Must Read IS IT TRUE For December 4, 2014

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IS IT TRUE the media and the “official” cost of living increases defined by the government since 2007 have been low enough to justify giving people on Social Security increases below 2% per year?…this “official” absence of inflation has also been used as propaganda to placate the reality of slowly decreasing wages for the middle class?…the reality on the wage side is that the average American family has seen their earnings decline from about $55,000 per year to $51,000 per year in real dollars during that time period?…it is time to question the accuracy of the algorithm used by the government to use facts to lie to us?…the exclusion of many of the things we buy for day to day living from official COLA data paints a false picture of inflation in the United States?…the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics just released some real data that seems to blow the “official” inflation numbers out of the water when it comes to how middle class America lives?

IS IT TRUE since 2007 home internet services have increased by an average of 81.3%?… During that same time period cell phone bills have increased by 49.1%?…health insurance in spite of and including the changes for the ACA (Obamacare) have increased by 42.1%?…rents have increased by 26% while owning a home has decreased over the same period by 11.5%?…that can only happen when owning a home is either undesirable or when banks are not lending for homes?…healthcare is up by 24.2% while the cost of education has risen by 22.9%?…the two things that seem to reflect the “official” inflation rates are eating at home (+12%) and owning a pet (+10.5%)?… Those numbers are so close one would have to suspect that lots of people could be eating dog food at home, because communications, entertainment, and healthcare consumed all of our money?…furniture, clothing, eating out, and alcohol all saw price decreases without consideration for quality?…we should all be relieved to learn that the cost of a land line for phone calls did decrease in that period by 30.7%, as land lines began their exit from our day to day lives?…it is a testament to the forces of free markets to see the prices of what we choose to buy increase while the things we seldom purchase decrease?…it is a slap in the face of reality for our government to base its “official” inflation numbers on things we do not buy while ignoring the things we need?…we are not surprised by this at all?…this mirrors the obsolete way unemployment rates are calculated which tell us unemployment is under control while the participation rate has fallen to all time lows?…it is no wonder people no longer believe what comes out of Washington?

IS IT TRUE that Indiana University decided to break from tradition and establish a satellite branch of their university, a tradition or unwritten policy that IU would not go where other universities are established, i.e. University of Southern Indiana and the University of Evansville?

IS IT TRUE that we are excited and trilled to know our region is going to have a higher education facility dedicated in training new medical doctors and nurses?

IS IT TRUE that the taxpayers of our City will be shelling out about $57 million dollars for this downtown project without any ownership in the facility? … we hope that in someway the downtown Medical School will help  Evansville to become a booming metropolis like Indianapolis? ….Indianapolis’ downtown was on life-support until the Baltimore Colts decided to re-locate to Indy and we do not expect anytime soon to be landing a major sports franchise?

IS IT TRUE that our moles indicate that someone other than the city will own the newly built $90 million dollar I U Medical School facility and lease back to Indiana University?

IS IT TRUE that the $57 million that the local taxpayers are shelling out on this project does not include the infrastructure necessary to support the facility such as new sewers and other utility costs will exceed an additional $10 million dollars?

IS IT TRUE WHEN THE PEOPLE FEAR THE GOVERNMENT THERE IS TYRANNY? …WHEN THE GOVERNMENT FEARS THE PEOPLE THERE IS LIBERTY?

IS IT TRUE  we would appreciate if you would take time and vote on our “READERS POLL”?

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76 COMMENTS

  1. Is it true that todays IIT supports what is wrong with our “consumer base” economy?
    Is it true that that wages are moving down, while the products price is spiraling upwards?
    Is it true then that the “increase” is going to CEO’s and Wall Street which demands 10% return on it’s stocks?
    Could it be true with record inflated Dow Jones numbers, the bubble will burst similar to what happen in 1929?

    • Yep. That’s what happens with voodoo trickle down Laffer reaganomics. Hopefully this crash they have the decency to eat a bullet like a lot of them did in 1929 instead of getting a big fat bailout from the Republicans.

      • Utter confusion here Toad!

        Which is it, trickle down has been so soundly rebuked that it’s tenets have been abandoned or it is a fact of capitalism that can only be reversed by conversion to a socialists utopia?

      • So you are hoping that some people kill themselves by using a firearm. Interesting.

      • As a middle class person, my ROI on my “work to my employer” needs to be at minimum cover cost of inflation! I do not want it to drop that negative 7% what the ITT said, so those non producing stock holders can have there 10% gain!

