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.
So I checked the BLS website for CPI. From July 2014 to June 2015, the total CPI increase was 0.1%. That is where the no COLA for 2016 idea comes from. However, inflation for July - September 2014 was essentially 0%. Inflation for the most recent three months was averaging about 0.2% a month. If you remove that 0% from the earliest three months from Jul - Sep 2014, and assume a continuation of the most recent 0.2-0.3% per month for Jul - Sep 2015, the inflation rate for October 2014 through September 2015 will be close to .75%. There may be a $10-$20 per month increase after all - unless Part B premiums eats it all up.
You are examining the wrong CPI. Social Security uses the CPI-W. Unlike the CPI-U, the CPI-W is DOWN 0.4% from June 2014 to June 2015. This is why it is highly unlikely there will be a COLA for 2016.
Eggs have gone up 40% from that "staged" bird flu thing (totally phony). Just an industry that held off its price increases. Timing tells the whole story.
BTW, it was not unusual in Soviet Russia to systematically destroy mass quantities of agricultural products, for whatever reason, often not even reported. Connect the dots.
You don't think airfares are affected by the price of oil?
How about cruises?
Or if you don't travel at all, how about just purchasing groceries? How do you think they are delivered to your local store? Don't you think that the price of oil just might have an effect on the price of food?
For that matter, you can include the cost of pretty much any product you buy.
Plus no transport increase on everything you buy which so often drives up food prices more. All commodity prices are down;not just crude.
it's my understanding that groceries are not even included in COL figures...never could figure that out when it is a huge budget item for most people
Well, you couldn't figure it out because you're underlying "understanding" is incorrect. The change in the price of groceries is, of course, included in the CPI.
Eggs have gone up 40% from that "staged" bird flu thing (totally phony). Just an industry that held off its price increases. Timing tells the whole story.
BTW, it was not unusual in Soviet Russia to systematically destroy mass quantities of agricultural products, for whatever reason, often not even reported. Connect the dots.
Beef is still at all time highs years after our drought is over.
Latest sale of calves at the auction barn though has them coming down a bit..about $.50/lb lower but still near record highs.
Shouldn't be like that because all the ranches have restocked and had their calves and are into their second season. Hay is cheap and with the spring rains got a 2nd cutting and the grass is still growing so it looks like a 3rd cutting can be had.
$500-600 for a weaned calf is still way too high yet that is what they are asking and getting. (Looking to add).
They dont have to pass on costs savings and it depends on the hedges. Delta for instance hedged wrong and locked in at higher fuel rates.
Also depends on portfolio. You own Exxon, BP, Energy Junk bonds you can get killed with lower oil and if you already locked in your heating oil contract it does not help.
I was just thinking about when I have to lock in a price last night. Glad I didn't do so today if oil is coming down.
Oil prices dropping do not affect air fares. Airlines buy on a contract a year in advance. Oil prices will have to stay low for another year for them to even consider lowering fares. All the consolidation has been terrible for consumers. They promised that merging airlines would help lower costs, as duplicate routes would be eliminated. What happened is that many smaller cities lost their flights completely, and those smaller cities that kept them saw prices go through the roof. If you read yesterday, airlines are even eliminating excess fuel. An Allegiant flight from Las Vegas to Fargo, North Dakota had to declare an emergency and clear the area of Blue Angels practice. I heard the audio, and the pilot said he had 3-5 minutes of fuel. Dispatchers at airports in order to cut costs have less fuel loaded into the tanks, 15,000 pounds less on some flights. Less weight means the company makes more money. The Captain has the final word, but it is almost career suicide to buck the company. This isn't the first time this has happened. The airport was closed in Fargo because the plane was about 90 late taking off. He was obviously a military pilot as he told controllers he was "Bingo" fuel. That is not exactly what he meant, Bingo fuel means they barely have enough fuel to return to home base....he had previously explained his emergency, no way could he make it back to Vegas. Pilots have to declare an emergency in these cases, as that is the only way to get runway priority. The get serious flack from corporate when they do that as an FAA report is filed. My post is a bit off topic, but prices have not gone down due to cheaper transportation. So saying oil prices negate a cola is sort of foolish, but then it is the government. Prices for most all goods have gone up slightly this year--the price of oil has had no real effect other than at the pump.
Last edited by maine4.us; 07-29-2015 at 06:55 PM..
Hmmm low fuel prices??? Not in California. Last week I filled up and it was $4.37 a gallon. It has gone up over a dollar a gallon in the past few months.
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.
