Social Security Benefits To Go Up By 1.5 Percent In 2014; Increase Among Lowest In Years

[Purveyor]

Source: Associated Press

By Associated Press,

WASHINGTON — Social Security benefits for nearly 58 million people will increase by 1.5 percent next year, the government announced Wednesday.

The increase is among the smallest since automatic adjustments were adopted in 1975. It is small because consumer prices haven’t gone up much in the past year.

The annual cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, is based on a government measure of inflation that was released Wednesday morning.

The COLA affects benefits for more than one-fifth of the country. In addition to Social Security payments, it affects benefits for millions of disabled veterans, federal retirees and people who get Supplemental Security Income, the disability program for the poor.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/social-security-set-to-announce-annual-cola-benefit-increase-to-be-among-lowest-in-years/2013/10/30/90360a82-4127-11e3-b028-de922d7a3f47_story.html

[DJ13]

1. Watch out Bill Gates!

I'm going to catch up in another 15,000 years!

[montanacowboy]

2. And how much will our Medicare Premium go up?

in the end, we will be in the hole

[grasswire]

4. that, and my cousin reports that when SS goes up...

....her SNAP (food stamps) goes down accordingly.

[Purveyor]

7. They're not going up according to this clip on found on Forbes.

While the 1.5% cost of living adjustment to Social Security benefits is a tiny bit smaller than 2013’s 1.7% COLA, most retirees will actually come out a bit ahead. That’s because they won’t see any increase in 2014 in the amount deducted from their benefits checks for Medicare Part B premiums. In 2013 the basic premium went up by $5 to $104.90 per person a month for 2014. (The average gross monthly Social Security benefit in 2014, for retirees of all ages and earnings levels, will be $1,294 for a single and $2,111 for a couple, the Social Security Administration estimates.)

The additional Medicare Part B premiums charged to higher income seniors will also remain unchanged in 2014. Those premiums start at an extra $42 a month per person for singles with modified adjusted gross ranging from $85,000 to $129,000 and couples with MAGI from $170,000 to $258,0000. The extra premiums top out at $230.80 per person a month for singles with income above $214,000 and couples above $428,000.


http://www.forbes.com/sites/janetnovack/2013/10/30/top-social-security-tax-to-rise-2-9-in-2014-while-benefits-will-go-up-1-5/

[Cleita]

13. Whoop-di-doo! I'm going shopping at Barney's.

[PoliticAverse]

28. Medicare part B premiums for 2014 will not increase over 2013 and will remain at $104.90

for most people: http://www.medicare.gov/your-medicare-costs/part-b-costs/part-b-costs.html

[frazzled]

3. This is why more inflation would be a good thing

Many economists believe it has been too low, and would like to see it raised a bit for the economy in general. For this particular population, it would also have an effect.

ON EDIT: Many will respond, "but the price of things going up would offset." I'm no economist and I don't have the time right now to research the topic for everyone (maybe later, when I can take a break). But I just read a piece on this, and I know that many liberal economists have been arguing for higher inflation rates since the recession began.

[Miranda4peace]

6. Have you been to the grocery store? Bought clothes lately? Most prices have INFLATED drastically!

Last edited Wed Oct 30, 2013, 12:59 PM - Edit history (1)

What we need is a full Socialist Participatory Democracy! Banks get bailed out while the people have to eat beans instead of beef! Fuck that, the resources they get rich off of BELONG TO ALL OF US. The shit they sell is MADE BY US! OUR LABOR, OUR PROFITS!

[SharonAnn]

8. At the grocery store, prices may be "the same" but size and quantity are reduced.

Clearest recent example is purchasing a large pack of Charmin toilet paper. Teh rolls are narrower and there are fewer sheets (fewer sq. inches/feet on the roll. So, it's smaller all the way around. But price isn't reduced, it's the same as the old one.

Look at some spaghetti the other day and knew that it was less than pound so I checked and it was a 7 oz. package. Not even half a pound! And, of course, bacon is sold in smaller and smaller packages. 12 oz. is now the normal "large size".

[Miranda4peace]

16. Yea I have seen that for about 10 years, but a few things like produce, tea and MEAT OMG, are up.

I've noticed the toilet paper and my kid comments on the Spaghetti all the time, he definitely loves his pasta

Why isn't this considered inflation? I guess if profits remain the same politicians aren't motivated. That sucks for us!

