It's true that the U.S. economy has experienced an increase in inflation over the last year but much of it is attributable to world events beyond the control of the Federal Reserve Board. Even though some of those conditions still exist, the Fed's response has been effective. The annual inflation rate in the U.S. slowed for a fifth straight month to 7.1% in November of 2022, the lowest since December last year, and below forecasts of 7.3%. It follows a reading of 7.7% in October. According to news reports and government surveys, there have been across-the-board decreases in gas prices, food prices, new and used car prices, heating oil prices, and most of the other staples that consumers purchase in repeating cycles.
As for the state of the economy, aside from the inflation measure, what do you mean when you say "it's not very likely to change for the better anytime soon."? The unemployment rate — usually cited as a barometer of the economy — was 3.7% in November, which is a lot better than its most recent high of 14.7% in April of 2020, when the pandemic began to affect the nation's businesses.
After the hyper-inflationary period of the 1970s and mid-1980s, controlling inflation has been the Number One priority of U.S. monetary policy, no matter what political party controls the White House or Congress. There is no reason to think that will change.
If we begin a practice of renegotiating the COLA when there is a temporary increase in the rate of inflation, the County's most likely response will be to renegotiate it downward during the times when inflation decreases.
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