One specific product increasing in price because of extenuating circumstances is not the definition of inflation

Neat, thanks!

It was 100% not for me. There's so much of that trumped up reality show interpersonal drama that I couldn't take it. I thought that between Alan (whom I adore) and the game competition stuff (which I generally like, as in Taskmaster) I would enjoy it, but hoo boy, not at all. The cutaways to the individual interview parts were constant and painful. To me. Others really love it so ymmv.

If you do want an extra dose of Cumming, check out "Miriam and Alan: Lost in Scotland" a short travel series with him and Miriam Margolyes whom you may recognize from Harry Potter (or elsewhere, I don't know you). I found it very charming, endearing, cozy, and enjoyable.

Even in that case, saying nothing seems better all around. A snarky reddit response isn't going to help anything.

Also no

Maybe you could drop some links to reliable sources that prove your "facts"?

O think you meant to reply to the post, but you replied to my comment

I think I can answer part of that.

For natural gas, all of November through April is considered peak season, which is accurate as far as usage goes. Why distribution costs more when we use more and there's a reverse economy of scale? I don't know.

I also don't know what exactly the Distribution Adj Charge means, nor why it's almost doubled. Ultimately because the PUC approved it, but I haven't read any report or seen any meeting minutes it anything to explain it.

Natural gas rates from RIE went up about 11% starting Nov 1, from $0.6137 over the summer/fall to $0.6831/therm.

Naturally, usage will be increasing as the weather (slowly) gets colder...it takes more energy to keep your house 65 degrees when it's 20 degrees outside than when it's 50 degrees out.

https://www.wpri.com/money/9-6-gas-rate-hike-approved-for-ri-energy-customers/

> No amount of earned tips is going to make up for the fact that they're paid $4.25/hr.

Wait what? Yes it will. If a server earns $50/hr in tips, then it would make up for the $4.25 tipped minimum wage.

>Restaurant staff should just be paid the same as everyone else; tips should be a bonus for above-and-beyond service and for managing large groups

Consider the implication of that setup. Menu prices would increase 20% so the diner's total spend stays equal, right? So while it might be $15 meal + $3 tip now, it would be $18 meal total. So that means the owner is getting their hands on alllll the money, and we just have to trust them to equitably give that money back to their employees. Personally, I don't trust the average owner that much. I bet it would end up being like menu prices go up 30%, and the owner gives maybe 10% of that back to their staff and pockets the rest.

I can't think of any more trustworthy transaction than handing cash directly to the person you want to have it, with a law saying that person's boss can't touch it.

Ah okay gotcha

You are looking for a house that fits those criteria though, or did I misunderstand?

> There is the beer club that meets once a month and regularly posts about it.

They are meeting tonight at Proclamation: https://www.reddit.com/r/providence/comments/10gyiy3/beer_club_proclamation_ale_company_warwick/

Unfortunately, it's still a landlord's market. Openings are low and prices are high.

I don't think you'll have the luxury of finding so many options for a house that allows dogs for $1,700/month that you have to interview landlords to find the best one. I'm afraid you might be stuck jumping on the only option you find and hoping it's not too bad.

This isn't really an answer to your question, but I am going to keep banging the community solar drum as a good first step (or only step) toward greening your electricity mix.

Think of it like your whole neighborhood getting solar, but instead of having 50 different small installs on 50 different roofs, it's one install in a field nearby. The energy billing is handled with a third company so you won't see 100% of the savings from solar, but your startup expense is $0, maintenance expense is $0, and there's no time commitment. With mine, I pay 10% less than whatever total RIE bills.

I joined the Goat Island solar farm, which is now full. There are other projects accepting people now. https://blog.arcadia.com/goat-island-spotlight/

More official info from the OER here, including a link to the community solar marketplace: https://energy.ri.gov/renewable-energy/solar/community-solar

Geico, which was marginally cheaper than USAA previously

> I will say that the economy is absolutely doing well. If it weren't the housing market demand wouldn't be as bad as it is.

Well, not necessarily. As we've seen, people who are employed in Boston or NYC on paper are coming here to live as remote work becomes more feasible. I would be logically possible for RI to be a completely residential state, with no economy of our own outside of the service industry.