[JDPriestly]

30. Meat has gone so high it is hard to believe.

I can occasionally get a good price for chicken, but we just eat less and less meat.

I try to grow a few vegetables in pots. My gardening area is too small to get much out of it.

[Miranda4peace]

44. Sorry to hear that:(

You might want to research vertical gardening. I think Eggplants and tomatoes can be grown in pots upside down, I'm sure there are more.

[RebelOne]

61. I am a vegetarian, so don't have to worry about the price of meat.

But fresh vegetable prices are not cheap any more.

[lunasun]

37. +1 meat/portion all types protein not just animal

[Miranda4peace]

43. Yea, my tempeh has risen about 50c this year:(

Which really sucks. I planned on using this to supplement my dogs estrogen loss following her spay I might have to find something more economical.

[lunasun]

45. Can you pick clover around where you are at

something more economical.
but yes all types not just animal
Some are skimping around for a required nutrient now

[Miranda4peace]

46. I can pick clover, I was concerned about the warfarin content though :( Do you know someone who has

successfully used clover?

I think I'm going to go with a genestein supplement and a progesterone cream. I talked to the vet and the bi-annual tests will be pretty cheap, so that's good.

The alternative, and I certainly plan on doing this very soon, is to make my own tempeh. I had tried before, unsuccessfully, but I hope to figure out a way to get the temperature right and stable the next time around.
Wish me luck.

[lunasun]

47. No I do not know anyone just best with what you already know and Good Luck

I know too much soy may have negative effects on a dog's thyroid and there are many dog foods on the market that include a great deal of soy already but a small amount of soy supplementation, should be ok and a safe and inexpensive alternative to hormone$

[frazzled]

41. Inflation is around 1%--Please let Paul Krugman explain why that's bad

For the economy as a whole (this has nothing to do with the price of milk at the store): it prevents wages from rising and keeps unemployment too high. All liberal economists have been saying this since the beginning of the recession.

And, at this point, inflation — at barely above 1 percent by the Fed’s favored measure — is dangerously low.

Why is low inflation a problem? One answer is that it discourages borrowing and spending and encourages sitting on cash. Since our biggest economic problem is an overall lack of demand, falling inflation makes that problem worse.

Low inflation also makes it harder to pay down debt, worsening the private-sector debt troubles that are a main reason overall demand is too low.

So why is inflation falling? The answer is the economy’s persistent weakness, which keeps workers from bargaining for higher wages and forces many businesses to cut prices. And if you think about it for a minute, you realize that this is a vicious circle, in which a weak economy leads to too-low inflation, which perpetuates the economy’s weakness.

And this brings us to a broader point: the utter folly of not acting to boost the economy, now.

Whenever anyone talks about the need for more stimulus, monetary and fiscal, to reduce unemployment, the response from people who imagine themselves wise is always that we should focus on the long run, not on short-run fixes. The truth, however, is that by failing to deal with our short-run mess, we’re turning it into a long-run, chronic economic malaise.

I wrote recently about how, by allowing long-term unemployment to persist, we’re creating a permanent class of unemployed Americans. The problem of too-low inflation is very different in detail, but similar in its implications: here, too, by letting short-run economic problems fester we’re setting ourselves up for a long-run, perhaps permanent, pattern of economic failure.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/03/opinion/krugman-not-enough-inflation.html?_r=0

[Miranda4peace]

42. Saying inflation is LOW means diddly when prices have risen drastically!!!! 1%? NAH.

Krugman is a Keynesian, CONSUMPTION BASED "BUY AND BREAK IN 2 YEARS" ECONOMY IS KILLING OUR ENVIRONMENT!

Paul Krugman Declares Personal Bankruptcy

Economist and columnist Paul Krugman declared personal bankruptcy today following a failed attempt to spend his way out of debt.

In a Chapter 13 filing to the United States Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York, lawyers for Krugman listed $7,346,000 in debts versus $33,000 in assets.

The majority of his debts are related to mortgage financing on a $8.7 million apartment in lower Manhattan, but the list also includes $621,537 in credit card debt and $33,642 in store financing at famed jeweler Tiffanys and Co.

