Today, an editorial in the NY Times said:
Even in a crowd of rising food and commodity costs, corn stands out, its price having doubled in less than a year to a record $7.87 per bushel in early June.
This is obviously a mistake. Wait, it’s an absolute lie.
Corn prices have not changed in almost 4 years. Likewise, no commodities and no essentials, such as the cost of heating my home in winter, have gone up. I know this because we are now in the 4th year since my Social Security check has not included one cent of increase due to Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA).
If the cost of living had gone up, I would have gotten a similar increase in the return on the money I paid into the Social Security system. But the government agency that handles such things has assured me the reason I have not seen any income increase is because the cost of living has not gone up.
That reassurance is why I also know it is a damned lie when someone tells me that the cost of milk has gone up 20% in the past 2 years; my rent has gone up 10% and is due for another increase next month, the price of gasoline has gone up 25% in the past 4 years; the cost of health care has gone up 15%; bus fare has gone up 25%. This year alone (and it’s only1/2 over) CocaCola says it’s raising prices 5%.
lies, lies, lies . . . all lies.
(right??)