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Inflation.......... ?

Went in and paid my property taxes yesterday. Between building on it (improvements) which doubled my taxes, and value increases from COVID-19, I'll see even higher taxes next year.

My opinion, the essentials for living such as shelter, heat, and food should not be taxed.
 
Went in and paid my property taxes yesterday. Between building on it (improvements) which doubled my taxes, and value increases from COVID-19, I'll see even higher taxes next year.

My opinion, the essentials for living such as shelter, heat, and food should not be taxed.
I agree with you. What you have described is the "Doubled Edge Sword"....
We now have elected officials and government employees who never ran a small business or balanced a budget.
"We The People" have given them a blank check to run a government without checks and balances.
The downfall will be brutal on the working middle class.... The crash landing after the fall will be brutal to every person living in America.
 
Flooding of illegal immigrants all on welfare isn't helping
The immigrants are well aware of how to survive, how to steal and who to kill in order to get what they need...... They brought those skills from the shit hole countries they left behind. You are simply out numbered. Let the phrase "Force Multiplier" sink in. That local Sheriff's Deputy you grew up with and go fishing with will be protecting his own family and home. You might as well sit down and write a letter to your Congressman. ;)
 
Prices will not be coming down.
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TOKYO, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T), the world's biggest automaker, said on Wednesday it would accept a union demand for the biggest base salary increase in 20 years and a rise in bonus payments, as Japan steps up calls for businesses to hike pay.
As one of Japan's biggest employers, Toyota has long served as a bellwether of the spring labour talks, which are in full swing at major companies. Many are expected to conclude swiftly as the government seeks inflation-beating wage hikes to ease burdens on consumers.
The automaker's incoming president Koji Sato said the decision to accept the union's demands in full at the first round of talks was meant not just for Toyota but "also for the industry as a whole, and in the hope that it will lead to frank discussions between labour and management at each company."
 
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Ordering seeds for my garden.
The cost of seeds plus shipping are double what they were last year.
Cost of weed guard (or similar) is up considerably.
Shipping cost, in some cases are up 75% from last year.
Seems like an indicator that food cost will continue to rise as we move into summer.
 
Ordering seeds for my garden.
The cost of seeds plus shipping are double what they were last year.
Cost of weed guard (or similar) is up considerably.
Shipping cost, in some cases are up 75% from last year.
Seems like an indicator that food cost will continue to rise as we move into summer.

Shipping i.e. USPS/FedEx/UPS have all slowed down. Initial Tracking is always wrong, with many delays. USPS is getting so bad that Congress and Senators are pinging the Post Master General, who is just brushing it off.
 
Shipping i.e. USPS/FedEx/UPS have all slowed down. Initial Tracking is always wrong, with many delays. USPS is getting so bad that Congress and Senators are pinging the Post Master General, who is just brushing it off.
Watching the "House of Cards" collapse in slow motion.
Best look into the future and stock up on disappearing items.
Going through my seeds and garden planning today.
 
A drowning man grasping for a life ring. 2023 has been written off and there is "hope" for 2024. Snug your belt.
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WASHINGTON, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Inflation for a broad array of services in the United States remains "stubbornly high," Federal Reserve Governor Philip Jefferson said Monday, though slower-growing wages might help slow prices in those parts of the economy as well.

Though the Fed has seen some progress in slowing price increases for goods and expects the same to happen in housing, inflation continues for services ranging from restaurants to medical care -- and will likely need to slow for the central bank to make clear progress back towards its 2% inflation target.


"Core goods inflation has started to come down. Several indicators suggest that housing services inflation is likely to come down in the coming months. There is more uncertainty surrounding inflation in core services excluding housing," Jefferson said in remarks to a Harvard University economics class.

"The inflation outlook for this nonhousing category of core services partly depends on whether growth in nominal labor costs comes back down, and recent data suggest that labor compensation has indeed started to decelerate somewhat over the past year."


 
To tame inflation, lending rates will have to surpass the inflation rate.
 
To tame inflation, lending rates will have to surpass the inflation rate.
Of course... Paul Volcker proved that, long ago.
Jerome Powell and the FED knew this. The rates should have been raised rather than continue to hand out the "Free Money" from the Government.
To argue this is similar to rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
Take care of you and your family.

No one is coming.
 
This is a non-scientific study by one old guy on a fixed income.

Without quoting government statistics or giving specific information. Since the first of 2021, how much more are things costing ?

