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Old 01-04-2008, 09:11 PM
 
Location: Cold Frozen North
1,928 posts, read 5,148,198 times
Reputation: 1306

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If you believe the government numbers, I'm doing OK. I don't believe the numbers, not one bit. If I go by what my gut feel is, I'm losing a little ground each year.
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Old 01-04-2008, 11:30 PM
 
Location: America
6,993 posts, read 17,300,486 times
Reputation: 2093
Quote:
Originally Posted by questioner2 View Post
I am starting to understand what they are talking about when people discuss the middle class squeeze. My wife is a perfect example. She works for the government and has been doing the same job for 8 years. Each year she is doing a better job as her skills grow and she gets more eduation and training, but she keeps the same job title. Each year she get a 3.5% merit increase. This is the raise everyone who is considered a good worker gets. While the offical inflation rate is about 4%, most people know the real inflation rate is closer to 7%. So each year she has 3.5% less buying power than in previous years. So in 8 years, since she started her job which requires a Masters Degree, she has lost about 30% in her standard of living.

How about you, do you have a higher standard of living than in 2000? (if you have been working full time since then)
has my wage increase kept up with inflation? Hell to the nah
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Old 01-04-2008, 11:42 PM
 
Location: Houston, Texas
10,447 posts, read 49,510,410 times
Reputation: 10614
She got a raise of 3.5%? Be grateful. In the private sector, getting raises is just a memory. Did I mention benifits have also gone the way of the Dinosaur?
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Old 01-05-2008, 08:12 PM
 
Location: Tucson
42,831 posts, read 87,912,088 times
Reputation: 22814
Quote:
Originally Posted by forest beekeeper View Post
I just recieved a 2.3% raise in my pension.
Don't you feel lucky...?! I estimate at least 30% loss of my purchasing power since about 5 years ago! If not more... And I get annual "raises" considered to be good... First of all, that's not a raise, but cost-of-living increase and no, it doesn't keep up with real inflation one bit! Many people say they're forced to jump from job to job in order to get a decent increase of salary.
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Old 01-05-2008, 08:39 PM
 
Location: Forests of Maine
37,214 posts, read 60,926,856 times
Reputation: 30081
Quote:
Originally Posted by sierraAZ View Post
Don't you feel lucky...?! I estimate at least 30% loss of my purchasing power since about 5 years ago! If not more... And I get annual "raises" considered to be good... First of all, that's not a raise, but cost-of-living increase and no, it doesn't keep up with real inflation one bit! Many people say they're forced to jump from job to job in order to get a decent increase of salary.
Lucky? ah, maybe. I get a COL raise every year. Choose your profession and you get the results of that choice.

'purchasing power'? I do not necessarily buy into the math that is used to form that argument. I get raises, I budget my money and I invest. My investments grow at a far higher rate than does inflation. So despite our inflation my Net Worth has grown. I am retired now, and still my investment portfolio is growing. I have no serious issue with our inflation.
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Old 01-06-2008, 10:46 AM
 
Location: Cold Frozen North
1,928 posts, read 5,148,198 times
Reputation: 1306
Quote:
Originally Posted by desertsun41 View Post
She got a raise of 3.5%? Be grateful. In the private sector, getting raises is just a memory. Did I mention benifits have also gone the way of the Dinosaur?
Good salaries, raises and benefits are still there if you're a CEO, competent or not.
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Old 01-06-2008, 11:09 AM
 
28,107 posts, read 63,380,777 times
Reputation: 23222
Washington State property taxes are killing me... so no, wages have not kept pace with the increase in taxes... especially property taxes.
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Old 01-06-2008, 11:11 AM
 
12,022 posts, read 11,470,737 times
Reputation: 11136
They have the ability to define the metrics and the benchmarks by which their compensation is calculated. I read that corporate profits would be 40 percent lower if they reported to the investing public the same information they filed with the IRS.
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Old 01-06-2008, 11:54 AM
 
Location: Houston, Texas
10,447 posts, read 49,510,410 times
Reputation: 10614
Quote:
Originally Posted by HighPlainsDrifter73 View Post
Good salaries, raises and benefits are still there if you're a CEO, competent or not.

True but only one person in every 10 million population are a CEO
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Old 01-07-2008, 01:52 PM
 
Location: Tucson
42,831 posts, read 87,912,088 times
Reputation: 22814
Quote:
Originally Posted by forest beekeeper View Post
'purchasing power'? I do not necessarily buy into the math that is used to form that argument. I get raises, I budget my money and I invest. My investments grow at a far higher rate than does inflation. So despite our inflation my Net Worth has grown. I am retired now, and still my investment portfolio is growing. I have no serious issue with our inflation.
Good for you! The FED ought to love ya.
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