To the editor:
How does the actual cost of living actually work in relation to the Consumer Price Index (CPI)?
Several things are part of that index such as food from almond butter to yogurt. Why are zucchinis missing?
For shelter costs, 25 items, including mortgage and insurance costs. There are about 100 items for household operations from accounting to wine glass sets. Clothing and footwear are included from baby stuff to youth snow pants and then there is transportation from air travel to used vehicle purchases, including, of course, gas costs.
Then we come to health and personal care products, recreation, education and
reading from 'A' as in admission to hockey games to 'V' as in video on demand. That section also includes alcohol, tobacco, cannabis and vaping products.
All told, there are more than 500 products whose prices are plus, are checked each month for prices and then compiled and the rate inflation set, currently at only about two per cent or so.
The CPI baseline year is 2002 at 100 per cent and now stands at 157 per cent. But I have seen products increase at rates much higher than that. One product, a chocolate bar, went from $1 to $1.69 in less than one year. Shrinkflation for luncheon meat resulted in less product for the same price in a package using more plastic.
Some items are much higher. Electric hot water tanks were $200 in 2009, now they are more than $600. I bring hot water tanks up because your insurance company will force you to replace yours if it is 12 - 15 years old. Cost, installed, about $1,200 -$1,500. If you have a gas one, add about $1,000.
Or your insurance company will make you replace your roof at thousands of dollars. You can also look forward to home insurance increases as high as 50 or 100 per cent. Or you get reduced coverage. Consider property taxes. This year, even if your assessment went down, increases in actual tax ranged from 10 per cent up to 40 per cent.
With all of those increases, not in the CPI, no wonder that so many seniors, people on fixed incomes and others are still working. They have to are like so many other people who have problems paying their monthly bills.
My question is, what is the actual real inflation rate?
Martin Holzbauer,
Thornhill, B.C.
