There might be a problem brewing in the election that the politicians are missing. It is the real cost of living. The problem is that the parties are listening to only one set of experts. These are the economists, the bankers, and the gnomes of the department of finance. Not one of these people can match the insights of one housewife going through the current week’s grocery store advertisements.
I feel that my wife is a far better barometer than any central bank. And I will back her over finance minister Bill Morneau any day.
That was why I checked with her this past week when I heard that the U.S. federal reserve actually dropped the American interest rate. This is normally done to stimulate the country’s economy. I thought at first it indicated that the Fed was following orders from that nincompoop in the White House who wanted to keep a hot U.S. growth rate into next year’s election.
The wife has her own style in these calculations and one learns to shut up and not disturb despite considerable mumbling and the occasional quite unladylike expletives. Through it all, she is compiling lists for various stores and margin notes for stores that will price-match other store’s bargains.
She even broke her own rule at one point this week and told me the price for my favourite steaks. It seems I could only get hamburger and bone-in chicken breasts to barbeque this weekend.
But that is only half the problem that some of our favourite politicians are facing. The facts are that grocery prices are only heading in one direction: up. For people born in the mid 20th century, three dollars for a loaf of bread today, is a serious shock. And why are we paying over three dollars for a litre box of milk?
The point is that seniors today are carrying the brunt of inflation. They only have the government standing between them and the impact of constant inflationary pressures. Nobody should have to wait for the inflationary pressures to push them into a position where the government has to cough up more help.
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Copyright 2019 © Peter Lowry
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