After several years using the term, it looks like print and broadcast media finally will be forced to shelve “tame” in connection with describing the inflation level as the latest year-over-year gain in the Labor Department’s consumer price index jumps to 2 percent, notes Grumpy Editor.
It also means there is hope for Social Security recipients getting a larger cost of living adjustment (COLA) for 2015. The COLA for this year was a modest 1.5 percent
The consumer price index (CPI) rose a seasonally adjusted 0.3 percent last month from March as higher costs from food to energy pushed prices upward. Meat prices, for example, last month posted the largest jump in 11 years.
That puts the inflation rate at 2 percent through the 12 months ended in April.
But, with most of Washington looking the other way when inflation is mentioned, one still has to be cautious.
Grumpy Editor points to a Nov. 18, 2010 posting in this space that mentioned a headline over an Associated Press story: Consumer prices rise moderately but inflation tame.
Important to observe will be CPI figures from July, August and September. They will be averaged out to determine the COLA for Social Security recipients and others next year.
Next inflation rate update is slated for release on June 17.
In case you missed these…
VA WHISTLEBLOWER WEB SITE CREATED. VAoversight.org is a joint effort of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America and Project On Government Oversight (POGO). It gives whistleblowers the option of providing contact information and features bold-face warnings to avoid using a government computer or phone to submit complaints. “Whistleblowers shouldn’t have to go it alone. We can help whistleblowers hold the VA accountable, and keep the focus on solutions rather than attempts to hunt down those who voiced concerns,” said POGO Executive Director Danielle Brian.
IMAGINE, STRAIGHT NEWS REPORTING. Heritage Foundation, Washington-based conservative think tank, on June 3 debuts Daily Signal a digital news site. It will focus on “true, straight-down-the-middle journalism,” said Geoffrey Lysaught, Heritage’s vice president of strategic communications.
DOES ELEANOR READ NEWSPAPERS, WATCH TV NEWS? During a discussion of Benghazi on “The McLaughlin Group” on PBS, liberal columnist Eleanor Clift declared U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens wasn’t really murdered but rather died from “smoke inhalation in a CIA safe room.” Fellow panelists were quick to set her straight, pointing out Stevens’ death (along with three other Americans) stemmed from a terrorist attack.
FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER SEES CLIMATE CHAOS BY LATE 2015. The world has “500 days to avoid climate chaos,” French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius warned in Washington. “I know that President Obama and John Kerry himself are committed on this subject and I’m sure that with them, with a lot of other friends, we shall be able to reach success in this very important matter,” added Fabius.
GANNETT BUYS TV STATIONS IN LONE STAR STATE. Gannett Co., adding to its growing list of TV stations, agreed to buy six more from London Broadcasting Co. for $215 million. All are in Texas.
NOW, WHICH AUTO WAS THAT? During CBS’s “48 Hours” on Friday, FOUR auto commercials from different manufacturers ran in tandem. This sort of thing, confusing viewers, never happened during earlier network days when only one commercial for an advertiser in its field ran during an hour.
Comments