Category / Financial

by Hoosier Econ

Inflation Alert: Girl Scout Cookies

girl scouts
Inflation is more often associated with the price of a product going up. But inflation is also measured by a product being produced in a smaller size but staying the same on price. Girl Scout cookies fall into both of those categories.

First, lets look at the price of buying Girl Scout cookies. The 2015 price per box according to the Girl Scout website is now $5. In 2009 the price of a box was $3.50 and faced the other side of inflation, downsizing the product. The website popsugar.com noted the downsize:

According to the organization, the cost of flour rose by 30 percent, assorted cooking oils by 40 percent, and cocoa by at least 20 percent. The company felt this was the best method of dealing with increasing raw material prices. Alternatively, Girl Scouts could have used cheaper ingredients, or raised cookie prices from their current price of $3.50 per box.

Second downsizing of the product happened in 2011 as noted by OCWEEKLY blogs:

The Girl Scouts announced earlier this week that both the size and quantity of some remaining flavors will also dwindle slightly–as of now, only the Lemon Chalet Cremes are reducing in size, while the downsized quantities include Thin Mints, Peanut Butter Sandwiches, Shortbread Cookies, DoSiDos and Trefoils (up to four fewer cookies per box).

The reasons behind these changes? A rise in both transportation and baking costs. As a result, the agreed-upon course of action was to “lower the net weight of our cookie boxes slightly rather than ask our customers to pay a higher per-package price during these difficult times,” Girl Scouts spokesperson Michelle Tompkins told CNN.

Girl Scout cookies are shrinking in product serving and have spiked in price by almost 45%.

by Hoosier Econ

Tax Season: Deductions, Credits & More

Tax filing season is underway so here is some basic information for deductions and tax credits. Read more at Forbes as they have a big list for all types of taxpayers.

Standard Deductions. The standard deduction rises to $6,200 for single taxpayers and married taxpayers filing separately. The standard deduction is $12,400 for married couples filing jointly and $9,100 for heads of household.

Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). For 2014, the maximum EITC amount available is $3,304 for taxpayers filing jointly with one child; $5,460 for two children; $6,143 for three or more children and $496 for no children.

Child Tax Credit. For taxable years beginning in 2014, the value used to determine the amount of credit that may be refundable is $3,000 (the credit amount has not changed).

Kiddie Tax. For 2014, the threshold for the kiddie tax – meaning the amount a child can take home without paying any federal income tax – remains at $1,000.

by Hoosier Econ

Inflation Alert: Beer Prices Spike

Back in July I wrote about beer going up on sale and regular prices. Now the complete increase has taken affect. I took this photo today at the same Meijer’s I always shop at:
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Case of beer is now hitting almost $20 warm. For many months the sale price ran $16.50.

Janet Yellen has her foot on the printing presses from most recent money supply data and consumers are spending more. Watch for more price increases over the next few months.

by Hoosier Econ

Rise of the Pork

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Hoosier Ag reporter Cayla McLeland is reporting pork will be on the rise in the near future for the consumer.

Purdue Extension Ag Economist, Dr. Chris Hurt, says expansion could reach seven percent higher by the end of this year.

“Breeding herd has grown by over 212,000 animals over the last year and that’s mostly in the center of the country. The western corn belt breeding herd increased by 105,000 head with Missouri rising by 55,000 animals. Iowa by 40,000 and Minnesota by 10,000 head. The second-largest growth region was down in the southern plains and they’re still recovering, of course, from the long-term drought. Both Texas and Oklahoma have added 20,000 animals to the breeding herd over the last year.”

Consumers faced higher prices a few years back due to farmers thinning herds from the drought and the the PED virus hitting hard last winter.

Read the rest of the article here.

by Hoosier Econ

Indiana City Pays Off Bills and Becomes Debt Free

One city in Indiana is announcing it has no debt. Mishawaka, IN is now claiming it has paid off all its loans and is completely debt free.

Mayor Dave Wood announced today that The City of Mishawaka is debt free! For the first time in over 100 years, Mishawaka begins 2015 with no general obligation bond debt after making final bond payments in late December. The City’s latest bonds, originally issued between 2005-2007 for $12.3 million to finance various projects such as the City’s radio communication system and major park improvements were paid off several years early.