However, that's not what indicators would, well, indicate. to wit:

> The department said six employment sectors – construction, finance and insurance, information, manufacturing, professional and technical services, and wholesale trade – reported more jobs in December than they had in the month prior to the pandemic shutdown.

The full article speaks more of the good and bad signs of our economy. The bottom line is that RI economy is doing well, but its rate of improvement is slowing.

https://pbn.com/r-i-unemployment-rate-dips-to-3-5-in-december/

> I have an old car and my insurance is insane. I know people paying $300 a month.

Holy cow! Rates must be way higher in city limits, which I guess makes sense.

I have a new car and it's $300 for six months, full comprehensive.

Shitty situation being in a place where it's so dense that having a car is annoying, but without enough infrastructure that not having a car is impossible.

I am not sure what legally binding stuff there is, but the advertised promise was that I will never pay more than RIE charges.

I don't think there's any real way for it to cost more...even if the solar farm output is 0 kWh, then I'm just getting supplied with the default RIE generation mix at the RIE rates.

Which might be something I should clarify...Arcadia is not actually my energy supplier. They are an intermediary that manages community solar projects that buys cheaper solar power from farms, sells it to RIE at market rates, and passes a portion of that savings to the consumer. On paper, my supplier is still RIE.

They are distinct from alternative suppliers like you'd find on this list: https://www.ri.gov/app/dpuc/empowerri/rate_card

edit: it looks like the "smart energy" supplier fits your earlier description...slightly lower advertised rate right now, but a 6 month commitment that will extend into next quarter's RIE rate update which will almost certainly be lower than current...so if you signed up with them, you'd have a slightly-lower rate for now, then be stuck with a higher rate later.

> The Data nerd and skeptic in me would love to see this tracked for a full year to make sure it actually is a savings, but it seems great!

The math is always the total RIE charges minus 10%. They don't really have their own separate rate, it's always 10% less than whatever supply+delivery I'd pay RIE.

There are other community solar projects in the state, run by other intermediary companies like Arcadia. I am not sure if any other companies offer a better deal than capturing only 10% savings. I really should look into it more.

This is the official RI OER page for community solar: https://risolarmarketplace.com/

And this is the .gov site with general info and FAQs on the program: https://energy.ri.gov/renewable-energy/solar/community-solar

Here's the statement I get from Arcadia: https://imgur.com/a/psrQEtt

And here's what it looks like from RIE: https://imgur.com/a/HTTdJvJ

Those credits on the account belong to Arcadia, and have been building up since peak solar production over the summer, like if you had solar on your house and were producing more than you consumed. But because it's a community solar project, those credits belong to the solar farm (via Arcadia). So for this month, my $112 payment on a $124 bill went straight to Arcadia and the solar farm, because I/they/we don't owe RIE anything. In other months, my payment would get split between paying a "real" bill with RIE, and going to the solar farm.

Okay so then why did you start talking about them in the first place, then proceed to make a dozen comments more trying to cover for your fallacy?

Simply not talking was always an option.

Classic, resort to name-calling

>Is there a maximum Kwh you can use per month?

Not that I'm aware of

>Are there other fees involved?

Nope, just straight RIE bill -10%

>I'm guessing you still pay the distribution and transmission and all the other fees to RI energy but don't pay for generation charges as that's coming from Arcadia?

I only directly pay Arcadia and they handle everything in the background (too much in the background for be, I'd prefer to know more about just how it works). As I understand it, they buy the REC from the solar farm, sell it to RIE, keep some of the difference for themselves, and my payment covers the rest.

>Would it be possible to see a power bill with your personal info redacted?

Sure, I'll grab a copy when I'm on the computer tomorrow. Feel free to remind me if I forget.

>Bruh I’m not right wing

Didn't say you were

>must be the opposite political party

Ironic how you immediately assumed my party, after chastising me for doing so

>You really think taxes aren’t too high?

Overall? Nope. I've already outlined my thoughts in this thread.

But don't think you've successfully distracted from the fact that you made a false claim about tax expenses, then zig zagged back and forth whether you were talking about RI taxes or not. You're allowed to admit you were wrong and learned something, going through these theatrics to avoid correcting your initial claim just makes you look worse.