Inflation blues 🌭

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Inflation blues 🌭

Often in the summer time I like to have hot dogs to eat. I usually get the super large package as I like to avoid trash and it saves money. But I swear with inflation the price has doubled since last year. Coffee prices are way up. I put thirty dollars of gas in my truck with hope that it will make it to April without needing gas. My truck is at 99,400 miles but with gas prices I’m starting to think it will be a while before it reaches six digits.

I try to keep my budget in check but with inflation these days it’s just difficult. I might have the big shots job with the corner office and it’s been years since I’ve eaten out besides an ice cream cone on vacation but I tell you each day it gets harder and harder to make ends meet. Markets are down and even safer investments like certificates of deposits and corporate bonds are loosing money with the high rate of inflation. I invest a lot each paycheck both for retirement and eventually owning my own land but every time I look things just get more expensive. At least it’s mild enough that at this point I won’t need much heat.

Statistically, I may be a lot better off than a lot of Americans but I really don’t feel that way with prices going up and goals seeming so far off when you look at land prices even in remote country for what many people would consider to be pretty run-down buildings and land. True, I might eventually be in the place where I can pay cash for it and no rent besides taxes but it still seems impossibly far off.

I don’t want fancy cars or vacations, or a big suburban house – just acerage where I can shoot my guns, have fires and burn whatever I want – have pigs and goats and livestock. Far away from the cities and the liberals so they can’t be telling me what I do with my land, even though I plan to be a damn good stewart of the land even if that means I don’t tickle their you know what.

Why they began dyeing the Chicago River green : NPR

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St. Patrick’s Day: Why they began dyeing the Chicago River green : NPR

As the city grew in size, efforts to clean the river increased, including the construction of waste treatment plants and even a canal that permanently reversed the flow of the river, bringing clean water from Lake Michigan into the mouth of the river.

When Richard J. Daley took office as the mayor of Chicago in 1955 he was determined to develop the riverfront and tasked city workers with finding where the sewage was coming from. They used the green dye to help identify the source of the waste.

Live Updates – The New York Times

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Fed Raises Interest Rates and Projects Lingering Inflation: Live Updates – The New York Times

The Fed’s quarterly economic projections, released alongside the rate decision, showed that officials expected inflation to hover around 4.3 percent at the end of 2022. While that is less than 6.1 percent increase in the 12 months through January, it is well above the Fed’s goal of 2 percent.

Mr. Powell on Wednesday noted that inflation is “well above” the Fed’s target and that supply chain disruptions have been larger and longer lasting than expected. Higher energy prices are further elevating inflation just as price increases broaden beyond areas directly impacted by the pandemic, seeping into rent and other service prices.

“High inflation takes a toll on everyone, but really, especially, on people who use most of their income to buy essentials like food, housing, and transportation,” Mr. Powell said.

The Fed aims for both price stability and maximum employment, and central bank officials have indicated that the labor market is meeting that latter goal, though they hope more workers will return as fears of catching the coronavirus ease and as child-care issues tied to school shutdowns and other virus mitigation measures fade.