Food for thought
Going grocery shopping this morning, so will be AFK for a short period of time. But go ahead and start without me.
We go shopping once a month or so, sometimes longer. But it gives us a window into how much prices go up, rather than going every week. Some people I know shop for food every couple of days. Many acquaintances spend their whole life eating out at fast food joints.
We have a well stocked pantry, the issue is rotation. Aside from the 25 year tins of survival food, we try to keep everything within a year or so of best by dates. Some items can go much longer and still be fine. Our monthly trip is mostly dairy products, breads, meats, and veggies that we cannot grow or have run out of from the freezer.
Anyway, I have kept monthly receipts going back to 2004 in a drawer and occasionally refer to it to confirm the staggering price increases imposed little by little over time.
America's wages are not keeping up with inflation. Not even close.
Will spend the afternoon working the garden.
Thread is open. Watcha doing today?
Comments
Interesting article
in the Global Times yesterday https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202503/1330296.shtml addressing efforts in boosting domestic consumption and the economy.
"aims to vigorously boost consumption, stimulate domestic demand across the board, and increase spending power by increasing earnings and reducing financial burdens, according to the Xinhua News Agency on Sunday".
Putting more money into the hands of the people and reducing financial burdens. What a concept.
Too bad we don't have politicians with that kind of vision.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Heh food for thot indeed. Quibble, technically, per
the academic economists, inflation is driven by increases in wages, so what we have, which is driven by greed, profit taking, rents, and financial services costs is simply runaway increases in the cost of living.
fun: Yesterday, about 7:46 pm we had a nearby quake, initially determined to be a 4.2, then downgraded to 4.0 and finally 3.9. Heard it coming, relatively sharp jolt, but that's not the fun part. Since then there have been 13 aftershocks. Still not the fun part. This all was centered in the nearby little town of Dublin, CA. A special St. Paddy's day treat for the East Bay.
More fun, after replacing a pole mounted platform feeder for the birds in the back yard with one that sits on the ground and is brought in nightly, I eventually moved the yard cam/bird cam to an essentially ground level mount under the apricot tree, focused on the place where I put the feeder during the day. Said camera is also sort of a security cam, alerting us to any humans it detects and grabbing a short video of same. It is also set to detect pets, though we have none. Well, perhaps we do, is has detected a handful of cats out patrolling our yard at nighttime and in the pre-dawn morning as well as a frequent visitor skunk, a raccoon and, this morning, an opossum. Except for the cats, it appears that the mammals come to feast on overripe oranges that fall from the tree.
In that vein, we had a fair sized flock of Cedar Waxwings show up on the 16th, which, of course, brightens the day.
Starting to get ready for a quick trip to Pismo for a few days next week, won't be here Monday, but my OT is alrady in the Queue, so it'll be here for me.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
By the economists reckoning
lowering wages would eliminate inflation. Right? Sure bet.
When I lived in SoCal a 4.0 wouldn't even make me grab my beer from the bar. But we've had a couple of 'em up here in the PNW.
Still trapping squirrels in back yard, relocated 14 so far. I just don't know where they keep coming from.
Clearly not enough birds of prey 'round here. I guess they are on a fish diet as I see them out over the river all the time.
Got every other kind of bird in the back yard though. Although the hummers have moved on.
Thanks for stopping by.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Heh, here a four is enough to shake the house, which gets
one's attention to the question of whether or night it might be a precursor. A fault map of the Bay Area looks like a web made by a deranged spider on speed.
I'm sure, if you think about it, that you do know where squirrels come from.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
China & India invest in Africa—be suspicious, be very suspicious
“Someone asked David Hundeyin in twitter what China and India get investing in Africa, they are suspicious of it, here is his answer”
https://www.reddit.com/r/WayOfTheBern/comments/1je5w6b/someone_asked_dav...
Note: meaning of “oyibo” or “oyinbo”:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oyinbo
Wonderful, thanks for posting it.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Good post, lotlizard
China going for the win-win system of economics. Not sure about India, although they are a whole lot closer to Africa. Maybe just being neighborly.
Thanks.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Good afternoon, e1!
I sort of compare prices for staples in a couple of stores, try to purchase from the one offering the lower price. Not that the staples are cheap, but I will take a savings where I can obtain it. Would an 18-pack of beer costing $23 really taste better than one costing $18? I am guessing no.
We might eat fast food 3 times a year when on a road trip. The price increase is very noticeable.
Ok, I am working on a traffic ticket case. I remember a dr. hiring me to settle 5 speeding tickets and get him a driving permit. I got his tickets squared away, got him a permit to drive for 6 months. I asked him if his vehicle was something unusual that got the cops' attention. "No, it's just a car." I asked his office secretary what he drove, and she told me it was a Lamborghini. Well, it's just a car, after all.
Enjoy your gardening, friend!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Heh
Ole' Joe Walsh:
"my Maserati does 185,
I lost my license,
Now I don't drive"
Thanks for stopping by.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Ummm, actually
don't know the exact 18 pack prices, but buttwiper, brown derby, PBR, fisher, buckhorn and a handful more of that quality and price point
versus
maybe Modelo Negra, Modelo Especial, Bass, Swans Extra Double Stout (if they still make it) and a few of that caliber
I'm guessing most definitely.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
A bit disjointed but it somewhat explains the ongoing events in
Gaza.
