Originally Posted by
Fly FDX
There has been some use of the notion of low inflation and CPI to justify the 3% pay raise number. I would suggest that times are changing and that the CPI is a very manipulated formula that helps hide the real effects of quantitative easing. A sampling of the headlines tell a different story...
-Parking ticket fees could rise (Alameda)
-Valley truckers hit hard by rising diesel prices (California)
-Overseas demand, unrest could drive up gasoline prices in United States
-World Bank: Food prices at "dangerous levels"
-Companies Warn That Higher Prices Are Looming
-Cotton may force retail prices to rise
-Clothing Prices Set To Rise This Spring
-Produce prices on the rise in Idaho
-High Sugar Prices Hit Bakeries, Confectioners
-Fed's Lacker: Food, Energy Price Rise Definitely A Concern
-Crop Prices Push Up Farmland Value
-Milk production and milk prices expected to be higher in 2011
-Tomato prices soar after cold weather kill-off
-Corn prices increasing, what'll it mean for grocery costs?
-Global wheat prices could soar as China struggles with drought
I would suggest if you are using "inflation numbers" in your decision making process; It may be prudent to look at real numbers, like what you're paying at the pump or in the grocery stores, to see if the 3% is really keeping up.
Let's look at some numbers that are a little more relative to people in our income bracket instead of per capita mean.
My truck averages 13 mpg...about 925 gallons a year for 12,000 miles. If gas goes up $1 I'm out an extra $925 a year because of "inflation." Now if my family made U.S. median family income (all races) of approx $50,000, my 3% raise would leave me a whopping $575 after I paid my fuel bill. Not much left after taxes.
I, fortunately, do a little better. My wide body F/O 3% will be about $4500, give of take a few hundred. Even after taxes take their bite, I will be doing a lot better than the "median family."
Not saying I don't want a larger raise and more realistic per diem, but to say 3% doesn't keep up with inflation is not entirely true. It's easy to manipulate data to support your point of view.