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Food Prices Are Soaring Faster Than Inflation and Incomes

bloomberg.com

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Re: Food Prices Are Soaring Faster Than Inflation and Incomes

#271

Post by eru »

whoisninja wrote: post #237

CPI is a joke, they do something called hedonic adjustments to things like tech products etc. It's completely subjective and BS. Technology is deflationary, things should get cheaper because we go after producing them in creative ways one demand is high. CPI is absurd, it only perpetuates consumerism and punishes savers. We product 2x the food society consumes - mostly wasted away, just with some supply chain efficie…

You might like "Less Than Zero: The Case for a Falling Price Level in a Growing Economy". Available for free online at http://www.iea.org.uk/sites/default/files/publications/files...

More or less the author argues that stable nominal spending, ie a constant level of nominal GDP, is pretty much ideal. And would lead to falling prices as you suggest.

If you replace constant level with 'target a level of nominal GDP that rises 4% every year' you have pretty mainstream position.

Inflation measures are indeed somewhat subject. Nominal GDP has less suggement calls.

(It's still useful to try and measure inflation. But perhaps it should not be a policy target.)

Re: Food Prices Are Soaring Faster Than Inflation and Incomes

#272

Post by ed25519FUUU »

ErikAugust wrote: post #261
Wolfenstein98k wrote: post #178

" Food Prices Are Soaring Faster Than Inflation and Incomes " ...Food price rises ARE inflation!

So what gives? Does anyone have the data sets and the formulas used to calculate the CPI? No, I don't think so, because they are hidden. Until the data used to calculate the CPI is open, it is all speculation.

That’s a good point. The CPI has a huge impact on policy and really just about every financial thing in our lives. It’s kind of insane that we don’t have good visibility and oversight into it!

Re: Food Prices Are Soaring Faster Than Inflation and Incomes

#273

Post by evrydayhustling »

PragmaticPulp wrote: post #198
Wolfenstein98k wrote: post #178

" Food Prices Are Soaring Faster Than Inflation and Incomes " ...Food price rises ARE inflation!

From the article: > In the U.S., prices rose close to 3% in the year ending Jan. 2, according to NielsenIQ, roughly double the overall rate of inflation. The study found that food prices are rising faster than inflation. 3% is high, and 1.5% over inflation is also concerning, but I think a lot of people are jumping to conclusions based on the headline. Those inflation numbers would go unnoticed by most during normal…

Disagree that this is alarmism. The question is whether the way inflation is being measured matches the way we use it to make decisions. Graphs like AEI's Chart of the Century [1] have been highlighting for years that inflation numbers are inappropriately averaging decreasing costs for discretionary purchases, while costs for essentials like healthcare and education grow out of control. When food also starts outpacing the average (historically it has paralleled wages in the USA), you really have to ask what inflation is measuring.

Low inflation is essential to justifying the monetary easing policies that have been sustaining the stock market through the pandemic... so it is important for everyone to keep an eye on how dialog changes around these numbers.

[1] https://www.aei.org/carpe-diem/chart-of-the-day-or-century-3...

Re: Food Prices Are Soaring Faster Than Inflation and Incomes

#274

Post by hedora »

QuadmasterXLII wrote: post #254
bfrog wrote: post #239

So housing and food has gone up dramatically, but still "inflation is low" is the story. Doesn't and hasn't passed the smell test in a decade.

Its probably being cancelled out in the basket by healthcare and education prices skyrocketing. Oh wait.

Don’t forget utilities (also skyrocketing here).

Re: Food Prices Are Soaring Faster Than Inflation and Incomes

#275

Post by bradleyjg »

galangalalgol wrote: post #187
Wolfenstein98k wrote: post #178

" Food Prices Are Soaring Faster Than Inflation and Incomes " ...Food price rises ARE inflation!

Are they saying that food prices are driving the inflation vs the other factors? Housing is going up fast too isn't it?

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CUSR0000SEHC

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CUUR0000SEHA

I believe those are the two housing sub components of the basket, with owners’ equivalent rent weighted more than the rent one. Eyeballing it they both look under 2%.

