats.com

[Viva_La_Revolution]

4. looks enlightening!

too bad I can't afford to subscribe, what with the price of food these days. :cry:

[Coexist]

17. cool

[lovuian]

5. I agree and its smaller portions for the same amount of money

Look at the potato chip bags everything is shrinking in size but not in price...
thats inflation...

[taught_me_patience]

6. I so agree with you!!!

For the fed to even make the claim that there is no inflation is completely disengenuous. My friends and I sit around and laugh at all the prices that have gone up recently:

brocoli: was $1.69/lb last year now $1.99 (all produce jumped 10% last year)
gas: already $2.50/gal (probably will hit $3.50 this summer)
rent: 5% increase over last year
the $.99 menu at Jack-in-the-box and McDonalds has shrunk to two items
Soda: $1.29 for a Big Gulp that cost $1.19 last year. (nearly 10% increase).


Good thing I got a 5% pay raise this year!

taught.

[TreasonousBastard]

7. "Inflation" has been redefined as...

the increasing costs of stuff you don't actually buy.

[Nostradammit]

8. And quit eating that corporate crap junk food

You are paying exorbitant prices to allow ConAgra to poison you.

You can spend as much on whole, organic foods that will actually nourish your body.

*steps down from soapbox*

[Selatius]

10. It's the fuel prices; everything is more expensive as a result

It's not just gas at the pump but also many consumer goods as well as food that is now more expensive. It takes fuel to perform any major commercial activity, and if fuel prices double, that extra expense is going to translate into higher posted prices at the check-out counter.

If the wages of the bottom 40 percent of the population raised as fast as the price of goods and services, there wouldn't be much to bitch about, but it's not. It's STAGNANT.

[SoCalDem]

12. Repeat after me...There IS no inflation..There IS no inflation

It is all in your imagination...:)

[linazelle]

14. OK. 'There is no inflation'...

I guess it's theft. Somebody is stealing my paycheck! I'm calling the police. :crazy:

[Doc_Technical]

15. "You're not paying any more.......

...you're just getting less".


Firesign Theatre
1972

[ariellyn]

16. Actually I think it's both--pay more/get less. n/t

[MadHound]

18. Hey, at least you've had a $10K boost over the past two years

I work for a university, a state funded institution, and out of the past three years, we've only had one pay raise, due to continous cuts in our state budget. Got a whopping 2% last year:eyes:

Some folks haven't gotten a damn thing, and others still have lost money.

I feel for you though, we're all having to stretch budgets and tighten belts. I'm fortunate that I live in the country, where I can grow some of my own food, and I've been able to cut fuel bills by riding a Bajaj scooter that gets 100mph while going 55-60mph. It helps. I'm rolling that fuel savings over into an exterior wood furnace this summer so I don't get slammed by propane prices this fall.

Many many others are being hit much worse than we are. A number of folks have had to deal with long term unemployment, and when they do find a job, the pay is drastically lower than what they were previously used to.

Inflation is going to kill us all. It is tied to the price of energy and fuel, for everything that we grow, eat, and use is affected by fuel in one form or another. Fuel to transport, fuel to grow, fuel to manufacture. We are slowly getting eaten alive by inflation that is spurred on by rising fuel costs. And just wait to this summer. We'll probably be seeing $5.00/gal before it's through.

This country is headed for an economic catastrophe that will make the Great Depression seem like the Roaring Twenties. I suggest that you prepare now. Invest in alternate energy sources both for your house and transportation. Put some solar panels on your house, or if you have the room, put up a wind turbine. By a diesel vehicle and make your own bio-diesel to fuel it. And if you have space for a garden, by all means, start growing. Otherwise you're going to get caught up in the madness that is going to engulf this country.

[ariellyn]

19. Those are REALLY good tips. I'm putting them to use. n/t

[loudestchick]

23. I can't do most of the things you describe, but my garden is ready

and my compost pile is "hot".

[Norquist Nemesis]

20. So far this year

The grocery bill's increased but the amount purchased has decreased.

Our Comcast bill went up $96 per year but I can't figure out what services have been added; in fact, every time they change their programming for new packages and different tiers, our channels are decreased.

We have a storage space the size of a single car garage that we rent. It just increased from $129 to $136 a month and when I called to ask the reason for the increase the answer was, "Just the increased cost of doing business! Have a nice day!"

At the end of 2005, the phone bill mysteriously went up $20/month. They 'realigned' things and automatically put us up into a higher priced package. So now, I'm paying $5 more per month for half as many long distance calling minutes as we had before the 'realignment'. I could have kept the 300 minutes (50% more), but it would be wasted $$$ that we need elsewhere.

All in all, prices have definitely outpaced any meager salary increase.

[FlaGranny]

24. I just handled telephone expenses

by getting Vonage at about $16 a month. It comes with 250 minutes a month, which I never use up. I need my land line for my DSL service, but I cut all the extras (except for caller ID) out. I did have long distance and area-wide calling on it. This has cut my total telephone bill in half.

[Norquist Nemesis]

27. oops! deleted double

[Norquist Nemesis]

28. Thanks. We've considered it

but the truth is, we don't make any long distance call at all. We have to have a land line and SBC makes us choose a carrier. That was the least expensive package with LD we could get.

[Imagevision]

21. Gas prices will go thru the roof again - while Iraq has so much oil

which if you believe Bush americans shouldn't expect to benefit from this fact,
Like Kuwait, the US. saves their country/oil supply and Bushco rakes in the benefits!

[loudestchick]

22. My employer does increases on April 1...I've done the math...

I'll need a 3.5% raise to cover the increase in medical premiums which rose 7.6% this year. That doesn't include any increase for cost of living. The highest raise anyone recieved last yearin my department was 5%. I don't think it's gonna be pretty.

[donkeyotay]

25. Old enough to remember inflation?

The 80s depression and belt tightening? Under Clinton, working people sacrificed to pay off the debt and now it's back bigger than ever. This time I think someone else should tighten their belts. Anyway, I've noticed in stores recently that prices are being marked over with new, improved prices for existing inventory. I think it's an early warning sign that retail inflation is heating up.

[LibDemAlways]

26. The cost of housing isn't figured in. In Southern

California a 3 bedroom/2bath old tract house that sold for $350K 5 years ago is now over $700k. If that isn't rampant runaway inflation, nothing is.

Keeping a family fed has become such a challenge that I've noticed my local grocery store is practically empty every time I go in, and if there's a checkout line at all, it's in the express lane. No wonder everyone's so thin around here. No one is eating.