  2. You ought to at least mention they are using the exact same measuring sticks as they were before 2008…. I’m sure guys like AL Sharpie think the omnipotent oppressive boogeyman Obama changed it in secret to make himself look good. It’s hypocritical to celebrate the supposed great numbers by these same metrics in say 2005 like your Limbaugh lemming readers often do.

      • if not for the affordable health care act it would have been even more of a RATE increase. The rate of increase has slowed down unless you are on medicate.

        You can’t blame Obama for the rise in health care costs. That’s been going on for more than 40 years and the Democrats have been trying to stop the rising health care cost for that long only to be blocked by the GOP. After 40 years of fighting the GOP the Dems finally got the Affordable Health Care Act passed and the GOP has been doing everything in their power to get the cost of health care back on the rise ever since.

        Maybe you only had cheap Pretend health care coverage that didn’t cover squat and now you have at least some better coveage thus the small increase.

        We buy health care insurance for a reason. Paying an additional 200 or 300 dollars per year is nothing to sneeze at but the alternative of poor health care insurance coverage can be lethal and bankrupt you. Better to play a little more for good coverage that actually pays for your hospital and doctors bills than to pay less and not really have any real coverage. When you have sub par health care insurance you won’t always know it until it’s too late and you find out that your cut rate insurance won’t cover the hospital bills. Then it’s too late. I’d say you are lucky to have better health care insurance that actually will cover your costs and you need to thank Obama and the Dems for fixing you up. 🙂

        • My health care costs have went from $2000 last year to $8000 this year. My insurance coverage decreased because apparently I had to good a plan. The company now complies with the ACA but the deductible is now higher with more things not covered. There seems to be no limit on the deductible insurance companies can leave you with. Poor coverage for every one is not a good deal for most of the middle class.

        • ” if not for the affordable health care act it would have been even more of a RATE increase. The rate of increase has slowed down unless you are on medicate. ”

          Did this hollow supposition come from a source of empirical data ? Linky please.

        • @ Moveon
          I pulled my old policy out just for you,,,,it was a quality policy with Anthem through Indiana Comprehensive Health Insurance Association. This WAS insurance available to Indiana residents with pre-existing conditions,,,,,,when these policy’s were cancelled thanks to ACA my premium was $1000 per month with a $2500 deductible. The rate increases to that point were 5% in 2006, 4% in 2007, 0% in 2008, 2% in 2009, 10% in 2010 and 7.4% in 2011.

          I thought Alleluiah when they were going to due away with pre-existing penalties but also knew that “if it sounds too good to be true it usually is”.

          By next year my rates will be right back where they were with a higher deductible,,,,,IT’S A CON.

      • Washington Post? Talk about cherry picking. You might just as well got that from Faux Noise. I’m sorry but I put a lot more weight on what’s said by true journalist than some political run propaganda machine like the Washington Post.

        See if you can find that data on the Washington Times or any other moderate news outlet.

        You could also have quoted Rush Limbaugh or Sarah Palin and Glen Beck and would be just as meaningless as the Washington Post story.

        Health care costs increases are slowing down not going up. The rate of increase is slowing down. No doubt about it. When you have competition is brings the prices down.

    • “health insurance in spite of and including the changes for the ACA (Obamacare) have increased by 42.1%?”

      The above number came straight from the BLS for a 7 year period. The argument made in some circles including Kaiser that I am very familiar with is that without ACA the number would have been higher than 42.1%. That may be true, but it can never be verified because the ACA altered the market. The ACA effects really only came into being last year so the 42.1% number is only comprised of 1/7 of ACA influence.

      In theory, I believe that some form of ACA can really achieve the goals of universal coverage and real decreased costs. In its present form it did neither. It is time to make some real alterations. We should start by allowing insurance to be sold across state lines and prescriptions to be filled online by Canadian, Mexican, and European pharmacies. Both of those actions will drive down the price without compromising quality.

      So yes, maybe the rates of increase have declined but the prices are still advancing at rate that exceed wage increases. Before ACA we had an unsustainable system that failed to cover 45 million people. After ACA we have an unsustainable system that fails to cover 38 Million people. It has been a baby step forward and deflected the focus from the economy at a time that the biggest problem was economic. Senator Charles Schumer seems to have seen the light. Let’s hope some others do too.

      • Schumer seems to have seen an election coming up in 2016 that he’d like to win. He’s won every one of his senate races handily but is easily frightened, that is where the wave in his hair came from. He voted for the ACA in 2009 and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act in 2010 to amend it. He is the quintessential political beast. The far right descended on the ACA and have tried to sabotage it at every opportunity. Their options thus far have been limited but that has not silenced the screaming. I agree we need a single payer system to cover all legal residents of the US.

