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I have read SS will grant a 1.5% cost of living increase for SS recipients in 2014. In the same article it stated that Medicare will not increase.
I don't know how they calculate the cost of living but it sure doesn't go along with the increases in grocery items. A few months ago Walmart was selling bacon for about $4.50 and overnight they jumped it to $5.50. Wmart also increased Campbell's soup from $.75 to $1.50 but when it wouldn't sell they lowered it to $1.25. I'm not great at math but I believe those two increases are far more than 1.5%. Some items have not increased yet but there have been a large number that have.
Trust me, I am grateful for any increase but why call it a cost of living increase?
Not only has the prices increased but look more closely. Have you noticed how food items have shrunk. All the food items are getting smaller in size but you pay the same or more. An example is cartons of orange juice. Remember when they all were 64ozs? Look closer, they are 59ozs now. Another example is cans of tuna. For years they were 6ozs. Look closer, they are 5ozs and more expensive. Coffee is even worse. It's not just one ore two company's, it's pretty much all of them.
Not only has the prices increased but look more closely. Have you noticed how food items have shrunk. All the food items are getting smaller in size but you pay the same or more. An example is cartons of orange juice. Remember when they all were 64ozs? Look closer, they are 59ozs now. Another example is cans of tuna. For years they were 6ozs. Look closer, they are 5ozs and more expensive. Coffee is even worse. It's not just one ore two company's, it's pretty much all of them.
...and flour and sugar went from 5# bags to 4# bags with no appreciable change in price, candy bars shrank yet again, and on and on. If may fool some of the people but it doesn't fool all of the people. However, it's now not only the past but appears to continue to be the future. While 1.5% is nothing to crow about, it's better than nothing at all.
I have read SS will grant a 1.5% cost of living increase for SS recipients in 2014. In the same article it stated that Medicare will not increase.
I don't know how they calculate the cost of living but it sure doesn't go along with the increases in grocery items. A few months ago Walmart was selling bacon for about $4.50 and overnight they jumped it to $5.50. Wmart also increased Campbell's soup from $.75 to $1.50 but when it wouldn't sell they lowered it to $1.25. I'm not great at math but I believe those two increases are far more than 1.5%. Some items have not increased yet but there have been a large number that have.
Trust me, I am grateful for any increase but why call it a cost of living increase?
"It is based on the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) from the third quarter of the last year a COLA was determined to the third quarter of the current year. If there is no increase, there can be no COLA"
CPI-W:
Quote:
The CPI market basket is developed from detailed expenditure information provided by families and individuals on what they actually bought. For the current CPI, this information was collected from the Consumer Expenditure Surveys for 2009 and 2010. In each of those years, about 7,000 families from around the country provided information each quarter on their spending habits in the interview survey. To collect information on frequently purchased items, such as food and personal care products, another 7,000 families in each of these years kept diaries listing everything they bought during a 2-week period.
Over the 2 year period, then, expenditure information came from approximately 28,000 weekly diaries and 60,000 quarterly interviews used to determine the importance, or weight, of the more than 200 item categories in the CPI index structure.
It's an overall average of increases based on MANY items. Trying to compare that to the 2 items you listed is mathematically bad.
I have read SS will grant a 1.5% cost of living increase for SS recipients in 2014. In the same article it stated that Medicare will not increase.
I don't know how they calculate the cost of living but it sure doesn't go along with the increases in grocery items. A few months ago Walmart was selling bacon for about $4.50 and overnight they jumped it to $5.50. Wmart also increased Campbell's soup from $.75 to $1.50 but when it wouldn't sell they lowered it to $1.25. I'm not great at math but I believe those two increases are far more than 1.5%. Some items have not increased yet but there have been a large number that have.
Trust me, I am grateful for any increase but why call it a cost of living increase?
There is an assumption that if one of the products in a particular category increases in price, the consumer will substitute another product within the same category, rather than purchase the more expensive item. Thus, instead of buy Campbell's soup, you could buy the generic brand. I'm not sure what one would substitute for bacon, ham? bologna? Errghh. If we move to the Chained CPI the calculations will be based on substituting between categories, not within. That is going to be interesting. Cars gone up too much in price? Perhaps you would choose to purchase a flat screen television, instead. So states the Chief Actuary of Social Security. (I bet he later regretted that analogy).
