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Consumer prices increase 2.6 percent

bls.gov

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Re: Consumer prices increase 2.6 percent

#11

Post by vkou »

notyourday wrote: post #3

Anyone who has been to a supermarket in the last 12 months knows that the 2.6 percent increase in consumer prices is observably not true. I buy the same basket of the generic products ( chicken quarters, produce, beef, eggs, bacon, dairy products ) . Compared to this time in 2020 I'm spending at least 20% more. People who buy processed food(s) are spending at least 30% more.

On the other hand, anyone who's been trying to rent an apartment in a metro area for the last 12 months also knows that rent has dropped ~15-20%.

I can't speak for you, but I pay a lot more for rent, than I do for groceries.

Re: Consumer prices increase 2.6 percent

#12

Post by ardit33 »

drewcon wrote: post #6
notyourday wrote: post #3

Anyone who has been to a supermarket in the last 12 months knows that the 2.6 percent increase in consumer prices is observably not true. I buy the same basket of the generic products ( chicken quarters, produce, beef, eggs, bacon, dairy products ) . Compared to this time in 2020 I'm spending at least 20% more. People who buy processed food(s) are spending at least 30% more.

Good thing CPI isn’t calculated using anecdotal evidence from “anyone who has been to the supermarket”. Learn more about the calculation here: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/cpi_04132021.htm

CPI is rigged, as it doesn't account for many items that people spend money on

If you think it is a fair indication, I have a bridge to sell to you

Re: Consumer prices increase 2.6 percent

#13

Post by throwawaysea »

Note that Warren Buffet recently noted that his companies are seeing consistent increases in prices throughout the supply chain and will in turn need to raise prices: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/03/warren-buffett-says-berkshir...

Others are taking the risks of inflation much further. Stanley Druckenmiller noted that the current spending policy and fiscal policy of the US is threatening the Dollar's status as the world's reserve currency: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/11/stanley-druckenmiller-says-t...

Re: Consumer prices increase 2.6 percent

#14

Post by [deleted] »

nostromo wrote: post #7

Some non-CPI items like cars (new and used) and basic commodities like lumber have grown a lot more than 2.6%. Correction: CPI does include new and used car prices, after a lot of adjustments, at 3.7% and 2.5%, respectively. It's important to note though that the median cost of cars sold has grown much faster than the CPI car numbers. This is because the BLS tries to account for car quality, so even though you're pay…

[deleted]

Re: Consumer prices increase 2.6 percent

#15

Post by NationalPark »

notyourday wrote: post #3

Anyone who has been to a supermarket in the last 12 months knows that the 2.6 percent increase in consumer prices is observably not true. I buy the same basket of the generic products ( chicken quarters, produce, beef, eggs, bacon, dairy products ) . Compared to this time in 2020 I'm spending at least 20% more. People who buy processed food(s) are spending at least 30% more.

Here's some interesting info on how they collect data: https://www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cpi/design.htm

Re: Consumer prices increase 2.6 percent

#16

Post by Bancakes »

drewcon wrote: post #6
notyourday wrote: post #3

Anyone who has been to a supermarket in the last 12 months knows that the 2.6 percent increase in consumer prices is observably not true. I buy the same basket of the generic products ( chicken quarters, produce, beef, eggs, bacon, dairy products ) . Compared to this time in 2020 I'm spending at least 20% more. People who buy processed food(s) are spending at least 30% more.

Good thing CPI isn’t calculated using anecdotal evidence from “anyone who has been to the supermarket”. Learn more about the calculation here: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/cpi_04132021.htm

It's a fallacy to hand wave anecdotal evidence.

Re: Consumer prices increase 2.6 percent

#17

Post by drewcon »

ardit33 wrote: post #12
drewcon wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good thing CPI isn’t calculated using anecdotal evidence from “anyone who has been to the supermarket”. Learn more about the calculation here: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/cpi_04132021.htm

CPI is rigged, as it doesn't account for many items that people spend money on If you think it is a fair indication, I have a bridge to sell to you

CPI isn’t “rigged”. CPI measures exactly what it measures and measures it transparently.

Whether you think it and it’s constituent parts are good metric for measuring inflation is a different conversation. But that doesn’t make it “rigged”.

Re: Consumer prices increase 2.6 percent

#18

Post by rwcarlsen »

nostromo wrote: post #7

Some non-CPI items like cars (new and used) and basic commodities like lumber have grown a lot more than 2.6%. Correction: CPI does include new and used car prices, after a lot of adjustments, at 3.7% and 2.5%, respectively. It's important to note though that the median cost of cars sold has grown much faster than the CPI car numbers. This is because the BLS tries to account for car quality, so even though you're pay…

Yeah 2x4's are literally 4x what they were just over a year ago. And I couldn't find an architect to help me with my house this spring at any price.

Re: Consumer prices increase 2.6 percent

#19

Post by asquabventured »

jrsj wrote: post #5
notyourday wrote: post #3

Anyone who has been to a supermarket in the last 12 months knows that the 2.6 percent increase in consumer prices is observably not true. I buy the same basket of the generic products ( chicken quarters, produce, beef, eggs, bacon, dairy products ) . Compared to this time in 2020 I'm spending at least 20% more. People who buy processed food(s) are spending at least 30% more.

Somehow everyone seems has this experience, rents have continued to climb at a high rate for the last decade, and they manage to downplay this in statistics.

The "basket of goods" they use to measure inflation is purposefully gamed to under represent purchases everyone makes weekly that are "volatile". But good news is that DVD players are cheaper than ever so inflation must be low!

Re: Consumer prices increase 2.6 percent

#20

Post by notyourday »

vkou wrote: post #11
notyourday wrote: post #3

Anyone who has been to a supermarket in the last 12 months knows that the 2.6 percent increase in consumer prices is observably not true. I buy the same basket of the generic products ( chicken quarters, produce, beef, eggs, bacon, dairy products ) . Compared to this time in 2020 I'm spending at least 20% more. People who buy processed food(s) are spending at least 30% more.

On the other hand, anyone who's been trying to rent an apartment in a metro area for the last 12 months also knows that rent has dropped ~15-20%. I can't speak for you, but I pay a lot more for rent, than I do for groceries.

That only happened if you managed to sign the lease during the dip. The rents started to appreciably drop last summer, this means that over the past 12 months only people whose leases expired between summer and now were able to lock in the savings. I, for example, was not that lucky. So I'm just not going to have a massive rent increase.
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