The consumer-price index, or cost of living, was unchanged last month according to the Labor Department. That was mostly due to lower gasoline prices. Economists expected a 0.1% increase. The rate of inflation over the past 12 months slowed 1.6% in June from 1.9% in May and it is down from five-year high of 2.7% five months ago.
Social Security’s combined trust funds will run dry in 2034, while Medicare’s hospital insurance fund will be exhausted in 2029, according to the trustees who oversee the benefit programs in their annual report. Last year, they projected Medicare’s trust fund for hospital insurance would be exhausted in 2028 as well as reserves for the fund that pays disability benefits. Combined with the fund that pays benefits to retirees, all Social Security reserves would be exhausted by 2034. Retirees would not see their benefits disappear. At that point, the program would have enough tax revenue coming in to pay about three-quarters of benefits.
Serving the West Side first, I am Bill Roller of BR Capital for 1360 KUIK.