Does Netanyahu think
the world will forget about this genocide? Like we have forgotten about the WW2 holocaust?
Or does he not give a flying crap what the rest of the world thinks about Israel?
Thanks for the tweets.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
This is what I don’t get about so many folk I used to agree with
To paraphrase the part in that 2,000 year old “manga” where the protagonist rabbi calls out the establishment for “straining at a gnat while swallowing a camel,” how can so many people spend all their energy straining at a Trump while having no problem swallowing (supporting, subsidizing) a Netanyahu, Smotrich, and Ben Gvir?
Of course, Trump himself would have been far better advised to have teamed up with, not just Musk and RFK Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard, but also Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich in putting America back on a course toward peace, prosperity, and protection of civil liberties…
https://ronpaulinstitute.org/american-spring-uphold-freedom-of-speech-on...
Great read
It’s Netanyahu’s actions that are stirring up the anti semitism across the world. And he isn’t going to be around forever and hopefully less time than that since he already has one foot in the grave.
While I still have free speech I call for the grim reaper to visit him soon.
The Washington Generals should probably sue the Democrats for copyright infringement.
Interesting Times -- a continuation
A couple of days ago I mentioned that I had received a check from SSA that would cover the underpayment of my benefits. Anya mentioned that her payment was about half of mine and questioned whether the difference might be becuase of my entitled to more. I don't believe that is the case. Her regular payment was about $400 just like mine. As far as the under, I believe that it might be the Medicare add-on option. I turned it down and rely strictly on my FEP insurance. I am entitled to Medicare Part A and declined the other parts. I had the option to add on but I would have to reimburse for the uncovered part. This is just a wild-assed guess. My regular payment be about $800 plus CPI. I feel sorry for so many who are struggling in these times.
I am thankful that I was blessed with a little more ability and double blessed with a father who pushed me so hard in spite of my lazy tendencies. My biggest regret is that I didn't hold him as he left this life and thank him for it. Without his struggles and his natural intellect I could not have done what I did. I absolutely believe in pay it forward, never look down on anyone struggling. Of course I make exception for the jerk doctor's son with the sports car who never seemed to have any money when we were pooling for gas.
There was a very interesting piece in Charles Hugh Smith blog, (https://charleshughsmith.blogspot.com/), Here Come the Chaos Monkeys...
Last year MsIndy and I lost our cell phone identities, the ones we'd had for 25 years. Our carrier refused to give me the code to switch carriers. So, since I was really tired of seeing some dancing cat video from my BIL when I was trying to do some bank stuff, I kissed it goodbye. Oh no, I'll miss out on family stuff...
The dental system uses AI camera stuff is really awesome. Took about half hour to do the "impressions" and I get a wax verification for fit test in a couple weeks and then a new TMJ bridge thingy a couple weeks after that. Beats the hell out of gagging on PlayDough.
One last item that's fantastic news. MsIndy has had a problem with her hammertoe for 60 years. Last week we started seeing what would happen if we redid her shoes. It's looking fantastic. Her feet remember what feet are supposed to be. She can actually wiggle her toes!!
Boy I really miss living in a house of my own.
Be well all.
To think that they used to sell the idea of “pay TV” as better
because “no ads” …
Ads are pollution and a scourge.
Boy, it didn’t take long for the Internet to devolve from this potentially educational and emancipatory anarchist-libertarian thing to this Stasi-in-your-pocket slave of surveillance capitalism, a “wretched hive of scum and villainy" where every unsolicited ad and message is an invitation to be scammed —
@exindy I’m not sure how SS came
I’m not sure how SS came up with the lump-sum payments we got. As I understand it, it was to compensate for what we should’ve gotten since January 2024. But a friend whose SS income is about what mine is only got $1,500 compared to my $3,200. I divided the number of months used for the lump-sum payment (14) into the actual payment to calculate how much increase we would get going forward. I was told my monthly increase would be $239. And I got a notice yesterday from SS confirming that. It sounds like you may be getting the $400+/month increase that I thought you would, based on the $6,000 they paid you. I’ve been retired 19 years and also never paid for Part B or any other Medicare option (until this year). Two-and-a-half years after I retired, I received a notice from SS that they finally calculated what I should be getting due to the Windfall or whatever provision, and that they’d overpaid me by $4,600. I was forced to repay the $4,600 and my monthly income was reduced. I figure if SS repaid us for what we should’ve been getting, they’d owe me more than $50,000. But I was extremely grateful to get the $3,200 just when I most needed it. Apologies for the lengthy thoughts which are not likely to be of interest to most.
Anya
Opted in at the earliest opportunity
.
.
figured it would take 17 years to get my money back
(without inflation/deflation) and I don't plan to be living
that long. After part B and some BS penalty with part D
left with around $800/ month. In 1970 dollars, that would be OK.
In 2015 dollars, not so much. Just another scam.
Preventing retirement is the business model.
Sheesh.
Thought is the wind, knowledge the sail, and mankind the vessel.
-- August Hare
The Paper of Record issues a completely unbiased article. LOL
The Houthis have a response to the US bombing raids.
The arrogant smirk has been removed from some Israeli faces.