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"Gas Prices" is issue #4 in the free "GOOD Sheets" series from GOOD and Starbucks. Each issue focuses on one topic, and unfolds from a square about the size of a CD case into a large graphic that explores the topic in stats, pics, and captions.

This week's topic is the price of gas, while last week's was immigration. Tomorrow a new one hits the stores on "The State of America's Schools."

"Getting Gas" [GOOD]

When the drug program began in 2006, Humana's premiums were among the cheapest. Humana, Mr. Noland said, has provided the most cumulative value for its drug-plan members, saving them an average of $4,900 on drug costs during that time and that the premiums are still in line with rivals.

The drug plans are heavily subsidized by the federal government and are offered through private insurance companies. Insurers will begin advertising their plans Oct. 1, and the six-week enrollment period starts in mid-November.

It's unclear how the price increases will affect the market. Medicare beneficiaries tend to select a plan and stay with it, and the market is highly concentrated.

"Medicare Drug Premium on Rise" [Wall Street Journal]
(Photo: Getty)

From Sara Lee Corp.'s new ad campaign with The Walt Disney Co.'s "High School Musical 3: Senior Year" to Kraft's new pizza commercials preaching "DiGiornonomics," consumers should expect to be blitzed by food advertisements in the next year.

Many major food makers are promising boosts to their advertising in the new fiscal year or reporting their spending is up in the most recent one. Their ads seem to be hitting a variety of outlets, including print, television, in-store promotion and the Internet — which marketers say helps them hone in on consumers and get the most bang for their advertising buck.

Analysts say it makes sense, even as these companies grapple with high prices for oil, corn and grains.

Consumers aren't going to change what they eat as they pull away from restaurants, said Harry Balzer, vice president of consumer research firm the NPD Group, and an expert on American eating patterns. They're just going to look for bargains, and that can mean changing brands.

"It's very hard for us to change our behavior. If we like ice cream, we're going to continue eating ice cream," he said. "Now the question is going to be what brand you're going to buy."

Remember, the Grocery Shrink Ray goes wild over brands. Savvy consumerists know to resist the advertising, and will see this as an opportunity to reaffirm their unending allegiance to the lowest price.

Foodmakers plan big ad campaigns in down economy [AP]
(Photo: GirlReporter)

Delta is also raising fees on oversized items and heavy items.

First-class passengers, international travelers and elite members of Delta’s frequent-flier program will still be allowed to check two bags for free. First-class and elite travelers can check up to three bags at no charge on international flights; a third bag will now cost a coach-class passenger traveling overseas an extra $150.

Items that are 62 to 80 inches long, including athletic equipment like surfboards and skis, will cost $175 to check after Tuesday on all flights. They now cost $150.

Delta is also increasing its charges for heavy baggage, regardless of whether it is included in a free baggage allowance. A bag that weighs 51 to 70 pounds will cost the traveler $90 to check in the United States, and $150 on an international trip, up from $80.

A bag weighing from 71 to 100 pounds will cost as much as $300 to check on an international trip, compared with $150.

Although a before-and-after chart of the new fees is supposed to be available at www.delta.com, as of July 29th we couldn't find it (if you do, please post the link in the comments below).

"Delta Raises Fee for a Second Bag " [New York Times] (Thanks to Ken and Mary!)
(Photo: Getty)

We grabbed these images of Chicago as an example. As you can see, the percentage of income that people are dedicating to transportation has grown — especially in more rural areas. The site also has an interactive map of the Housing and Transportation Affordability Index (below)— so you can see where people are dedicating less than 45% (shown in yellow) of their income to housing and transportation. Living in the city never looked so good.

Housing + Transportation Affordability Index [CNT]

A P&G spokesperson told the Boston Globe:
"We don't price in anticipation," Fox said. "We only price to recover costs."

The company has already raised prices 4-8% in order to counter the skyrocketing cost of raw materials such as "pulp, used in paper, tallow, an animal fat used in soap, and oil-based products such as plastics."

Oh well, at least they're being straightforward about it! Honesty is better than the Grocery Shrink Ray.

P&G will boost product prices by up to 16% [Boston Globe](Thanks, Jill!)
(Photo: kandh07 )

The starting point for comparison is 1996, when Congress deregulated the telecom industry, ostensibly to spur competition. Startups and cable companies quickly trammelled the telecoms' ability to dictate prices, but nobody emerged to take on cable.

