The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report for September’s inflation dramatically understates the reality for anyone who has shopped in a grocery store recently; but it does report that food has increased in price by 13% over the last year, with another 0.7% increase from August to September. The official percentage increase in price over the last year for food and non-food items together was given as 8.2%.
The Social Security Administration announced that the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) will be 8.7% for 2023, supposedly to catch seniors up on their bills. This is the highest COLA since 1981, when Paul Volcker sent interest rates up to the 20% range. It didn’t catch people up then and won’t now. Otherwise, just in the last week, home mortgage rates shot up from 6.66% to 6.92%—that is, for those with excellent credit and who can pay 20% upfront.
Perhaps, if you refrain from eating food and from living in a house, you might survive the war on inflation.
