Gas is up, oil is up, heating costs are up, meidcal care is up...

[Deja Q]

When's it all gonna come down?

This is the ugly side of capitalism. When it extends out to necessities.

[A Simple Game]

1. Food is up.

But the good news is we have no inflation.

[Zenlitened]

3. Yep, if you disregard food and fuel prices, inflation's no problem at all!

Hey, lookit me -- I'm a ecomonist, too! :dunce: :crazy: :dunce:

[flvegan]

2. Funny, because so are Exxon-Mobil's profits

What, almost $10 BILLION in the last quarter. That's right, $10 billion in the last 3 months.

[lovuian]

4. And our pay raises are only 3-4% Ya somebody got screwed!!!

I haven't believed the Inflation rates out of the Fed for along time!!!

[Deja Q]

6. For people who have jobs... decent ones, that is.

All the chain stores treat employees like shit and the only employers worth a damn are droppin' them.

And unless you're good at dealing with strangers, being a consultant reeeeeally doesn't work.

[kurth]

5. But, but... We have an Iraqi Constitution!!!

Fuck the Iraqi Constitution. Fuck Iraq.

Our troops are dying over there for what now?

[cliss]

8. You're right. People don't care about Iraq

as long as this country is going to shit. Also, if the average American realizes we're spending $4.9 BILLION dollars per month there, they should be outraged.

At some point, the money is going to run out. Americans are going to throw the bums out in Washington and demand change.

[brokensymmetry]

7. When will it come down? Not in our lifetime.

Peak Oil is here, or about to be. And every item we buy, sell, or use has a component of energy. We consume 10 calories of crude oil for every 1 calorie of food we eat - and that's just for food production. It doesn't count driving the SUV to Mickey D's.

The next phase will be a recession combined with price (not wage!) inflation. This will segue neatly into a depression.

From there, it will get a great deal worse.

Yes, I'm serious. Yes, I really believe it. Yes, it almost certainly means my early demise.

:evilfrown:

[LSK]

9. taxes for the rich is down

:grr:

[opihimoimoi]

10. It will come down only if we work for it...the Bushies are proof they have

the Louis the 16th mindset...All for ONE and None for ALL the HaveNots

[WCGreen]

11. So much of what is up is based on specualtion caused by

a desire to repeat the Stock Market returns reaped by the few who got in and got out before the rest of us got in and the bubble burst....

[catmother]

12. i jjust did a search on google

and the COLA for social security is 4.1% the highest since 1990. but it's not going to be enough for seniors keeping warm this winter.

i think the average ss benefit is about $750 month so that's about $35.00 a month -- no where near enough. people are going to be freezing to death in their homes.

are we turning into a 3rd world country?

ON EDIT: if a person collecting ss makes over a certain amount they have to pay tax on 85% of the ss. it was 50% and then clinton changed it to 85%. that was one of things the repubs said they would roll back when they got control. i believe that was 1994. i'm still waiting.