My example is how much I pay for pelleted chicken feed. My cost is up 3.5% since 1/1/2021.

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Bought chicken feed today (pellets)....... $23 / 50 lbs......
Up 20% since I started this conversation.
I'm sure it is cheaper where some of you buy. I tried the cheap feed and my chickens stopped laying due to lack of protean. They are back to laying, now.
I can't afford to drive from Montana to Mississippi to save $2 / bag. Cost on everything is regional and distance from mega warehouses plays a part.
 
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Well, some folks are still "banking" on the U$D...
 
Federal Reserve policymakers will need to raise interest rates higher and keep them there longer to tackle the higher prices caused by sticky inflation, San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said Saturday.
“It’s clear there is more work to do,” Daly said in a speech at Princeton University. “In order to put this episode of high inflation behind us, further policy tightening, maintained for a longer time, will likely be necessary.”
 
The longer inflation continues, the more damage it is doing to the American economy.
As more pay raises take effect, the chance of prices coming down to pre-pandemic levels dwindles.
The effect of free money is being seen.
 
Wage growth decelerated slightly, with those remaining in their jobs seeing a 7.2% annual increase, down 0.1 percentage point from a month ago. Job changers saw growth of 14.3%, compared with 14.9% in January.
 
At this rate prices will NEVER come down and inflation will "break the bank" of the middle class.
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This is a bit off track but troubling...

"Silicon Valley Bank became the biggest U.S. lender to fail in more than a decade after a tumultuous week that saw an unsuccessful attempt to raise capital and a cash exodus by the tech startups that had fueled the lender’s rise."

"The bank had about $209 billion in total assets and about $175.4 billion in total deposits at the end of last year, the FDIC said Friday."
 
This is a bit off track but troubling...

"Silicon Valley Bank became the biggest U.S. lender to fail in more than a decade after a tumultuous week that saw an unsuccessful attempt to raise capital and a cash exodus by the tech startups that had fueled the lender’s rise."

"The bank had about $209 billion in total assets and about $175.4 billion in total deposits at the end of last year, the FDIC said Friday."
Yep......... Many in the financial world likened this situation to the first bank that failed during "The Great Recession"... Reading between the lines that means there will be more banks failing. The size of this failure ($$$) was record setting.
No talk today of a soft landing.
 
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That’s how I lived as a kid. We may be closer to it than we think.
Plastic will be a luxury....... Cardboard will be for the middle class.
Those that are destitute will get replacement windows, paid for by the Government. The government will also pay their electric bills for heating and cooling.
Best work on a deep tan and a Hispanic accent
 
.............. stubbornly high .............. Credit Jerome Powell and the politicized FED Reserve.

Elevated Inflation Cooled Last Month, But Remains Stubbornly High -- Market Talk​

Today 9:40 AM ET (Dow Jones)Print

0940 ET - The consumer-price index rose 6% in February from a year earlier, versus a 6.4% gain the prior month, the slowest pace since September 2021. The smaller increase comes as the Fed contemplates its next interest rate move while confronting price pressures and bank failures. When excluding volatile food and energy prices, consumer prices advanced 5.5% from a year earlier in February compared with 5.6% in January. Economists view so-called core prices as a better indicator of future inflation. Consumers paid less last month to heat their homes, and prices for medical services and used cars fell as well. Gasoline and food prices both increased, but at a slower pace than they did in January. Shelter costs increased 0.8% over the month. Year-over-year inflation has cooled from a recent peak last June, but has remained stubbornly high. ([email protected])
 
“The Fed will acknowledge that they were late to the game, that inflation has been more persistent than they were expecting. So they probably should have tightened sooner,” said Gus Faucher, chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group. “That being said, given the fact the Fed has tightened as aggressively as they have, the economy is still very good.”

 
“They have to do something, otherwise they lose credibility,” said Doug Roberts, founder and chief investment strategist at Channel Capital Research. “They want to do 25, and the 25 sends a message. But it’s really going to depend on the comments afterwards, what Powell says in public. … I don’t think he’s going to do the 180-degree shift everybody’s talking about.”

 
You might be better off sticking to the Dollar Menu on your next visit to McDonald’s.
A recent study shows that price of the fast food chain’s flagship Big Mac sandwich is hitting new highs.
CashNetUSA reviewed Big Mac prices in all 50 states to determine where customers pay the most and pay the least for the iconic burger with two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun.


