Inflation
The government provides inflation statistics by year. Here are the statistics for the years 2006-2016. You might be surprised to find that last year’s inflation was only 0.7%. These statistics are used to calculate the adjustments to social security and federal pensions, as well as many other adjustments. Google led me to hundreds of sites full of technical information on how these numbers are calculated, but I am far from being an economist so I’ll just mention how they appear to me.
Social Security Cost-Of-Living Adjustments:
| Year |
COLA |
| 2012 |
1.7 |
| 2013 |
1.5 |
| 2014 |
1.7 |
| 2015 |
0.0 |
I have been noticing large price increases in food prices, and when I mention this to others they generally agree. I used to treat myself to a visit to the deli counter from time to time to get meats and cheez. Meats were roughly $5/# for years. Recently, at our mid-level grocery, all were over $10. I mentioned last week the $12 beer at the fair. The price for the 100,000 mile service on my car had me gobsmacked. Young folks who come to the door asking for work now ask an hourly wage the same as my highest salary after 20 years at the Post Office.
Health care is “a whole nother thing” .My pool buddy had an interesting experience at the senior center. Many folks there have retired with 100% of their healthcare covered; they basically have no clue. My friend is retired from the Post Office and these folks insisted that all federal employees have free healthcare. No, no, and no. My Medicare Advantage policy through Kaiser takes a huge part of my pension. And I still have large co-pays every time I go in.
Have you looked at real estate lately? At least on the coasts, home prices and rents have gone up astronomically. Were I to move to Sonoma County today, I doubt I could afford a one room apartment. And since there’s “no inflation”, money markets offer .0001% on your money, and a 30 year treasury (30 year!!!!) offers 2.31%.
What are your experiences with inflation? Do you believe, as the government statistics show, that there’s virtually no inflation? Is there a geographical variation that I haven’t experienced? I realize that this is a rant, but sometimes a rant is in order. Where better for a rant than the Kitchen Table, a space where a cup of tea is available to calm one down.
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