Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Growing up, our parents would hang out at night in the summer in lawn chairs chatting away, while all us neighborhood kids played. When it got dark we played 'hide 'n go seek,' we had the BEST times... my old neighbor friends, all grown up now, still comment on how wonderful it was back then when you made your own fun and hanging out in the 'hood was both safe and fun. It was a simpler time simply because there were less families where both parents worked, there were no computers, no cell phones, and if you wanted to be amused and it was nice out, you went outside.
I grew up in the 70s and 80s and much of this was still happening at that time as well.
Crime has actually declined since then, but thanks to 24 hour TV news, people are more paranoid about it than they were back then.
I had to laugh - as today in Aldi - the Lumex brand juice is now down to only 19 percent juice! This is why the grade and quality of most every consumer product diminishes - to increase velocity. [I know first hand because I had access to product engineers in a past job in a tech related company.] The business team got upset when they put a programmable 'saving' mode on the ECAT (early customer acceptance test) product. It was nixed immediately.
This particular aspect of inflation hurts the lower income / poverty level population (and the clueless too) more so, since they are spending a greater proportion of their income on necessities like food and even if they have some aptitude, they often don't have carrying capacity to get best deals, nor are they likely near enough to places they could stay ahead of the game. They are being 'farmed' along with others.
While one can still save and invest, it has become much more difficult for some segments of society especially those wedded to what they are being programmed to buy or lifestyles they are being programmed to emulate.
shrinkage is accounted for in the cpi . in fact consumer reports had an article on that fact
Manufacturing chicanery can involve optical illusions that maintain the same visible outer dimensions of the package but rob from the unseen interior space by indenting the bottom of the package, for example.
The good news is that, as clever as packaging pickpockets are, they can’t fool the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which is the federal agency that calculates and keeps track of the Consumer Price Index and the CPI-W for wage earners and clerical workers (a subset index used for Social Security cost of living adjustments).
BLS pricing experts are aware of and adjust for shrinkage.
So yesterday’s 99-cent two-ounce candy bar that’s still 99 cents today but has been downsized to 1.8 ounces doesn’t get away with not having raised its price in the eyes of the Feds. Economists at the BLS count that as a 10 percent price increase.
BLS, which collects about 80,000 prices per month from all over the U.S., also factors in meaningful changes in product quality (for example, a faster personal computer) and gives more weight to the price of products that more people are buying.
It’s tough to get even subtle chiseling past BLS. When airlines started charging separately for baggage in recent years, the Bureau made an upward adjustment to account for the fact that airline ticket prices used to include transportation of at least a couple of pieces of checked luggage.
“We always try to capture what comes out of the consumer’s pocket,” Steve Reed, an economist in the Information Analysis Branch of the CPI Program, said.
Yes, it is most important to plan for retirement in this unhealthy lifestyle. I think it is better to invest in life insurance as it protects you and your dependents when unknown situations occur. There are policies like where you can accumulate cash value and generate lump sum money. So, get a life insurance quotes now and plan for a good investment.
Just because someone doesn't invest their money in the stock market doesn't mean they're poor or a financial burden. They could have land, a business, a big stash of cash, etc.
The big thing is actually have a doable plan B. In this case invest, work overtime, save, get a second job, buy income property etc. One source of income isn't enough. Worst case one could make enough to retire early even without 30 years and a gold watch.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