The filing says that Krugman got into credit card trouble in 2004 after racking up $84,000 in a single month on his American Express black card in pursuit of rare Portuguese wines and 19th century English cloth.
http://dailycurrant.com/2013/03/06/paul-krugman-declares-personal-bankruptcy/

Funny rap on "BOOM AND BUST"

********BEST FORM OF ECONOMY FOR ENVIRONMENT AND EQUALITY??? EGALITARIAN RESOURCE BASED ECONOMY!!!*********

When a pair of cotton shorts, well made cost 18-30 dollars 5 years ago, and today you get poorly made shorts that cost more THAT IS INFLATION.

When a bag of chips costs the same price today that it did 5 years ago, and you get 5 percent less or 10 percent less that is 5% AND 10% INFLATION!!!!!!!


Who wins? SHAREHOLDERS, LENDERS, BANKS AND BIG CORPORATIONS(RICH)(1%)

WHO LOOSES???? THE LABORERS AND CONSUMERS!(POOR)(99%)

[frazzled]

48. Andrew Breitbart: Have you come back to haunt us this Halloween?

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/11/breitbarted/?_r=0

Breitbart's "Big Journalism" website trumpeted a story it picked up early Monday morning about liberal Times pundit and Nobel-prize-winning economist Paul Krugman filing for bankruptcy. It would have been quite the story — were it not more satire from the site that Breitbart loves watching other outlets fall for.

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2013/03/breitbart-krugman-bankruptcy/62952/

You're not going to last long around here at this rate.

[Miranda4peace]

49. Hahaha, no I absolutely hate breitbart. My bad.

Nonetheless Krugman is a CONSUMPTION PROMOTING KEYNESIAN which is KILLING THIS PLANET AND OUR POOR.

Last I checked breitbart could care less about the poor or the planet.

The Daily Currant is at it again, this time fooling the Boston Globe‘s Boston.com and Breitbart.com with it’s story about New York Times columnist Paul Krugman filing for bankruptcy. Krugman himself responded to the mix-up on Monday, relishing in the hoax.http://www.mediaite.com/online/paul-krugman-bankrupt-boston-globe-breitbart-com-fall-for-satirical-daily-currant-story/

I'm not sure why you would jump to the conclusion that I'm a breitbart supporter considering the context of my post, but hey whatever floats your boat, right?

Most environmentalists would agree consumerism and consumer culture put too heavy a burden on the planet. Consumer spending is central to the economy, which is why economists and governments also pay it close attention.

But most mainstream economists say endless economic growth, which implies limitless consumption, is both possible and desirable. This ignores how it helps fuel our ecological problems.

Today, most things sold on the market are made to be thrown out and replaced. A big part of economic activity is made up of selling products “designed for the dump.”

It’s not hard to see why this suits the biggest firms with the most market power. They make more money selling new products regularly than they can from products that are long-lasting, repairable and easy to upgrade.

http://climateandcapitalism.com/2011/12/03/are-consumers-destroying-the-earth/

So do you care to address my critiques of Krugmans assessment on 1% inflation, or..............have you accepted that inflation is rampant and hurting the poor and middle class the most?

Here's another video describing the only workable solution to solving the problems of environmental collapse and social/economic inequity ALL AT THE SAME TIME!

http://www.thevenusproject.com/

[Our Technical Reality] An examination of our current state of technology & the feasibility of The Venus Project, by NASA engineer Douglas Mallette:

[frazzled]

50. So now you're Milton Friedman come back to haunt us?

The opposite of Keynesian economics is Supply-Side, trickle-down economics.

Yes, today's modern liberals/progressives are Keynesians: they believe that in periods of recession that government spending (aka "stimulus) helps the economy and employment.

I don't understand whether you're just confused or if you're pulling pranks.

[Miranda4peace]

52. Now you're avoiding adressing the errors of Krugmans assessment and making accusations that aren't

supported WHATSOEVER.

Every link I posted, video or otherwise, supports intervention in the economic system, however what they don't support, and I'm assuming this is what you have a problem with, ARE DESTRUCTIVE CONSUMPTION, BIG BANK/CORP SUBSIDIES AND ECONOMIC INIQUITY.

I hope you fail in your mission of trying to convince liberals that we support inequity, economic devastation and corporate/bank subsidies. I think you will find that's pretty much the tea party/conservative platform, not even close to a liberal position.

WHAT IS A RESOURCE BASED ECONOMY???

