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Rising prices

NickD on Sat May 29, 2004 10:53 AM User is offline

Year: 2004
Make:

No need to mention the prices at the pump, averaging about $2.13 per gallon here for regular unleaded gas.

Natural gas rose 14 cents a term due in part to the increased cost of gasoline, but mostly due to decreasing demands as the weather gets warmer, figure that out.

For whatever reason, milk just shot up a buck a gallon, the farmers ain't getting it, something about a supplier problem, but the shelves are loaded with milk, people can't afford it.

My home insurance shot up 200 bucks per year, but after checking around, I was getting a darn good price from AAPA, still cheaper than anyone else, told it is due to the low stock market where the insurance companies make extra money, not making that now, so have to jack up the premiums.

Telephone bill is always high, spend more on that for one's months worth of electricity that I use 24 hours aday, but only use the phone occasionally.

Sewage rates went up, something about increased EPA requirements and having to buy new equipment and updating. Sales taxes have increased by 0.5%, state claims people are buying less so need more revenues for whatever reason.

Beef prices are going up, but buying a microwave to burn that hunk of beef in is dropping way down, as low as 40 bucks, VCR's are super dirt cheap.

My internet cable went up ten bucks a month as they are claiming faster service, I am not seeing any difference, but either have to pay or to go back to phone service. Phone service prices are going way down, lot's of competition here.

Interest rates on savings accounts is way down, surprised the bank doesn't charge me rent for keeping some of my cash there. Still a battle on prescription drugs.

My company was sold out, going to move all production to China, claim they have to be competitive, you can add a couple more thousand to the unemployment list along with hundreds of thousands in the automotive manufacturing fields. This may bring new car prices down a bit, but who can afford them.

My son is having problems finding a job that pays enough for the high rent, taxes, and heat cost in the city of his choosing and getting extremely difficult to find a job with decent if any health insurance. But outside of these minor things, everything else is great.

Ted2 on Sat May 29, 2004 12:27 PM User is offlineView users profile

Not to worry, Nick,

If you are drawing Social Security (seems that I recall you started recently?) towards the end of the year you will receive a notice from the government telling you that there is virtually no inflation and consequently, you get only a token Cost Of Living increase. Then, in that same notice, they will inform you that they are taking back about 80% to 90% of that increase to pay the increase in your Medicare premium.

Following that, they take back more of your Social Security benefit in income taxes than you netted from the increase in the first place.

So you see, your government is taking very good care of you.

As Al Capp would say, "The country's in the very best of hands!"

Ted

Anonymous on Sat May 29, 2004 11:08 PM User is offline

Which government is that Ted?

Could you mean the one that first made it illegal to buy drugs from Canada, then refused to let Medicare dicker with the drug companies for discounts, then told seniors to shop around for the best discounts on drug cards and is now telling them to hurry up and order their drug cards (because no one is)?

Would that be the George W. Bush Republican majority government?

Nah, you must have meant some other government!!!

Ted2 on Sun May 30, 2004 4:10 AM User is offlineView users profile

That's the same one. Only thing is, the circumstances I described have been going on for about a decade. The heavy taxation of Social Security benefits became law with the huge Clinton tax increase in the early 90s. Even though there has been several tax reductions and tax reforms, no one has seen fit provide any relief for Social Security recipients. Incidentally, when FDR laid out the plan for Social Security, one of the features was that the money would never be taxed.

As for the drug discount cards, that may the biggest fiasco ever perpetrated on a group of people at the same time they are being told they are being helped. The drug card providers all have different prices for their cards. Then they all have different prices for the drugs, but they tell you that the drug prices could change. So even if you analyze costs on the basis of the drugs you require and buy the card that provides the best results, you could find that they change their prices and you have ended up with the most expensive option available! Confusion reigns supreme.

Is it any wonder people aren't buying the cards? I think seniors would be better off if Congress had not injected themselves into yet another area that they know nothing about.

Ted

Anonymous on Mon May 31, 2004 1:49 AM User is offline

Shucks Ted, I've always thought that we've got the best Congress that money can buy!

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