You don't want to miss this. August 23, 2023 Frank M. Ruff, Jr. 15th District Senate of Virginia  MEDIA ACCURACY Dear John, I was delighted to read in several of the daily newspapers around the state that inflation was now on the way down. At the same time, the President seemed delighted that his ‘Bidenomics’ was successfully working. This sounded like good news for all of us. However, the President and the media were a day late and a dollar short as the old saying goes. The facts do not reflect what the media is reporting that inflation is now under control. While the inflation rate was dropping for a short while, it has started moving back up just as their stories were hitting the news cycle. The most recent report was at a rate of 3.2% while President Biden has predicted 1.9% for the year. However, all of that is small potatoes. Looking at a particular month tells one little about how it is affecting you and your family or business. It is far wiser to look back over a longer period. After a relatively flat rate of inflation during the prior administration, the first two and one-half years under President Biden have proven horrible. While the official inflation numbers show 3.2% inflation since last year, consider those numbers are built on top of a cumulative increase that is 15% higher prices since Biden came into office. That alone far out paces wage growth! That, however, is only part of the story. The consumer price index (CPI) measures hundreds of assorted products and considers things like gasoline price, which is up 35%, as well as telephone hardware, which is down 26%. It does not take into consideration that one buys a phone every several years while buying gas every week. Gasoline and phones may be the extremes, but many grocery items as well as electricity are all rising way above that average. That issue of frequency of usage is not considered. COLLEGES AND HOSPITAL CARE IGNORED In the calculation the two greatest leaps over the last generation are not considered – college tuition and fees and healthcare. The two things that the federal government has been most successful with are easy loans driving inflated tuition and healthcare insurance. Trying to interfere with healthcare insurance has driven up the cost of every hospital. Therefore, is there any wonder why you and I are wondering whether President Biden’s administration has directed someone or if the media and social media giants are doing it on their own? The question is, are you going to believe them or are you going to believe your dwindling checking account or your rising charge card balance. CHRISTIANS IN PAKISTAN I was honored to sit with Pastor Nadeem Khokhar with the Crenshaw United Methodist Church in Blackstone. One week ago, religious extremists in Pakistan started attacking innocent Pakistani Christians. Within three days, they had burned twenty churches and killed at least twenty-eight of their fellow citizens for simply being Christians. Please pray for their families. Your prayers will be heard and will give them the strength needed to sustain their faith. Enough people praying and speaking out against these barbaric acts may force the government to stop such attacks. WE LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU! We love to hear from you! You can reach us at [email protected], 434-374-5129 or P.O. Box 332, Clarksville, VA 23927.  JOKE OF THE WEEK You know it's hot outside when you go outside and it's hot.  Warmest regards, Frank Frank M. Ruff, Jr. 15th District Senate of Virginia Authorized and paid for by Ruff for Senate Visit our website Contribute to my campaign Sign Up For My Newsletter ‌ Office of Senator Frank Ruff | P.O. Box 332, Clarksville, VA 23927 Unsubscribe [email protected] Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice Sent by [email protected] powered by Try email marketing for free today!