… if you’ve been wondering how bad price increases are getting, here’s an infographic from CNN that puts things nicely (?) in perspective. Click the image for a larger view.
June’s consumer price index, calculated on a year-over-year basis, gives those figures. If you take the time to calculate the average percentage increase across all those products and services, year-on-year, it comes to 23%.
Twenty-three per cent.
Makes you think, doesn’t it?
Sure, many of us won’t be in the market – yet – for some of those products and services, so some of those increases won’t affect us for now. Nevertheless, averaged across all those sectors of the economy, that’s the reality of what we’re seeing. Those who claim that things may get as bad as in the Jimmy Carter years are being extremely hopeful, but they’re already out of date. If this continues, we’ll look on the Jimmy Carter years as having been havens of economic stability.
It’s going to get worse before it gets better – and it won’t get better under this feckless, spendthrift, incompetent, illegitimate, abysmally ideological administration. Brace yourselves.
Peter
I am making the same amount as I did over 20 years ago. My car is a 2000, so far it's still running. My house is paid off, otherwise I would be in real trouble. My clothes come from Goodwill, I haven't been in a restaurant in years. How much longer can I manage? Guess I will find out.
And this doesn't even bring in lumber prices, etc.
Some prices (car rental, fuel) were severely distorted during the lockdowns and for those items it is better to compare against 2019 prices for a better view of the long term trend. Certainly we are seeing a serious inflation acceleration thans to bad policy.
That’s the point I was going to make. For car rentals we would probably have to do 3-4 years and see a trend. One year starting in covid won’t do it.
The only thing on that list that I am not currently in the market for is a used car. The increases on everything else more than make up for the "savings" on that.
There is a lot of inflation but most of the crazy inflation will calm down if/when supply chains rebound an/or people decide to stop buying many type of goods.
It will still be too damned high well past the Feds sickening inflation targets.
Keynesian types still think these inflation targets can prompt or force buying and therefore create growth even with low birth rates and high death rates but this is insane.
The net result will be a collapse in the capital markets and long term dramatic economic decline and people now accustomed to doing fine with less will stay that way.
Labor is also gotten weird. In many areas its essentially if half the work force has gone Galt. The way people perceive work has changed for good. Its now something people do only because they must and a lot of people formerly who were doing the Consumerism thing are now like "How little can I get by on?'
This isn't per se a bad thing, time is not something we can get back after all but from a pure economics POV we went from an economy of "Bust your buns, get ahead." Protestant work addicts (and yes that was often false but culture is culture) to work is a burden, third world mentality. All in a year!
This means the has sped up becoming Brazil 2 by some decades.
If there are honest historians in a hundred years, the stupidity of what we did will be legendary.
Fresh milk in my area is costing between $2.69 to $3.15, depending on the store. Local Dollar Tree has shelf-stable milk for $1.00 per quart. When fresh milk gets over $4/gallon, the shelf-stable stuff will be worth it. I've tried it–it has a stronger flavor and slightly thicker texture because of the higher pasteurization temperature, but palatable. Still WAY better than powdered milk! And it keeps without refrigeration for over a year. I'm adding a quart or two to my pantry every week, as I can afford it right now.
For several items the question is how much the prices in 2020 were down from before. As Who Struck John said, these should be compared against 2019.
Your milk data is wrong for here in Kentucky.
Kroger's price on roughly July 1 was $1.19
Kroger's price today is $1.69
Local supplier / market variations. And plan your Kroger shopping around their sales. They do a regular weekly rotation of their loss-leaders. Meat, milk, chicken, canned / frozen, repeat.
John
Emphasis on ILLEGITAMENT!