The term and meaning of a Resource Based Economy was originated by Jacque Fresco. It is a holistic socio-economic system in which all goods and services are available without the use of money, credits, barter or any other system of debt or servitude. All resources become the common heritage of all of the inhabitants, not just a select few. The premise upon which this system is based is that the Earth is abundant with plentiful resource; our practice of rationing resources through monetary methods is irrelevant and counter productive to our survival.

Modern society has access to highly advanced technology and can make available food, clothing, housing and medical care; update our educational system; and develop a limitless supply of renewable, non-contaminating energy. By supplying an efficiently designed economy, everyone can enjoy a very high standard of living with all of the amenities of a high technological society.

A resource-based economy would utilize existing resources from the land and sea, physical equipment, industrial plants, etc. to enhance the lives of the total population. In an economy based on resources rather than money, we could easily produce all of the necessities of life and provide a high standard of living for all.

Consider the following examples: At the beginning of World War II the US had a mere 600 or so first-class fighting aircraft. We rapidly overcame this short supply by turning out more than 90,000 planes a year. The question at the start of World War II was: Do we have enough funds to produce the required implements of war? The answer was no, we did not have enough money, nor did we have enough gold; but we did have more than enough resources. It was the available resources that enabled the US to achieve the high production and efficiency required to win the war. Unfortunately this is only considered in times of war.
http://www.thevenusproject.com/about/resource-based-economy

Here are links to free ebooks and movies from the Venus Project.-http://www.thevenusproject.com/extras/free-dvds-and-ebooks

This video presentation advocates a new socio-economic system, which is updated to present-day knowledge, featuring the life-long work of Social Engineer, Futurist, Inventor and Industrial Designer Jacque Fresco, which he calls a Resource-Based Economy. This documentary details the root causes of the systemic value disorders and detrimental symptoms caused by our current established system. The film details the need to outgrow the dated and inefficient methods of politics, law, business, or any other "establishment" notions of human affairs, and use the methods of science, combined with high technology, to provide for the needs of all the world's people. It is not based on the opinions of the political and financial elite or on illusionary so-called democracies, but on maintaining a dynamic equilibrium with the planet that could ultimately provide abundance for all people.



Paradise or Oblivion, by The Venus Project, introduces the viewer to a more appropriate value system that would be required to enable this caring and holistic approach to benefit human civilization. This alternative surpasses the need for a monetary-based, controlled, and scarcity-oriented environment, which we find ourselves in today.

This is NOT the "major motion picture" that The Venus Project is working towards but rather is a short documentary to introduce the aims and proposals to new people.



Why Krugmans assessment of 1% inflation is BS-
A few years ago a bag of chips that cost 3.99 and held 10 ounces today costs 3.99 or more, and holds 9oz. That means 10% inflation, since you are receiving 10% less but paying the same price. This is assuming that products that contain less cost the same price as their larger predecessors, which isn't always the case, which means even more than 10% inflation. Often products are loosing more than 1oz of volume. So if that 10oz bag looseS 2oz, and costs the same, you have inflation of 20%.

Facts suck don't they?

THIS IS KILLING OFF THE POOR AND THE MIDDLE CLASSES.

MEANWHILE THE RICH ARE GETTING RICHER!

[magical thyme]

55. you do realize the Daily Currant is satire, right?

Why would you post a joke as a basis for your claims?

Encouraging inflation through government stimulus is not the same thing as encouraging a consumption-based economy. As I recall, the stimulus that Krugman recommends is things like upgrading the infrastructure (which can be done was that reduce resource waste and pollution over the long haul), education, etc. that provide people with a living wage so that they're not dependent on government spending on things like food stamps.

Or are you suggesting we should starve half the US population off the planet to save resources?

[Miranda4peace]

56. No I didn't realize that, the boston Globe also carried the story. Nonetheless, krugman is wrong!

Encouraging consumption through stimulus is encouraging consumption..........It's pretty cut and dry. We have a consumption based economy. Supporting, stimulating or stabilizing the CURRENT ECONOMIC PARADIGM is encouraging consumption WHICH IS KILLING OUR PLANET AND THE UNDERCLASSES.

I critisized krugmans assessment that there is 1% inflation, and krugman has never advocated an alternative economy, he however does advocate a continuation of the current boom and bust cycle and consumption based economy-MAINTAINING THE STATUS QUO.