There is an assumption that if one of the products in a particular category increases in price, the consumer will substitute another product within the same category, rather than purchase the more expensive item. Thus, instead of buy Campbell's soup, you could buy the generic brand. I'm not sure what one would substitute for bacon, ham? bologna? Errghh. If we move to the Chained CPI the calculations will be based on substituting between categories, not within. That is going to be interesting. Cars gone up too much in price? Perhaps you would choose to purchase a flat screen television, instead. So states the Chief Actuary of Social Security. (I bet he later regretted that analogy).
I listed only two items because this is a forum and not a study. Long posts seldom serve any purpose and are rarely read completely. CD members got the idea and that was my goal. Secondly the government employs thousands of employees in order to produce a report in their favor. I have me and my staff of one, me.
...and flour and sugar went from 5# bags to 4# bags with no appreciable change in price, candy bars shrank yet again, and on and on. If may fool some of the people but it doesn't fool all of the people. However, it's now not only the past but appears to continue to be the future. While 1.5% is nothing to crow about, it's better than nothing at all.
I hadn't considered this, it is a question that I haven't seen disclosed concerning the calculation of CPI-W.
I don't have any idea how they take into account the change in product sizing. If an item shrinks in size, I'd hope there was some factor for this in calculating CPI-W, but it wouldn't surprise me if this has (deliberately) been overlooked.
I hadn't considered this, it is a question that I haven't seen disclosed concerning the calculation of CPI-W.
I don't have any idea how they take into account the change in product sizing. If an item shrinks in size, I'd hope there was some factor for this in calculating CPI-W, but it wouldn't surprise me if this has (deliberately) been overlooked.
Of course it wouldn't. Why am I not surprised?
Nevermind that this issue has been covered ad nauseum on this board, just like the canard that the government has eliminated food and energy from the CPI calculation. No matter how many times this fallacy is addressed, the ignorance of the general public perseveres over all.
Each month, BLS data collectors called economic assistants visit or call thousands of retail stores, service establishments, rental units, and doctors' offices, all over the United States, to obtain information on the prices of the thousands of items used to track and measure price changes in the CPI. These economic assistants record the prices of about 80,000 items each month, representing a scientifically selected sample of the prices paid by consumers for goods and services purchased.
During each call or visit, the economic assistant collects price data on a specific good or service that was precisely defined during an earlier visit. If the selected item is available, the economic assistant records its price. If the selected item is no longer available, or if there have been changes in the quality or quantity (for example, eggs sold in packages of ten when they previously were sold by the dozen) of the good or service since the last time prices were collected, the economic assistant selects a new item or records the quality change in the current item.
The recorded information is sent to the national office of BLS, where commodity specialists who have detailed knowledge about the particular goods or services priced review the data. These specialists check the data for accuracy and consistency and make any necessary corrections or adjustments, which can range from an adjustment for a change in the size or quantity of a packaged item to more complex adjustments based upon statistical analysis of the value of an item's features or quality. Thus, commodity specialists strive to prevent changes in the quality of items from affecting the CPI's measurement of price change.
Not only has the prices increased but look more closely. Have you noticed how food items have shrunk. All the food items are getting smaller in size but you pay the same or more. An example is cartons of orange juice. Remember when they all were 64ozs? Look closer, they are 59ozs now. Another example is cans of tuna. For years they were 6ozs. Look closer, they are 5ozs and more expensive. Coffee is even worse. It's not just one ore two company's, it's pretty much all of them.
David223 is right. The deal on coffee was very telling to me.
Some time back ( a year and a half ago IIRC) the local news station in my area announced a price increase regarding coffee was coming due to the "coffee shortage." I had to go to the store anyway so later that evening I drove down there fully expecting the price increase to already have happened.
I was right. All the major brands that my store stocks (Folgers, MJB, Maxwell House, etc) had gone to $12.99 across the board except for one brand-the store brand. I was only in there a few days previous and didn't see any dramatic difference in coffee prices because at that time I bought some just a month before. And yes, like David said, sizes have shrunk. I have a fair amount of tuna that I buy but haven't bought any recently. Guess I'll be looking closely at size AND price on THAT. Ugh!
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