        • Schumer is truly a political animal. He went straight from Harvard Law to the New York State legislature. He has never held an honest job, made a payroll, or missed a public paycheck. That aside, the sucker has a brilliant mind. It is too bad his clarity of 2014 was not engaged in 2009. What is amazing is that he is one of the few supporters of ACA who has 20/20 hindsight. Most of the rest are still blind. Imagine how the ACA could have been designed if they had worked on the economy first.

          Reagan and Clinton presided over prosperity because they were pragmatists who were willing to compromise to get things done. They were both also realists. The dreamers up there now may dream nice dreams, but dreamers can’t govern effectively. I watched the President’s press conference with the CEOs Tuesday. He says all of the right words. I am skeptical about his honesty but I am once again sucked into having hope. The next two years can be great if both sides work together. It can also be a train wreck if they don’t. Compromise will have to start from the top.

          • The president’s only chance to pass something like the ACA was when he did it. Then it only barely made it. Can’t fault him for that, it was long overdue, many tried before him.

            The economy has rebounded, picked statistics can paint whatever picture the writer wants to show. It is much better than when Obama took office.
            ~~~
            And … T. Jeff isn’t too happy about it but … congratulations on your most enduring award to date. This one: http://s26.postimg.org/bz99nz37d/RMo.jpg

            • That’s a funny picture. A smile next to those serious stone faces is out of place.

              The economy has rebounded for some people and yes things are better now than they were in 2009 and seem poised to continue the improvements. For those who have dropped out, and there are millions of them, who knows how they are doing. I have a friend or two who have learned how to live off the grid and they wouldn’t go back into the work force even for anything less than $100k. With a social safety net of $42k a year firmly in place and a cash economy that one can easily make another $30k from, there are lots of people who will never “officially” work again. That is a shame, since they will be paying no taxes either. There are still lots of underemployed people around too. Life in the USA has changed very much since 911. It may be better today than it was in 2009 but I think any year between 1984 and 2001 was better than it is now unless you happen to write code for Google or FB.

          • Spot on Joe. However, we have Obama taking what I believe to be unconstitutional executive action while at the same time fanning flames of racial protests. Not optimistic for the next 2 years as Obama’s lip service to private sector CEOs belies his proven radical agenda and racial division for political gain.

      • Actually a lot of the sub par insurance policies that people were paying for and that would not really cover their hospital bills is no longer offered so the coverage is much better. You need to consider that when you talk about the costs.

        It’s like going out and buying a porch vs a VW. You get a lot more power and luxury in the porch and yes it ‘s going to cost more. But it wont’ break down and leave you stranded like a VW might. I could have used Studebaker instead of VW or Ford Pinto. But you get the picture.

        One needs to look at the entire picture not just the costs. You get what you pay for and if you pay a little and don’t get much in return then you are really just wasting your money. Pay a bit more and get some real coverage that actually pays the hospital bills when you need it.

        • And damn the laws of micro and macro economics right Toad? Supply and demand, a product that fills a niche and market corrections are facts. Attempt to force a particular product on the masses without considering static and dynamic forces and it will crash as will the ACA unless portions are rebuked and/or severely rewritten. Another socialist pipedream that will have the shortest life from inception to failure that has ever been foisted on the masses.

        • Is that a front porch or back porch? I used to have a VW with a Porsche engine in it and it never left me stranded.

  4. The IU facility illogically sited in Old Downtown, that is being foisted upon the taxpayer’s backs,- to the tune of around $67 million, –and without receiving any equity interest in the facility for the bonded (borrowed)money, can expect to be forever referred to by the Locals as,— “The Ben Dover Campus”

    • Yes, I attended Prep school with Mr. Dover.

      Fine chap, had a propensity to lean forward and flex at the waist.

      A strange tic, indeed.

      Happy that an august institution like IU Med School can be named for my dear old colleague Benjamin.

      All hail good fellow well met, Ben Dover !

  5. Highly recommend “The Death of Money” , a new nonfiction book by James Rickards. I got it because I realize my deficiency in money matters knowledge . Thought I would try to slog through boring statistics and analyses.
    But this book reads like a taught spy thriller. The most cited examples, case histories, charts, etc. show that central planning ,by whatever means, just does not work. Once the planners pick a market indicator they want to improve (say,inflation,deflation,employment,or what have you) then the indicator no longer becomes an indicator but a temporary Holy Grail.