UNTIL ANYONE CAN EXPLAIN HOW THE EXAMPLE BELOW ISN'T INFLATION, I'M DONE DISCUSSING THIS. CHANGING THE SUBJECT, MAKING ACCUSATIONS AREN'T GOING TO DETER ME FROM ADVOCATING FOR
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
AN EGALITARIAN RESOURCE BASED ECONOMY WITHOUT CLASSES AND WITHOUT ECONOMIC INEQUALITY!

A 10OZ BAG OF CHIPS THAT COST 3.99 2 YEARS AGO, THAT STILL COSTS 3.99 BUT CONTAINS 1OZ LESS IS 10% INFLATION.

10%INFLATION

10%INFLATION. THIS IS SIMPLE MATHEMATICS.
KRUGMAN IS AN ESTABLISHMENT STOOGE WHO WILL SAY ANYTHING TO MAINTAIN THE ECONOMIC INIQUITY THAT IS THE STATUS QUO

Why are you suggesting that people need to be starved to save resources? Common disinformation tactic! There are enough resources for everyone, however, this egalitarian system I advocate would starve GIANT TAX DODGING CORPORATIONS OF THEIR MASSIVE PROFITS! Establishment supporters and the super wealthy HATE THAT! They love their earth killing, poor killing super profits!!!

Why are you advocating for a system of economic inequality? Why are you protecting giant corporations?

Great documentary on a resource based economy that takes care of everyone's needs!!! View below!

This video presentation advocates a new socio-economic system, which is updated to present-day knowledge, featuring the life-long work of Social Engineer, Futurist, Inventor and Industrial Designer Jacque Fresco, which he calls a Resource-Based Economy. This documentary details the root causes of the systemic value disorders and detrimental symptoms caused by our current established system. The film details the need to outgrow the dated and inefficient methods of politics, law, business, or any other "establishment" notions of human affairs, and use the methods of science, combined with high technology, to provide for the needs of all the world's people. It is not based on the opinions of the political and financial elite or on illusionary so-called democracies, but on maintaining a dynamic equilibrium with the planet that could ultimately provide abundance for all people.



Paradise or Oblivion, by The Venus Project, introduces the viewer to a more appropriate value system that would be required to enable this caring and holistic approach to benefit human civilization. This alternative surpasses the need for a monetary-based, controlled, and scarcity-oriented environment, which we find ourselves in today.

This is NOT the "major motion picture" that The Venus Project is working towards but rather is a short documentary to introduce the aims and proposals to new people.



WHAT IS A RESOURCE BASED ECONOMY

Modern society has access to highly advanced technology and can make available food, clothing, housing and medical care; update our educational system; and develop a limitless supply of renewable, non-contaminating energy. By supplying an efficiently designed economy, everyone can enjoy a very high standard of living with all of the amenities of a high technological society.

A resource-based economy would utilize existing resources from the land and sea, physical equipment, industrial plants, etc. to enhance the lives of the total population. In an economy based on resources rather than money, we could easily produce all of the necessities of life and provide a high standard of living for all.

Consider the following examples: At the beginning of World War II the US had a mere 600 or so first-class fighting aircraft. We rapidly overcame this short supply by turning out more than 90,000 planes a year. The question at the start of World War II was: Do we have enough funds to produce the required implements of war? The answer was no, we did not have enough money, nor did we have enough gold; but we did have more than enough resources. It was the available resources that enabled the US to achieve the high production and efficiency required to win the war. Unfortunately this is only considered in times of war.

In a resource-based economy all of the world's resources are held as the common heritage of all of Earth's people, thus eventually outgrowing the need for the artificial boundaries that separate people. This is the unifying imperative.

We must emphasize that this approach to global governance has nothing whatever in common with the present aims of an elite to form a world government with themselves and large corporations at the helm, and the vast majority of the world's population subservient to them. Our vision of globalization empowers each and every person on the planet to be the best they can be, not to live in abject subjugation to a corporate governing body.http://www.thevenusproject.com/about/resource-based-economy

[magical thyme]

59. I don't care that the Boston Globe carried the satirical story.

Since you couldn't be bothered to check the very first resource that you posted, I'm guessing you haven't bothered to check the rest of them.

Again, encouraging stimulus is not the same thing as encouraging a consumption-based economy.

I have nothing further to say to you. I'm not going to bother to read the rantings of somebody who doesn't know the difference between satire and fact. I have better things to do with my time.