Kevin J. Martin, chairman of the F.C.C., said in an interview that since 1996, when Congress increased competition in telecommunications, prices have dropped for many other services.

“We’ve seen the opposite occur in the cable industry,” he said. “The dramatic increases in pricing we’ve seen are one of the most troubling issues from a consumer point of view.”

In 2007, average monthly revenue for each Cablevision subscriber was $75, up from $65 in 2005, according to SNL Kagan, a research company. At Time Warner it was $64, up from $54.50.

The industry isn't changing its prices or practices because consumers aren't changing their habits.

“I work eight hours a day facing a computer. When I come home, the last thing I want to do is mess with another computer,” said Eric Yu, 24, a college student in San Francisco who pays around $80 a month for cable.

Mr. Yu said he watches only a handful of channels, including some in high definition like National Geographic. But to get them, he has to pay for a premium package. “I just pay the bill and try to forget about it,” he said. “It lessens the pain.”

Well, some are...

Evelyn Tan, 22, a friend of Mr. Yu, takes a different approach. She pays Comcast $33 a month for Internet access and does not get cable television — but she does watch TV programming.

In fact, she watches ABC shows like “Desperate Housewives” and “Gray’s Anatomy,” which are free on the Web. When she wants to watch shows or movies that are not readily available online, she says she easily pirates them. “I would not pay for cable TV at all,” she said.

A la carte programming isn't coming anytime soon, but the monopolistic anti-consumer juggernaut Verizon might provide some relief as it elbows its way into the television business. While Verizon is no better than its cable competitors, its arrival opens a brief window for competition by allowing consumers play one giant against the other to eek out slight savings on cable programming.

Of course, those slight savings might only bring your rates closer to what you were paying two or three years ago. Neither the Times nor the FCC think cable is worth the cost. What do you think?

Cable Prices Keep Rising; Customers Keep Paying [NYT]
(Photo: Getty)

(Photo: Photocapy)

"We can only serve two options and beef and pork obviously have religious restrictions.

"We have to try to use two meals which appeal to as many customers as possible."

BA says that cost has (cough) nothing to do with it. [Daily Mail]

The Times graph, a form of Voronoi Treemap, divides consumer spending into numerous categories and subcategories, allowing you to see what percentage of an average consumer's spending is used for food versus transportation, or on citrus fruit versus tires. Some interesting highlights:

• Electronics took the biggest dip in prices. From March 2007 to March 2008, TVs dropped 18.3% and computers dropped 12%.
• Not surprisingly, the biggest price increases were in fuel: Gas went up 26%, propane and firewood went up 23.4%, and fuel oil (for home heating) went up 48.4%.
• The only non-fuel item that increased by more than 20% was eggs, which went up 29.9%.
• Consumers spend the same amount on "alcohol away from home" (0.5%) as they do on health insurance.
• We spend too much damn money on fast food. The only categories where we spend more money are rent, gas, electricity, new cars, and meals at non-fast food restaurants. Yes, this is because other categories like groceries are subdivided into produce and meat and so on, but 2.4% is still a sizable chunk of spending.

All of Inflation's Little Parts [NYT]
(Photo: =Rah=)

Here's how it works: you drop your package off at a participating station, Amtrak ships it off, and the recipient picks it up in the destination city.

Because Amtrak always has to futz something up, express shipping isn't offered out of Penn Station, but New Yorkers can still receive packages "(or human remains.)"

Save With Dave: Amtrak Shipping [CBS 13]
Amtrak Express Shipping [Amtrak]
(Photo: reivax)

Unilever sent Mouseprint several excuses for slashing the container contents:

In order to maintain price, we have reduced the size of the container for several reasons:

• Increased costs of raw materials, including ingredients and packaging materials
• Transition to Trans Fat Free products
• Tamper resistant containers

[In a separate letter, the company added:] A redesign of the product line was undertaken which involved packaging changes that had an impact on the net fill weight of the products. Prior to implementation, the changes were thoroughly tested with consumers to ensure optimal consumer satisfaction.

If you catch companies reducing product and maintaining prices to compensate for the rising price of, well, everything, take a picture and send it to our tipline.

Country Crock 3-lb Margarine Tubs Stick It to Shoppers [Mouseprint]

The Labor Department reported that wholesale inflation was up 6.3 percent for all of 2007, reflecting a huge increase for the year in various types of energy costs ranging from gasoline to home heating oil.

