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"Many food companies decrease the size of their containers, while keeping the same price," Joe said in his comments about price increases that he's observed. "Cost increases get masked when container sizes shrink." For example, after last year's hurricanes, a major orange shortage nationwide led to shrinking orange juice bottles. "Brands that originally sold in 64 oz containers, downsized to 59 oz and then to 52 oz - a 20 percent reduction in what our orange juice money buys today," Joe says..Congress Passes Defense Bill but President Trump says He Will Veto.According to Senator Thune, there is likely to be another major bill providing more money for businesses and others to keep the economy afloat. However, that may not happen until later in June or sometime in July. Obviously, that will use up time that would otherwise have been spent dealing with the other important issues Congress must address..Major Findings.A balanced budget amendment to the constitution might sound like a good idea on the surface, but when the details are examined, it could be disastrous for programs like Social Security and Medicare. The Senior Citizens League tirelessly advocated against its adoption when it was considered earlier this year, and because lawmakers aren't giving up on it anytime soon, we aren't either..The low COLA announcement from the trustees comes just weeks after TSCL revealed the findings of its 2016 Survey of Senior Costs. The annual survey examined the cost increases of thirty-eight key items between 2000 and 2016, and it found that Social Security benefits have lost 23 percent of their purchasing power since 2000. During that sixteen-year period, the COLA rose by 36.3 percentage points, while typical senior expenses like housing, Medicare premiums, and prescription drugs jumped 75.3 percent. The findings of the survey are a clear sign that the COLA is growing too slowly, and that it's time to switch to a more accurate measure of inflation like the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers..Supreme Court: Mandate Penalty is Tax, Jeanne Sahadi, CNN Money, June 28, 2012..The task for the Administration is to figure out how to ensure patients don't unknowingly sign away their new protections, monitor and punish providers who violate the ban, and establish a process for settling disputes, among other complicated considerations. The ban is due to take effect in January..When asked how they responded to rising prices for meat, poultry, seafood, and dairy products, survey participants report reducing the amount that they consume of these foods and having to spend a larger portion of their budget on these items. "Most troubling of all, about 25 percent of survey participants reported they've gone without," Johnson says.