The sad thing is that I agree with you about our consumption-based economy. I disagree, however, completely with your method of shoving your agenda down our collective throats. It is counterproductive and damaging.

So I bid you good-bye. Welcome to ignore. Doubtless, as with all the others on my ignore list, you'll respond to this. I assure you, I won't waste one precious second of my time reading it.

[DesertFlower]

53. exactly. nt

[lunasun]

36. huh? where do u shop???

[PoliticAverse]

5. Historical SS COLA table...

http://www.ssa.gov/oact/cola/colaseries.html

[Faryn Balyncd]

9. The ALREADY rigged CPI now UNDERstates true inflation by between 1% and 7%, and with...

... compounding, has already reduced the actual value of SS benefits by as much as 50%, by some estimates.

"Chained CPI" is one of the most blatant frauds ever peddled with a straight face, and totally relies on the belief that Americans can be eternally bamboozled by cooking the books with rigged statistics.



http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x434708

[Thor_MN]

35. Past time to tie Congressional pay raises to the SS COLA.

They should do just fine getting the same increase as seniors.

[Systematic Chaos]

51. I hate to bust your bubble, but they likely wouldn't even bat an eye.

Most Congresscritters are already millionaires from other investments and whatever else they did before they were elected.

[Thor_MN]

58. Hate to inform you that not all of them are millionaires. And..

the surest way to piss off a millionaire is to take away money to which they feel entitled. There would be much less talk of chained CPI if it lowered their automatic pay raises.

[dixiegrrrrl]

10. Of course Medicare B premiums will rise....

Annual earnings ( including Soc. Sec) of $85,000 or less
will go from 104.90 per month to $123.10 per month ( estimated at this time, but usually accurate)

Here is link for that table:

http://www.medicare.com/medicare-coverage-basics/medicare-premiums-and-deductibles-for-2013-2014.html

[In_The_Wind]

12. That's just wonderful.

[Purveyor]

14. That table seems quite dated and contradicts the article excerpt I posted on post #7. eom

[PoliticAverse]

27. 2014 part B premiums will remain at $104.90

http://www.medicare.gov/your-medicare-costs/part-b-costs/part-b-costs.html

The site you linked to isn't the official government Medicare site and was only
guesstimating what the 2014 part B premiums would be.

[dixiegrrrrl]

29. Thank you..

and to Purveyor...
A pleasant surprise, that.

[taught_me_patience]

11. There is no real inflation

so, actually, 1.5% increase is quite high.

[former9thward]

15. You have got to be kidding.

Have you been to the store. Prices are rising and the sizes for the same price are shrinking. That is called inflation. Where are prices remaining the same? Where are they going down?

[Faryn Balyncd]

18. TIME.com: "If there's 'No Inflation', Why Are Prices Up So Much?" :

http://business.time.com/2013/03/12/if-theres-no-inflation-why-are-prices-up-so-much/#ixzz2jE9MuHSO

[durablend]

19. In other words

Fluctuations in home prices have been smoothed out, for example. And the index has been adjusted periodically to reflect changes in what people buy, particularly if they shift from more expensive items to cheaper ones.

The official figures are garbage.

Which is why they keep pushing chained CPI. "Oh you can always go from ground beef to canned cat food...won't hurt a bit! Not as if you complained before!"

[Faryn Balyncd]

26. Right. And if EVERYthing were to inflate 100%, & in desperation people switched from

.... ground beef (which was rising from $2/pound to $4/pound) to cat food (which was rising, in this example, from $.90/pound to $1.80/pound), then, because of the "substitution effect" of "chained CPI", cat food would have become the new ground beef, and consequently, instead of reporting the honest, "apples-to-apples" inflation rate of 100% (which everything in this example had risen), the Labor Department would be pleased to announce that the price of the new "ground beef" (cat food) had actually DEFLATED from $2/pound to $1.80/pound, that is, by thus cooking the books we would turn a real inflation rate of 100% into a negative 10%.

The SS Administration, in such a situation, would then be forced to announce that because of "deflation" there would be no COLA, and, in fact, no future COLAs until the future inflation had made up for the 10% deflation in prices.






(Is that trickle-down economics on steroids, or what?)

