No COLA again
It’s expected that later this week the Social Security Administration will announce that thee will be no cost-of-living increase – which means there will be no COLA for military retirees for the second year in a row, too.
The cost-of-living adjustments, or COLAs, are automatically set each year by an inflation measure that was adopted by Congress back in the 1970s. Based on inflation so far this year, the trustees who oversee Social Security project there will be no COLA for 2011.
The projection will be made official on Friday, when the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases inflation estimates for September. The timing couldn’t be worse for Democrats as they approach an election in which they are in danger of losing their House majority, and possibly their Senate majority as well.
As far as Social Security recipients are concerned, I’m pretty sure they feel the pinch of rising prices, as well as the increases in their Medicare payments. We’re all paying more for gasoline, food and property taxes, so I’m not sure what their formula is for arriving at this COLA, but obviously, it’s not working. It’d take an awful lot of evidence to prove to me that prices haven’t gone up since 2008.
Of course, the Associated Press makes the point that it’s not Congress’ fault that COLA hasn’t kicked in for retirees over the last two periods and, of course, technically it’s not.
It seems like the Obama Administration is cutting spending on the backs of retirees. The only real voice that retirees have as a bloc is AARP which seems to be strangely silent since heath care reform passed. I guess they’re too busy counting the commissions they’ll receive as a result.
Category: Barack Obama/Joe Biden, Economy
Gas prices are a little cheaper than 2008, at least here in Texas. That’s when I moved from Minnesota back to my home of birth. Food prices, however…… have gone up or the content has been downsized, resulting in hidden inflation. It’s obvious that Congress is still out of touch with the real world!!
Yup…. Prices are definitely up for food. My electric rates have also increased. The price of meat and dairy is definitely WAY up, compared to not only last year, but earlier this year.
When I went out to refill the pantry earlier this month, I was shocked at some of the increases I saw. We’ve been forced to cut back on meats, both quantity and quality, and to opt for the store brand for almost everything, or do without. I usually eat only one meal a day so as to make certain there is food for my daughter.
Still, we have a roof over our heads and the bills are paid, but this is ridiculous.
But I will bet my last dollar the bureauweeniees get their raises while telling us we don’t need one.
If they fail to raise the COLA again that’s going to be a load of BS.
Just tonight, my woman and I went out to dinner. It’s been a long while since we have. I ordered my usual. What I did notice were a couple of things; 1.) the price was up by $2 (this has been within the last three or four months) & 2.) The portion sizes were smaller. That’s a 25% increase in a quarter of a year AND, for less food!!
We also went to Sam’s Club to get some groceries. Butter, itself has gone up from $6.88 for a four- 1 pound packages to $11.37 for the exact same item in only a year! That’s a 65% increase in a year’s time frame!! One cannot tell me that there is little or No inflation. These people that are trying to lead us are simply blind, ignorant or just plain stupid!!
Thor,
That’s the same sort of stuff I’ve seen up here in Maine. Good bread is $3.99 a loaf, or higher, and even the cheap airy store-brand is $1.79 a loaf. $3.99/gallon for milk. That’s the store brand, too.
I think I had read that they use housing costs and pricing. So if anything it would look to them as if pricing had actually gone down.
“Good bread is $3.99 a loaf, or higher, and even the cheap airy store-brand is $1.79 a loaf. $3.99/gallon for milk. That’s the store brand, too.”
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Geez, that’s ridiculous. $1.99/gal for milk here in Detroit, Michigan area. Kroger brand. And Kroger wheat bread is $.99/loaf. Where the hell do you people live where stuff costs that much?!?
Maine.
The People’s Republic of Maine has a Milk Commission that sets the MINIMUM price for milk. Milk, of any type or brand, may not be sold below that price, nor may it be given away, etc. One of the grocery chains started a frequent buyer program where if you bought 5 gallons of milk, the 6th was free. The State shut it down and fined the stores. Sadly, that sort of price fixing has been upheld by the state courts.
Because of the minimum milk prices, that cost is also reflected in cheese and other dairy products. Ice cream, butter, etc are all a part of that shakedown.
The legislature has tried to close the commission down, but the dairy folks are in like flint with the unions and it’s been stopped cold time and time again.
I’d move (I still want to move to Texas) but I just can’t save up enough to do it unless I sell everything we own and start over again, and I’m a little old to be doing that. It may come down to that, however.
The legislature has tried to close the commission down, but the dairy folks are in like flint with the unions and it’s been stopped cold time and time again.
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How shocking that unions are involved in f-ing people over. I f-ing hate unions. The UAW here in SE Michigan especially. I don’t know of one union nowadays — UAW, SEIU, Teachers union, etc — that is doing anything positive for Americans anymore.
Michael, I can vouch for that. Meat has gone WAY up. Hamburger now goes for as much as $4/lb. A decent steak tops $10/lb. Produce has nearly doubled in price for some items. Milk in NH, while not as high as Maine, is still ridiculous. “Cheap” bread at Wal-Mart goes for $2.25 a loaf. My “luxury” item, marinated steak tips, have gone from $7.50/lb to $10/lb since the beginning of the year.
And I’m seriously considering pulling a gotcha on the libtards. I saw one bumper sticker a while back saying, “When Bush was inaugurated, gas was $1.46 a gallon!” I should get mine which say, “When Obama was inaugurated, gas was $1.51 a gallon!” (Which it was.)