Meanwhile, retail sales fell by 0.4 percent in December, the worst showing in six months, the Commerce Department reported. Consumer confidence has plunged, reflecting the worsening housing slump and a lingering credit crisis.

What price increases have you noticed this year, apart from gasoline? Milk?

Wholesale Prices Up; Retail Sales Fall [NYT]
(Photo:tagurity)

John Norris' family is drinking a lot less milk these days. He said he considers the higher prices and has cut back on his kids' milk consumption. But between work and family obligations, he still drives almost as much as he used to.

"That's the reason I cut down on milk consumption - so I can drive my car," said Norris.

And Norris should know. He's the director of wealth management for Oakworth Capital Bank and a food price expert.

The Norrises aren't the only family getting pinched at the grocery store. Prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages rose 4.7 percent since the beginning of the year through November, outpacing the 4.3 percent increase in the overall cost-of-living, according to the federal government's Consumer Price Index.

Everyday foods like fruits and vegetables, beef, poultry and cereals are on the rise. The price of milk is the biggest culprit, with a staggering increase of 23.2 percent through November. And with basic foods like dairy and wheat driving up the cost of other groceries, almost everyone is feeling the squeeze.

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Food prices soar in America [CNNMoney]
(Photo:pierre lascott)

From the NYT:

Tuition and other costs, not including room and board, rose to $6,185 at public four-year colleges this year, up 6.6 percent from last year, while tuition at private colleges hit $23,712, an increase of 6.3 percent. At public two-year institutions, average tuition and fees rose 4.2 percent to $2,361.

Last year, tuition and fees at public institution rose by 5.7 percent; at private ones, by 6.3 percent and at public two-year institutions, by 3.8 percent.

"The average price of college is continuing to rise more rapidly than the consumer price index, more rapidly than prices in the economy," Sandy Baum, a co-author of the report who is a senior policy analyst for the College Board and a professor at Skidmore College, told reporters at a news conference this morning. She added that the prices "are probably higher than most of us want them to be."

The numbers seem to indicate that families are making up the difference by taking out more loans, with private loans continuing to be the fastest growing form of borrowing.

College Costs Rising at Double the Inflation Rate [NYT]
(Photo:nautical2k)

One source of extra costs is an increased inspection schedule. RC2—the company behind the infamous chinese poison train—used to inspect random batches of toys and perform factory inspections twice a year; now, they inspect every batch of toys several times and have bumped up the inspection rate to every quarter. Mega Brands, the company that recalled its Magnetix toys for magnet hazards, has increased its inspection schedule from twice a year to every two weeks.

The result, as another analyst tells Reuters, is "increased monitoring of toy safety could eventually result in a 'mid- single-digit' price increase for consumers."

"U.S. parents want safer toys, but will cost them" [Reuters]
(Photo: Getty)

There is also a reason AARP's Medigap policies — sold to Medicare recipients to cover expenses that the federal program doesn't pick up — aren't the cheapest, Sohn said. AARP is a national organization and wants to offer the same product to residents of every state. But providing health insurance is more costly in some states than in others. These products are regulated on a state-by-state basis, which makes operating in some places considerably more expensive than in others. Because the organization offers the same product everywhere at the same price, policyholders in low-cost states essentially subsidize those in high-cost states.

And with long-term-care insurance and term life insurance, AARP offers group plans that allow members to enroll at a reasonable price, even if they're not in the best of health, Sohn said.

The flip side: People who are in great shape can find far less costly products. They'll be required to get a physical exam to prove their good health, but it's probably worth it. AARP life insurance policies can be more than twice the cost of policies you can find elsewhere, Tignanelli said.

Though AARP's medical and financial products may cost more for some seniors, to others, they represent an otherwise unattainable deal. The only way to know for sure if you can get a better price is to shop around.

AARP not always best deal for seniors [L.A. Times]
(AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

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What's Good for a Business Can Be Hard on Friends [NYT]
(Photo: sirmikester)

The cost of leaving your PC on [Coding Horror via Lifehacker]

If the other airlines don't go along with the hike, American and Delta may be forced to roll it back. American added up to $40 to it routes depending on length, while Delta added $20 to round trip fares. Jet fuel costs are up 15% from a year ago. Hey, one more reason not to fly Delta.—MEGHANN MARCO

Round-trip tickets increased up to $40 [Chicago Tribune]
U.S. Fares Rise at Two Airlines [New York Times]