Sign of the times: I just went to the Dollar Store and guess what...?

[garybeck]

They have a sign when you walk in.... everything in the store is now $1.25.

No word on if they're going to change their name to the "$1.25 store."

[amborin]

1. "inflation outpaces wages" article:

"American families were squeezed last year as their inflation-adjusted weekly wages fell 1.6 percent — the sharpest drop since 1990 — even as consumer prices rose only modestly.

Their spending power sank in the face of falling wages, job losses and higher prices for energy, medical care and education. Slack pay and scarce job creation are slowing consumer spending, hindering the economy's ability to mount a strong recovery.

Overall consumer prices rose 2.7 percent last year, the Labor Department's Consumer Price Index showed Friday. A surge in energy prices last year offset the biggest drop in food costs in nearly a half century.

Core inflation, which excludes the volatile food and energy categories, rose 1.8 percent for the 12 months ending in December. It matched the 1.8 percent rise in core inflation in 2008. Both gains were the smallest since a 1.1 percent rise in 2003.

For December, the CPI rose a modest 0.1 percent. Excluding food and energy, prices were also up just 0.1 percent last month.

Also Friday, the Federal Reserve said industrial production rose 0.6 percent in December as unusually cold weather helped energy utilities offset a small drop in manufacturing. It was the sixth straight monthly gain in production. But the mixed picture shows the economic recovery remains tepid, as consumers and businesses spent too little to spur the production of more factory goods.

The 2.7 percent rise in overall consumer prices for 2009 followed a 0.1 percent increase in 2008, which had been the smallest gain in more than a half century.

Energy costs for the 12 months ending in December shot up 18.2 percent. That was the biggest jump since 1979, after they had dropped 21.3 percent in 2008. The energy surge was led by higher gasoline costs, which rose 53.5 percent after falling 43.1 percent in 2008.

Food prices swung in the opposite direction. After rising....."

snip

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100115/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/us_economy

[grasswire]

2. useful article, thanks (eom)

[dysfunctional press]

3. bait-and-switch! bait-and-switch!

:grr:

[Ernesto]

4. Try a Motel 6

for a $6 room!

[RaleighNCDUer]

5. I suppose you don't remember the old "Five and Dime" stores. nt

[Lance_Boyle]

8. those are still around

everything costs $5.10

[rhett o rick]

9. yeah. nt

[necso]

6. Where I shop,

the 99 cent stores seem to have "captured" some of the stream of low-cost goods that formerly made its way to other "discount" retailers, resulting in less selection on the low-end in these other retailers than formerly (and hurting them).

And many people seem to buy stuff without knowing whether it's good deal or not, relying on the perception that the store is a "discount" one (or that the item is "on sale", etc). So, having established a clientele, it doesn't surprise me that stores would raise prices, figuring that many buyers will continue to purchase things there anyway, even when a ripoff.

Know your prices, if only on a price per pound (etc) basis. For example, the local grocery store (normally a lot higher than down in the city) has (liquid) dish-soap at $1.09 for 25ozs (a good price in my world).

[Liberal_in_LA]

7. 99cent store (the big chain) raised prices by a penny.