It’s really simple. This admin and congress will show how much they “saved” by no COLA. Think of it: Social Security, VA Benefits, Military Retired, all linked to the COLA. So..no COLA since Obama….BIG SAVINGS!
Can’t add anything more then what’s been said. The only thing that’s gone down is housing….and you can’t feed a house to your children. Guarenteed they will find the money for some other ridiculous ass stuff but not for us.
My best friend of almost 40 years is a born and raised “Maineac”. He has had the same complaints for 40 years or as he says: “Not available in Maine”. Good luck Tim.
Honor and Courge
But the members of congress needed that money for their pay raise. Nov 2 is get even day.
As I lived in Shitcago for 2008 and part of 09, I can tell you that it was a darn good thing I could walk everywhere. Gas was 4.75/gallon until December of 2008…it dropped to something under 3.00 in the ‘burbs.
Some things were cheaper in the midwest than they will ever be here. Milk was 1.99. A pound of American Cheese was 2.00. Now I pay 4.00 for cheese in NC, and milk at BJ’s club has gone from 2.28 to 3.00. I use 4 gallons of milk and 2lbs of cheese a week. My kids take lunch to school.
It’s not going to get better.
Sparky-
In 1999 when my last kid was born, I went to Toys R Us. On the way home, I go by a gas place. Gas was 1.13 in December. I remember thinking when I was in college that gas was .84/gallon and a 12 pack of cokes was 1.99.
Now a 12 pack is almost 5 bucks and gas is on the rise again. P2 wants to destroy the economy and our Country.
My N-word is November.
I’m always amazed at how much some things cost back east.
Here in central AZ:
Milk – most weeks about 2.30 – 2.50 a gallon, frequently less
Butter – 1.90 – 2.40 per 4 stick package, Imperial margerine 0.99 for same size.
Bread – 0.99 a loaf for store brands, 1.20 – 1.80 for better brands
Tomatos – 0.99 a pound average for the last 2 months usualy about a buck more.
Iceburg Lettuce – usualy around 0.99 to 1.29 a head
Oranges, apples, pears etc. – 2 to 3 pounds for a buck
Ground beef is usualy around 1.80 – 2.00 a pound (though I usually select a nice roast on sale for around 1.49 a pound and have the meat dept grind it for me, cheaper that way, and better quality meat.)
Serloin steak is usualy around 2.50 – 3.00 a pound, and rib eyes around 5 – 6 a pound
Fuel has been pretty static at 2.60 – 2.80 a gallon for well over a year here
Everything is relative however. Arizona is a firmly entrenched ‘right to work’ state, and wages here are most often lower than back east. The unions don’t have very much power here though, and that’s worth it all by its self. 🙂
“Right to Work!” man I wish we had that here in Maine. maine is more of a “Right to Welfare” state. We have the highest number of welfare recipients per capita in the whole nation. I also believe we have the highest number of public employees per capita too. Folks up here wonder why everyone is leaving. No one can afford the taxes at the wages they pay, and most folks I know have two jobs.
My town has some 9000 people in it, yet we serve hundreds of meals a week in our soup kitchen, and have a couple dozen families each week at the food bank, even though they are restricted to one visit per month. The jobs are leaving the area, so people are pulling chocks, and as a result, taxes are going up for those left behind, which encourages the downward spiral to continue.
I love the state for it’s beauty, but it’s been destroyed economically by the leftists. They keep getting reelected because of all the welfare folks up here who don’t want to stop slurping at the public trough.
As I said earlier, if I can figure out how to raise a couple thousand to cover the costs, I’m outta here too.
I’m always amazed at how much some things cost back east.
And Tim…I love hearing the folks staying telling me how much better it is for them in Maine, yet the first Saturday of every month at the Market Basket and Wally World in my town, there they are, stocking up.
Ask them why the population of Maine has dropped below the population of New Hampshire for the first time since 1800, and you just get a blank stare.
Now, how are you going to achieve a socialist utopia such as Nobama wet dreams of if you have sufficient funds to live from day to day? You must become completely dependent on the gummint or the whole plan will not work. Get with the program dammit!
Staple Food Prices Trend Down for 5th Straight Quarter
WASHINGTON, D.C., January 5, 2010 – Retail food prices at the supermarket decreased for the fifth consecutive quarter and are significantly lower than one year ago, according to the latest American Farm Bureau Federation Marketbasket Survey.
The informal survey shows the total cost of 16 food items that can be used to prepare a meal was $42.90, down $3.13 from the third quarter of 2009 and $7.31 lower or about 15 percent less compared to one year ago. Of the 16 items surveyed, 11 decreased, four increased and one remained the same in average price compared to the prior quarter.
Russet potatoes, shredded cheddar cheese, deli ham, flour, bacon and boneless chicken breasts declined the most in dollar value from quarter-to-quarter. Potatoes dropped 47 cents for a 5-pound bag to $2.18; shredded cheddar cheese dropped 43 cents per pound to $3.65; sliced deli ham dropped 40 cents per pound to $4.35; flour dropped 38 cents to $2.10 for a 5-pound bag; bacon dropped 37 cents to $3.00 per pound; and boneless chicken breasts dropped 37 cents per pound to $2.71.
More at http://www.fb.org/index.php?file=nr0105.html&fuseaction=newsroom.newsfocus&year=2010