Re: Food Prices Are Soaring Faster Than Inflation and Incomes

#276

Post by ceejayoz »

quintushoratius wrote: post #120
raul-pilla wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So you're a proponent of the "give the fish" and not "teach to fish"? If the supplies flowing to them stop they starve again, so I am not sure you're right.

You can both give a person a fish, and at the same time teach them to fish as well. It is not, and never should have been presented as, an either/or argument.

(and sometimes, you have to fix the injuries preventing them from being able to even hold the fishing pole)

Re: Food Prices Are Soaring Faster Than Inflation and Incomes

#277

Post by KptMarchewa »

Wolfenstein98k wrote: post #191
0x008 wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We should say "food prices are soaring faster than the average price of the consumer price index basket."

I agree. I may be being pedantic, but I think food prices are (or should be) the first and most important component of what we measure inflation with. It's much clearer to say "the rest of the basket hasn't risen above normal yet, but I am concerned the headline I quoted will mislead people who don't understand inflation.

Why? Food prices are usually few percent (6-18% in the western countries) of total household expenses. If you want to look at something that impacts people way more, look at rent or house prices.

Re: Food Prices Are Soaring Faster Than Inflation and Incomes

#278

Post by bryanlarsen »

blaser-waffle wrote: post #242
bryanlarsen wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interest rates are at zero. When official inflation starts ticking up they'll raise interest rates which will deflate the stock & house price bubble and cut inflation off at the knees. We have lots of things to worry about -- inflation isn't one of them.

Popping the bubble will be worse than the inflation.

For rich people.

Re: Food Prices Are Soaring Faster Than Inflation and Incomes

#279

Post by killtimeatwork »

kypro wrote: post #135
rapnie wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The first happens in The Netherlands on large scale, since they deregulated job agencies. There are 1,000's of shady ones, where administratively all is fine and dandy, but in practice foreign labour is paid far below minimum wage + they are often threatened to not speak up, passport taken, etc. This, btw, happens all across the EU is my impression. Modern-day slavery very much alive globally even!

The problem here is more of a supply / demand thing which you can't simply ignore that because the issue will never go away so long as the incentives for it exist. If farmers paid good wages they wouldn't need to rely on foreign labour and food prices would go up. This is a workable solution, but is is what people living in western countries want? We have the same issue here in the UK with the NHS.. We pay NHS worker…

> Developed countries can cut themselves off from that labour supply if they like, but I have no idea what the economic incentive (or benefit) of doing so is for either the workers or the citizens.

It would end supply of people who are willing to work for unlivable wages, thus making wages for low-end work to go up. The lowest rungs of society would benefit greatly from it, while everyone pay would pay for it (via increased prices).

Re: Food Prices Are Soaring Faster Than Inflation and Incomes

#280

Post by sandworm101 »

AuthorizedCust wrote: post #225
PragmaticPulp wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From the article: > In the U.S., prices rose close to 3% in the year ending Jan. 2, according to NielsenIQ, roughly double the overall rate of inflation. The study found that food prices are rising faster than inflation. 3% is high, and 1.5% over inflation is also concerning, but I think a lot of people are jumping to conclusions based on the headline. Those inflation numbers would go unnoticed by most during normal…

Do we have a way of seeing periodic media obsessions? Seems like a good AI challenge, although would require a good corpus. I saw another analysis suggesting a 75% drop in media coverage of Biden vs. Trump, at this same point in each’s presidency. That’s a useful statistic that I have a hard time finding in a comprehensive way.

>> Do we have a way of seeing periodic media obsessions?

We have dozens. Countless companies have tools to show you how things are happening on social media, and all the big new outlets mirror their content to social media. At the most simple level, basic word counts can track how issues appear and disappear. When you hear about a 75% drop in coverage of "Biden v. Trump" that is almost certainly taken from the number of times those two names are included in news reports. Counting words or highlighting the use of new words does not require AI.

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