What's Up? Rents in Southern California for the 11th Straight Month

Rent checks have been going up eleven months in a row in Southern California, The Orange County Register reports.In July, rents rose at an annual rate of 1.4 percent in the Southland, continuing a steady rise since they took a dip in 2010.

But it might too soon to ask Jimmy McMillan to open a West Coast branch of The Rent Is Too Damn High Party. The paper noted, "It's been pretty good for local renters, historically speaking."

Rents rose at an average annual rate of 4.5 percent in the last decade, until the economy hit the skids. And it was even worse in the 1980s when Southern California the average rent rose more than 12 percent some years. Yikes.

More silver lining from the consumer price index: gas prices are declining.