[taught_me_patience]

24. I honestly don't see it

Here are some of my observations of stuff I buy a lot of:

rent (Long Beach CA): flat
milk $2.89 for half gallon organic wholesale: flat
Broccoli $1.69/lb: flat for over 6 years I've been tracking the price
Coffee: flat or down (I own a coffee shop)
Salmon $7.99/lb (just bought some today at costco): flat for over five years
Big Gulp $1.29: flat this year but up significantly over the last five years
gas filled up today $3.77: Down. 1 year ago $4.20. Average throughout the year has been flat.
Liability insurance: flat
Health Insurance: +3%

[stillcool]

31. it's the creep that gets you...

Our food prices fluctuate all the time..back and forth. If it's high, I don't buy. When i think about it...there's a whole lot I don't buy anymore. I don't want for anything, and don't miss what I've given up. In many ways I probably live healthier...but I'm older too. I'm at a time and place where life is cheaper than it's ever been.What's really freaky is some things...clothing, and lobster really stick out...are cheaper now, than they were in 1974. Kind of crazy. I guess that was before China became our producer, and we began the race for bottom of the barrel wages. We adapt...it's what people do.

[classof56]

17. As a Social Security-dependent senior citizen, may I say...

I'm worth every penny of that raise. And I promise to spend it wisely.

Oh, and one more thing: Republicans, keep your hands off my Social Security and Medicare.

Angry Old Granny

[RebelOne]

21. Yes, I am with you. I am an angry old granny also.

If your screen name is the year you graduated from high school, we are probably the same age.

[classof56]

23. Yep, that's the year I graduated from HS.

Nice to meet you, fellow Class o' 56er! I like your user name. I was something of a rebel back in the day, when it was totally unacceptable for me, a "girl", to be one. Loved the James Dean movie "Rebel Without a Cause"--really hit home. Kind of amazed to be 3/4 of a century old, with a bunch of aches and pains I could do without, but, as they say growing old ain't for sissies, right?

Cheers to you, RebelOne. Awfully glad you're on DU!

[DonCoquixote]

38. a young ssd recipent here slautes you

may I humbly add..
Democrats, and 3rd way no labels bastards, keep your hands off as well.

[shraby]

20. That doesn't begin to cover the raises in medigap policies or part D policies.

[dixiegrrrrl]

32. And the increase in Part A hospital deductible

Was only 1500.00 in 2012, I think.
For 2013 it is $1,184
For 2014 it is ($1,216

Pretty big jump for those of us on a very low fixed income...

[Paper Roses]

40. My Medigap policy went up 11 dollars. Wiped out any increase.

I still cannot afford part D.

Phooey!

[Akoto]

22. I'm a young SSI recipient ...

I was a late teenager when my disability first manifested, and only worked for a little while before said disability had escalated to the point of making work impossible. The ALJ gave me a fully favorable decision, but because I lacked the work credits for 'full' disability, I only get SSI.

This increase may look meager, and I believe both the elderly and the disabled should receive far more, but I will say this: I'm grateful for every extra dollar. You'd be surprised by how far you can stretch them when you need to.

[QuestForSense]

25. Here's your trickle-down.

1.5%? This is why the chained CPI is such a bad idea. The Consumer Price Index is ALREADY based on such whittled-down criteria that it's virtually worthless. As any good tailor will tell you, you can only cut so much before things start to pull apart at the seams. But all the good tailors apparently live in China now, where they're paid even less. Big, big sigh.

[OregonVoter]

33. The lowest COLA except of course for 2010 and 2011, when it was zero

This is recent history and the reporter can't even find it? I for one am glad there is one, given how low inflation is these days.

[gopiscrap]

34. welcome to DU

[Paper Roses]

39. The government giveth and then tries to take it away. Go figure! n/t

[gopiscrap]

54. not good

[WestSeattle2]

57. Serious question here.....

how does the government inflation figure-outers account for smaller sizes selling for the same amount of money that they did last year? For example, anyone who has bought a loaf of bread can't help but notice that the loaves are at least one third smaller in physical size than they were five years ago. Yet a loaf of bread sells for actually more than it did before. Cans of coffee - same story. Boxes of cereal - same size boxes, but the "volume" is reduced.

So there really is no difference between those practices and raising prices, say by 20-30%, yet the government claims no inflation.

Can anyone explain this?

[Pterodactyl]

62. Good thing there is a Dem in the White House, or this would be even worse!