consumer prices dropped?

[jschism]

this is from an article on comcast news page:
There had been a COLA every year from 1975 through 2009, when a spike in energy prices resulted in a 5.8 percent increase, the largest in 27 years. Since then, the recession has depressed consumer prices, resulting in no COLA in 2010 or 2011.
Older people might feel they are falling behind because they haven't had a raise since 2009, but many are benefiting, said Andrew Biggs, a former deputy commissioner of the Social Security Administration who is now a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.
Consumer prices dropped, but Social Security benefits didn't drop, Biggs said. At the same time, health care costs went up, but Part B premiums stayed the same for most

just wondering what the "consumer" prices dropped on? food, gas, groceries, meds, and just about everything has gone up in price.

[ekephart]

The problem is that they use so few items to determine this statistic. Yes the price of a gallon of milk (one of the items) may be down but the cost of meat has gone up so much as to more than compensate for it. I do not know off hand what items they use but it a small percentage of the weekly grocery trip. The only way we can eat real food at my house is to grow our own, freeze what we can and supplement that from the store. If I had to purchase the produce we eat, we would not much of it. The prices they want for something that looks so sad is a tragedy.

Real Estate prices are also a factor. While the values of homes have gone down over the last few years, my mortgage did not. It has been the same for the 16 years we have lived in this house (with small variations for insurance and taxes).

I am worried that with gas going up again, so will everything else we have to purchase. It all has to be transported. --eak

[Foolish Old]

Originally Posted by jschism

this is from an article on comcast news page:
There had been a COLA every year from 1975 through 2009, when a spike in energy prices resulted in a 5.8 percent increase, the largest in 27 years. Since then, the recession has depressed consumer prices, resulting in no COLA in 2010 or 2011.
Older people might feel they are falling behind because they haven't had a raise since 2009, but many are benefiting, said Andrew Biggs, a former deputy commissioner of the Social Security Administration who is now a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.
Consumer prices dropped, but Social Security benefits didn't drop, Biggs said. At the same time, health care costs went up, but Part B premiums stayed the same for most

just wondering what the "consumer" prices dropped on? food, gas, groceries, meds, and just about everything has gone up in price.

AEI is a real fun bunch. Here's a brief description:

The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research (AEI) is an extremely influential, pro-business, conservative think tank founded in 1943 by Lewis H. Brown. It promotes the advancement of free enterprise capitalism[1], and succeeds in placing its people in influential governmental positions. It is the center base for many neo-conservatives

Whether it's defending tobacco use, casting doubt on the scientific findings regarding climate change, developing the G.W. Bush policy on Iraq, or telling Social Security recipients that they don't deserve a raise, the AEI is always ready with a scholarly opinion in support of its funding sources.

On its website it states that "national and multinational corporations who support AEI maintain close relationships with the Institute's scholars and regularly receive top-level research and analysis on specific policy interests and priorities. In addition, corporations provide important input to AEI on a wide variety of issues. Corporate involvement with AEI includes special invitations to public and private events; AEI's full slate of research studies, articles, books and other publications; access to our scholars, fellows, and senior management; and more."

read more

One of the Social Security 'reforms" likely to come out of the agreement to raise the debt ceiling is an "adjustment" to the way the COLA is calculated. What that means is that the COLA will be even smaller in the future. Yeah Tea Party!!!

The fight over big government has now gotten clearer: There's no huge slush fund or do-nothing agency that we can painlessly cut to keep taxes low. Cutting government means cutting programs that will cause pain for somebody. The more you cut, the more pain you cause. If that's what voters want, they'll have another chance to send that message in 2012.

source

[duge]

Got to be a republican saying prices have dropped! damm funny I have NO money to do anything but sit at home now!!!!

[Eileen]

Prices of gas and home heating oil have skyrocket in that time frame. Clearly they are not figuring those into the equasion.