Back in 2012, Mayor Wood announced one of the major initiatives of his administration was the ambitious goal of paying off debt early to becoming debt free as a means of helping to insulate the city against unforeseen circumstances such as economic downturns, emergencies, and state funding source changes. Mayor Wood stated: “The City’s debt free status is not only rare, but it’s an obvious indicator of our ongoing, strong commitment to fiscal responsibility. This was only possible based on our ability to work together as a team. Clearly, this wouldn’t have been possible without the work of our Department Heads and the Common Council.”

You can read the rest here.

by Hoosier Econ

Goldfish Surgery Now $500

Via CBCNEWS –

According to BBC News, a man from Norfolk, England recently paid £300 (about $540 Cdn) to have his sick goldfish treated a local veterinarian’s office.

Vet Faye Bethell of Toll Barn Veterinary Centre in North Walsham, England, examined the fish when it was brought it in and determined that constipation was the problem.

After consulting with the pet’s owner to be sure he wanted to shell out for the procedure, Bethell performed an hour-long surgery on the fish to remove “a lump blocking its bottom” with the help of two veterinary nurses.

by Hoosier Econ

Indianapolis Star Newspaper Circulation is Tanking

The Indianapolis Star newspaper is struggling with circulation. The numbers I found were up to date as best I could research. Newspapers overall are struggling and losing revenue. I blogged about this before here from the revenue side. I also wrote about the insanity in rationale their writers use in correlating things.

My first stop in finding circulation numbers for the Star was its owners financial report for 2013. Gannett owns the paper. Here is what they reported for the Star’s circulation:

Average 2013 Circulation – Print and Digital Replica and Non-Replica

Morning
145,930

Sunday
280,428

Now compare this number with two other sources with the first one being from 2005:
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My second source comes from Wikipedia in 2008.

Wikipedia had a 2008 source that listed the Star’s circulation standing at 335,303 Daily and 366,349 Sunday. The only problem with this source cited, the link is now defunct.

Even with these numbers being all over the place from 2005 and 2008, it is still safe to draw a firm conclusion from the company’s own CPA certified financial report the Star’s circulation has dwindled substantially.

by Hoosier Econ

How Much Does Crime Cost Retailers?

shoplifting

Crime against retailers is a high cost that gets absorbed either through higher prices for the consumer or loss of profit for the retailer. Not much is talked about this cost and some recent numbers shed some light on the issue. The National Retail Federation did a study in the spring of 2014 and here is what they found:

A decade has passed since NRF first surveyed its community of loss prevention and security executives about the impact organized retail crime has on their company, and with the release of the 2014 survey, it’s evident that the $30 billion a year problem still threatens retailers of all sizes throughout the country. According to the National Retail Federation’s 10th annual Organized Retail Crime Survey, which polled 76 senior retail loss prevention executives, eight in 10 (88.2%) retailers report that they have been a victim of ORC in the past year, down slightly from 93.5 percent last year.


New data also rolled in on states that helped retailers prosecute criminals:

According to the survey, three in 10 (30.6%) of those polled said they have noticed a reduction in ORC activity in states where laws are present. Additionally, of those retailers who have a presence in states with existing ORC laws, more than half (52.1%) noticed a positive impact on their ability to prosecute ORC offenders more effectively; nine in 10 (88.5%) said they have noticed an increase in support from law enforcement agencies when actively investigating organized retail crime cases. Specifically, 51.9 percent said they’ve noticed an increase in support from local/county law enforcement, 26.9 percent said state law enforcement and 9.6 percent said federal law enforcement. In states without ORC laws and where retailers have a presence, six in 10 (63.5%) say they haven’t noticed any changes in support from law enforcement.

You can read the rest of the report here.

by Hoosier Econ

New Ponzi Scheme: Invest in Government

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Government wants you to invest in them. President Obama talked of a new investment fund in the past and now, without consent of Congress, has started it up through the Treasury Department. Here is more from the Wall Street Journal:

A form of Roth Individual Retirement Account that allows people to save after-tax dollars and watch them grow tax-free until retirement, the new myRA offers a single investment option. It’s a private version of the G Fund that is available to federal workers and has lately been delivering annual returns of about 2% on its portfolio of Treasury securities.

Government is guaranteeing no fees to the investor. That is political code for the taxpayer will subsidize it.

Treasury is funding the program out of the budget for its Bureau of the Fiscal Service. The assertion here is that existing law allows this part of the Treasury to hire financial agents as part of its mission to efficiently finance the federal government.
Taxpayers are covering the costs, though their elected representatives in Congress never voted to create the program. So far Treasury also hasn’t told us the fees it is paying Comerica.