“After months of higher fuel and food prices, I would have expected the outcry to happen sooner than the past week. Usually screams of despair about the cost of living come from special-interest groups representing the aged or the poor. But the siren came this time from my 88-year-old father-in-law. When the topic of the economy surfaced during a recent conversation, my wife’s father groused how his retirement checks, which include a company pension and Social Security, do not buy what they did just a few months ago. His sentiment echoed those that have been heard repeatedly over the years from the self-appointed spokesman for the elderly.” (07/08/08)