Rainy Day MathArticles
The charts show what a number is. These explain how it gets built, and what it can and cannot tell you. Same rule as the charts: every source is named, and we never sell you anything.
July 20, 2026
The three months that set your Social Security raise
The 2026 raise was 2.8 percent, and no person picked that number. It came out of a price survey, three summer months, and arithmetic that has run the same way since 1983.
July 20, 2026
The line on the shelf tag that catches a shrinking package
Packages get smaller while prices hold still, and it is legal, common, and already counted in the inflation data. The proof is printed on the shelf in small type, on the one line the packaging cannot dress up.
July 20, 2026
A fake Social Security call breaks one of these rules every time
Americans reported $920 million lost to government impersonators last year. The real SSA follows a short list of rules it never breaks, which means the fakes have to break one to get paid.
July 20, 2026
What 2032 actually does to a Social Security check
The retirement trust fund is projected to run dry in late 2032. That is not the same as Social Security ending, and the difference is a specific dollar figure you can calculate.
July 20, 2026
Whose grocery cart is the inflation number counting?
The official inflation rate is built from a real survey of real prices, and it still may not match your receipts. Both things are true, and the reason why is in how the basket is built.