Thursday, February 10, 2011

Inflation And Dueling Headlines

I had to laugh this morning when one headline read Bernanke downplays risk of higher inflation and right next to it was one that read Expect food prices to increase this year!


There is no appreciable inflation.  I know it to be true because the government told us so and because of it we seniors have received no cost of living increases in our social security checks for the second year in a row.

It's because they don't count food or energy.  Is it my imagination that the cost of food and energy are sky rocketing?  No, the Consumer Price Index bears me out. Both food and energy have increased.

We seniors aren't a real needy bunch except for a few necessities.  One is a roof over our heads.  The second is heat to keep what's under that roof warm.  Third is fuel, whether it be for our own cars or public transportation, to get us back and forth to our doctor appointments - and food to sustain us between visits.  These are the items rising the most!

That leads me to wonder why we continue to subsidise corn producers so their crops can go to basically useless ethanol.  Ask anyone who knows cars and you'll find that it depletes gas mileage and does harm to the inner workings of engines.  Yet we not only continue to produce it, we want to raise the amount mixed into the gas.  Corn farmers are the only ones getting rich. And maybe those Obamamotor dealers who will be selling them their Caddies.

Forget about corn as a food for us.  I've been told humans don't digest it, but it sure tastes good.  Other critters do digest it, however, and the lack for them will raise our cost of consumption even more.  Think beef, chicken and pork.

Other food stuffs are also in short supply thanks to Mother Nature unleashing  everything known to man around the world.  Prices are indeed soaring.

It strikes me as mildly amusing when the Fed chairman says he's confident the Fed has the "political will" to stop inflationary forces before they take hold.

I doubt ole Ma Nature gives a fig about political will.  If I'm wrong and she does, then I know what will happen.  More years will pass without our seeing that increase to keep ourselves in essentials.  That being the case, the fact that seniors won't have doctors to treat them after Obamacare is in place, won't matter.

We'll just fade away to mere nothings.  Some might call it starving.  Never-the-less, out of sight, out of mind!



1 comment:

Margie's Musings said...

Another huge user of corn is for sweetener for everything we eat. High fructose corn syrup.