    The false, silly economic numbers from government are not some evil plan. It’s just that the idiots in charge really believe their own advisers and wonks who in turn want to please their employers. That feedback loop has already been chronicled in The Emperor’s New Clothes.

    Any market is just that. It is what it is. When an artificial big finger is laid on the scale, no one knows the ultimate consequence.

  6. It works out that those with the least disposable income are really hurt by the so-called “low inflation rate”, because of the high inflation rate of necessities, like food. I couldn’t get by just on my Social Security and I feel sorry for anybody who has to.

  7. The Sky is Falling, The Sky is Falling, The Sky is Falling !!!!!!

    Oh, it’s just rain….

    • Tuesdays cause rain. Or Armstrongerers version, It’s wet on Tuesdays. I have no point, just seemed like a good place to interject that.

      • Well IE: We’ve gotten a kick out of you and Armstrongre’s. Going at each other there in Evansville Indiana, one of the most human waste polluted during combined sewer overflows regions in the entire north western hemisphere.
        And Being one of the most over cost utility revenues, as speculated and recorded in every region of the whole the United States, of America. That’s all some really funny stuff. Defensible by any current means,”not so much.”
        Sooner you realize You Two really want the same things, the less contest there might be forward. “Tuesdays do not cause rain. Never have, never will. ”
        Thermodynamic (Cosmic law) planetary elemental reactive does. So.
        The sooner those localized idiots that continue to fend unwarranted stupidity against working science realize that the “frigging” better science is found in its purpose..
        Will in fact due for your citizens create the best case, and that will prevail. That’s for you, and your chosen advisory of the present day. Best case scenario…. ” But wait! We’ve just begun.” Its a short list, BTW.

        • Oh V, you need some climate change. Get out of the lab for some freash air. Arms and I are good. Plan yourself some V time, just watch out for Tuesdays, likely to be wet.

          • You sir, and I’ll use that terminology with all respect, have no ideation of what exactly “V time” is. So, please out of common courtesy please don’t go there. Next Tuesday we very well “might” make “dry”, as a baked rock, as well.
            Ask the @Bandana for the explanation, that’ll be about as close as that gets. There, In Evansville, Indiana. USA.

        • V, don’t kid yourself about IE and myself wanting the same things! I drive a old 20 year old truck and just want the thing stay running. IE has been sighted around town in his Rolls Royce, rolling his window down and asking everyone if they have any Grey Poupon!

      • IE, was it your turn not to give a “flying fig” about ones reputation, as mind was yesterday?

        • Yeah, I don’t know if eithrr of us can track of that reputation thing for long. Your a great American Arms.

        • The Biblical theoretical with the more than the averaged numbers usually flip that completely when those absolute “flying figs” are really scored”. Especially, if you ferment them first. (Historical) ask your Friend…….
          From above, the normally sported range of human understanding. Quit, gees, we’ve heard you man. You as well IE. Its understandable coming from that region and its bents of the perceived base powers. Gees those that continue to be controlling you both.
          Questions? Why is that? And why do smart people still allow it?

        • Answer, because thought does exist outside the V-box. (sorry, little mismatch on the snark back synchronization button.) 🙂

  8. “IS IT TRUE that our moles indicate that someone other than the city will own the newly built $90 million dollar I U Medical School facility and lease back to Indiana University?” (CCO)

    Does this $90. million figure INCLUDE the $57. million the taxpayers will be shackled with, or is it in ADDITION to the $57. million?

    • Will it be a group of political connected that will parlay this into their eternal gravy train. And if the site was the Promanade Martin/ Hirsh would have provided the money & ownership? Lots of cloudy drivel from the political machine.

  9. ‘IS IT TRUE that we are excited and trilled to know our region is going to have a higher education facility dedicated in training new medical doctors and nurses?’

    I don’t know if ‘we’ are trilled or not. I’m not. I suspect ‘we’ are trilled. The trilling got to me before the alarm clock did this morning. It is not a pretty tune. I see little benefit to the citizens of Evansville and plenty of cash outlay, much of which has not been disclosed yet. Anyone who believes anything coming out of the Winnecke administration has been in a deep slumber. While we sleep, waiting on the wakening trill, some of those circus clowns are quietly getting rich.

