DrConway
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 490
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posted 11 April 2005 08:07 PM
Inflation: Why you're not getting a raise this year quote: If you're like most Americans, don't count on a raise this year. The Los Angeles Times reported on Monday: "For the first time in 14 years, the American workforce has in effect gotten an across-the-board pay cut."In other words, inflation is back. The cost of living, measured by the federal government's consumer price index, rose 2.7 percent in 2004 and the first two months of this year. Wages rose an average of only 2.5 percent, according to the Los Angeles Times. A Wall Street Journal article, also on Monday, gave a slightly better figure: white collar workers received a 3.4 percent raise.
The article makes the point that the true picture of inflation is masked by the fact that the CPI is being used as a political football to cheat seniors out of getting proper Social Security COLA increases. quote: That means the once-mighty U.S. dollar is being devalued -- that is, losing its purchasing power -- much faster than 2.7 percent a year. This should be no surprise to anyone who's filled up a gas tank recently. Richard Benson has taken the time to dig beneath the surface and report these raw numbers compiled by various federal agencies:Gasoline: 47.5 percent increase from Nov. 2003 to Nov. 2004 Crude Materials: 25.9 percent increase Groceries at supermarket: 6.1 percent increase Housing costs: 13 percent increase from 3Q 2003 to 4Q 2004
In short, the article says that interest rates are being kept artificially low, indirectly promoting the printing of money, which, surprise, shows up as higher inflation down the road if national production doesn't catch up with the increase in money growth.
From: You shall not side with the great against the powerless. | Registered: May 2001
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