 
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Worldwide... No let up insight.

U.K. inflation unexpectedly jumped in February, as food and energy bills continued to rise, placing further pressure on households.
The consumer price index (CPI) increased by an annual 10.4%, above the 9.9% consensus forecast among economists in a Refinitiv poll and up from 10.1% in January. On a monthly basis, CPI inflation was 1.1%, exceeding a forecast of 0.6%.


 
Coming to America, soon. There is no truth in the figures of the FED Reserve or the US Government bean counters.

The unexpected rise following three consecutive months of modest declines proves that the cost-of-living crisis is far from over and intensifies pressure on the Bank of England to further hike interest rates, possibly as early as this week. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the consumer prices index measure of inflation rose to an annual rate of 10.4 per cent in February from 10.1 per cent in January. Most economists had been forecasting a fall to 9.9 per cent in February.
In last week’s spring Budget, Jeremy Hunt pledged to halve inflation this year and the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is projecting a rate of just 2.9 per cent by the end of 2023. The latest data will have sent a shiver through the Treasury, particularly the revelation that food inflation has hit its highest level in 45 years. Supermarkets have been attempting to keep a lid on price hikes but some eye-watering increases are now being passed on to shoppers. Higher utility costs are also in the pipeline when the energy price cap rises in April and government support ends.


 
Certainly sounds like a "racist" remark and plan. Most of the depositors in banks are white and affluent.
Perhaps the reparation will put more black's in a position to keep money in the bank.
But... IDK
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Only 44% of Black Americans have retirement savings accounts, with a typical balance of around $20,000, compared to 65% of white Americans, who have an average balance of $50,000, according to the Federal Reserve.Feb 2, 2022

WASHINGTON — Federal bank regulators are prepared to do whatever is needed to “ensure that depositors’ savings remain safe” in U.S. banks, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told members of the Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday.


 
Obviously "Inflation" has not been tamed. The FED Reserve is failing miserably and "We the People" are suffering due to the bail out's and being politicized.
The longer this goes on, the more it appears to be the "norm". People needing to put a roof over their heads are being sold a bill of goods.
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The average contract rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage, the most popular home loan, fell to a six-week low of 6.45%, MBA said.
"While the 30-year fixed rate remained 1.65 percentage points higher than a year ago, homebuyers responded, leading to a fourth straight increase in purchase applications

 
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Every time a 2 year labor agreement is locked in place, the "hope" of prices going back to pre-pandemic levels is diminished.
Very, very seldom is a Union wage and benefit package forfeited at the next negotiating session.
The Silver lining to this cloud is there will be less riff raff on airplanes.
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United Airlines has reached tentative agreements with a union representing nearly 30,000 ground workers, the labor group said Wednesday.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said the two-year tentative agreements cover “industry-best” wage rates, as well as job protection and certain guards against outsourcing roles. The specific terms of the contracts were not disclosed.
 
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WASHINGTON - Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester said on Tuesday that while the economy appears on a path toward slowing down, the United States central bank likely has more rate rises ahead of it.12 mins ago
 
If anyone reading this headline believes the numbers, please leave a comment.

Inflation rises just 0.1% in March and 5% from a year ago as Fed rate hikes take hold​

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In CBO’s projections, the federal deficit totals $1.4 trillion in 2023 and averages $2.0 trillion per year from 2024 to 2033. Real GDP growth comes to a halt in 2023 and then rebounds, averaging 2.4 percent from 2024 to 2027.

Buckle up boys, this shit is going to get serious.

 
If anyone really wants to know what the real inflation numbers are, all they have to do is to pay attention to the reporting of large corporations.
All that is showing up in these reports is "inflation". These companies are not expanding, building new factories or inventing new processes.
Here is an example. They are being "lauded" for beating expectations. all they are doing is posting the real inflation numbers..
Not profit or sales increases, just inflation increases.
American's are the dumbest race of people on the face of this Earth.
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The bank said profit jumped 52% to $12.62 billion, or $4.10 per share, in the first three months of the year. That figure includes $868 million in losses on securities; excluding those losses lifts earnings by 22 cents per share, resulting in adjusted profit of $4.32 per share.
Companywide revenue rose 25% to $39.34 billion, driven by a 49% rise in net interest income to $20.8 billion, thanks to the Federal Reserve’s most aggressive rate-hiking campaign in decades.
Shares of the bank popped 7.3% in morning trading.


 
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