    • About 45 years ago, as a student at “Evansville College” I signed petitions asking IU to consider a law school and a medical school for Evansville. I’ve wanted this city to have those facilities for a very long time, and when the possibility of a Med School came along I was “trilled and thrilled.”. Unfortunately, the greedy graspers of this Administration managed to botch the plans so that a project that could be exemplary for successful community planning, and turned it into something that will demonstrate greed, corruption, and cronyism.
      The Poop” fought like the dickens” for the very most expensive and inconvenient option offered. Sites on our “Medical Mile” with public-private partnering made the most sense, but that option would not enhance the value of Mayor McClintock’s downtown apartment.

      • Well said. I hope IU revisits their siting plans and bypasses the greedy ineptitude of the local blazers. There is simply no reason to shoehorn a medical school in down where the Poop seems to think it should be. Maybe those tens of millions of dollars of public money we have been volunteered to raise up off of are the reason. As you mentioned, there are demonstrably better sites available around here.

      • LKB it al:

        I too like most of you was quite surprised of the placing of the IU medical school in downtown Evansville. Since the decision was made, I have spoke to several doctors and medical educators about this, and guess what: they and their students were in favor of the downtown location instead of the other sites interested in the project. U of E had been mentioned as a possible site, yet one must remember that it is not a public institution, is land locked at best and expressed no interest in the facility other than offering their support.

        The above has nothing to do with the funding for the school. As I have stated in the past, It was IU’s decision, not yours.

        • ‘I have spoke to several doctors and medical educators about this, … ‘.
          Ho ho ho, sure you have. I’ll bet your phone rings outcha pocket with doctors and medical educators wanting to know what you think.

          • Awarded: Weighted, and balanced, Two additional Universal Thermodynamic Credits, (UTC’s) fair barter, for fare trade.
            When steamed fairly, the fare is commonly exemplary, if cleaved properly. We’d say the comment above has met specifications in all those observed ranges. 😉

          • V,
            Either an early M&M (bleached green, very rare) or a voucher for the Tusk & Anemone. It could be a scorecard kept by Homo Erectus for … scores, or a pilot example of a Gillettus Smoothial used in the service of same. The holes in some of them are likely for turning it into a cheap gift pendant by Homo Erectus when he fell out of favor with Homo Receptus.

          • Respecting theoretical property, here. and that as speculation to those”origins”. Must say. your last speculation is most likely the systematic for the cognitive solution to that clammy experience ole Erectus sensed from Receptus. Be that as it may, never forget the additional aspects tossed to the equation by the over ripe fruits of the day. ” Due cause for the scribbling” could turn out to be a visual deficiency, or lack of motor skills per the moment, as applied socially.

            There you may return the value back, and forward, in time, Differentiations in apparel needed in time by historical era. (Fur, vs Tan Blazers.)

            Conclusion: It was the fruition brought forth by feeding times as applied to opportunities given, and the event plazas, or horizons presented by those said era’s.

            fru·i·tion
            fro͞oˈiSH(ə)n/
            noun
            r/.1. the point at which a plan or project is realized.
            “the plans have come to fruition sooner than expected”
            the realization of a plan or project.
            “new methods will come with the fruition of that research”
            synonyms: fulfillment, realization, actualization, materialization, achievement, attainment, accomplishment, resolution; More
            r/.2. literary
            the state or action of producing fruit. 😉

            http://www.livescience.com/48958-human-origins-alcohol-consumption.html

        • There were two doctors’ groups. The larger wanted it on the east side, but the one Michael Drake spoke for wanted it downtown, where the Drakes live. I never heard anyone seriously speak of siting the school at U of E, but I think the Roberts Park/Evansville State Hospital grounds would have been a viable site, but it was not considered. I’m sure the doctors and educators you “have spoke” with were really impressed with your grammar and insight in the matter.
          Are you sure it wasn’t my decision? I’m really disappointed to find that out, but thanks for telling me, so I can quit thinking about it.

          • LKB

            Okay, 🙂 spoken with …

            When the editor can’t get it right, you pick on me … :))

      • EKB: ” Unfortunately, the greedy graspers of this Administration managed to botch the plans so that a project that could be exemplary for successful community planning, and turned it into something that will demonstrate greed, corruption, and cronyism.”

        You’ll still gave a major infrastructure problems with less than useful transportation logistics, needless to say the EPA’s CSO mandate will remain,as well as, have additional system loading. (Predictable)

        So, places that have that now will likely have more “trilling” from the cockroaches blown out of the pipes every time those who don’t see the combined sewer upgrades, continue to see the zombie infrastructures CSO. ( Historical)
        Agreed, the missed opportunity to address that communities problems O’ Plenty, are likely pretty much tossed out with the Downtown campus siting.

        • Need edit, You’ll still [gave] “have” a major infrastructure. sorry, missed the key.

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