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Regulars
High Cost of LivingPrices are rising in just about every area that we can imagine. The rise in gasoline prices is being reflected in almost all those commodities that we use. It is bad enough to pull up to the pump and see that the price has been rising on an almost daily basis, with the prospects gloomy for the future. That strains the family budget to begin with, but the prices of the products we purchase are elevated by the rise in the cost of having to transport these goods. The only control we can exert is to be diligent in our purchasing. By buying only what we really need and waiting for sales or extraordinary prices will help contain the price spiral. The only time to “stock up” is when the prices are really discounted. The power is in the use of our wallet. We help to establish prices by what we will pay for an item. If we allow higher prices by purchasing at a higher price, keeping demand at the same level as it was when the product was priced less, we’ve allowed the new higher price to become the established price. By rejecting a price level or fastidiously purchasing the minimum amount needed, we are establishing that the elevated price is not acceptable and will exert downward pressure on pricing. Don’t allow yourself to be taken advantage of without doing your part to control the upward pricing that diminishes your purchasing power. The increase in soft drinks is most dramatic. Drinks that were routinely sale priced at around $2.50 or less per 12-pack are now approaching double that amount in their everyday shelf pricing. Fortunately, that is an item that can be most flexible in substitution. Yes, nobody I know recommends Rum and Pepsi or Bourbon and Sam’s Cola, but on the whole, there are alternatives out there that will more than suffice in most applications. There always will be holiday promotions for soft drinks, so buying cautiously and waiting for the right promotion to replace your stash will help make you a dividend. Good Noise A New Orleans judge recently acquitted a Bourbon Street bar owner charged with playing his club’s music too loudly. We have written about our local downtown music venues being under scrutiny for volume emitted from their activities here in Lake Charles. The New Orleans case involved the use of external speakers to lure customers, a practice more than common in the French Quarter. The Lake Charles complaints were filed by residents living above and around our downtown nightspots. It remains to be seen if we can promote a lively music scene here or not. We shall follow this with interest. Two Speeding Tickets an Hour? The powers that be in Welsh now have added their police detectives to the Speed Trap enforcement that they refer to as TED (Traffic Enforcement Detail) on Interstate 10. This comes on top of the citizenry of that community getting together for a prayer meeting recently in response to the recent murderous crimes committed there. Apparently, the local folks are more concerned with taking care of their safety rather than getting one good speeding ticket an hour, as Police Chief Chaisson recently stated. It was reassuring, I’m certain, that Assistant Police Chief DeLouche remarked that most officers are writing two tickets an hour. Forgive me but I have a hard time dealing with “Protect and Serve” becoming secondary to generating revenue. There is no shopping survey for this issue. I am out of town and don’t think that the prices in Picayune and Hattiesburg, Mississippi are of much benefit to Lake Charles readers. 
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