This citizen is a veteran of World War 11, age 75, living on a teacher's pension. A painful arrow with financial barbs strikes often. For example, the rest home for his wife with Alzheimers' just increased its monthly charge $150 to $2,340 per month. This is up from $2,040 three years ago.
Inflation is now about 2.5 percent. This means the rest home rate jumped 7 percent in one year, a whopping three times the inflation rate. The only explanation offered is that rates are indexed to medicare, which is government controlled.Property taxes on the home were $680 when bought 20 years ago. Now they are $2,300. Insurance on car and home along with prices for gasoline and postage have vaulted 10 percent or four times inflation rate. Last month's groceries here rose 1.4 percent, which would be a 16 percent annual rate. We Utahns spend 8.2 percent of our household income on taxes, which is the highest rate for a state in this region, the average being 7.1 percent.
As Colonel Custer probably shouted to his 200 men, "If these arrows keep coming, we can't last long."
Paul Lewis Harmon
Salt Lake City