As prices gain, more in state seek help
As prices gain, more in state seek help

By Don Mecoy Comments 2
Published: August 22, 2008

Soaring prices, particularly for gasoline, are starting to take a toll on some Oklahomans.

"We are seeing people that are crippled by gas prices,” said Cristy Cash, counseling hot line manager at Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Central Oklahoma. The number of people contacting the service has grown 15 percent since the beginning of the year, Cash said.

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Editor's note

This is the first package of stories about inflation in Oklahoma.

Inflation by the numbers

It happened so fast you may have missed it.

In July the Consumer Price Index took off. Gaining 5.6 percent, its speedy climb shot up at the fastest pace in 17 years. Meanwhile — wouldn't you know it — inflation-adjusted average weekly wages registered their biggest drop since 1990.

Energy and food account for about one-fourth of the Consumer Price Index, but even without those factors, core inflation gained at a 2.5 percent rate in July over the past 12 months.

And there's more. Wholesale inflation, a measure of prices paid by firms for goods and services, surged in July, leaving prices for the past year rising at the fastest pace in 27 years.

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In Tulsa, 23 percent more clients sought help in July than in June, said Margo Mitchell, president of Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Oklahoma.

"I'm concerned about senior citizens who live on fixed incomes,” Mitchell said. The average age of the Tulsa organization's clients has increased to 48 from 39 back in 2000.

Why expected gains are a risk

Although food and gasoline prices — key drivers of the Consumer Price Index — have dipped slightly in recent weeks, some manufacturers are planning to boost prices of their goods, said Chad Wilkerson, Federal Reserve regional economist.

"They've been holding off as much as they can,” Wilkerson said.

The Federal Reserve "gets concerned,” when consumers expect that prices will continue to rise, Wilkerson.

University of Oklahoma economist Robert Dauffenbach said higher prices are one of the major reasons that consumer sentiment is sour, which is bad news for a national economy that has leaned heavily on consumer spending.

One outlet ends

"Certainly one thing that's been helping to maintain consumer expenditures is the ability to refinance the mortgage, and that game is over — absolutely over,” Dauffenbach said.

Oklahoma's relatively strong economy has helped maintain consumer confidence locally, Dauffenbach said.

But Cash says some of her clients are despondent about their money problems.

"People are lacking the hope,” Cash said. "We're having to give so much hope to people.”