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US Consumer Price Index up 4.2%

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Re: US Consumer Price Index up 4.2%

#181

Post by win311fwg »

Dylan16807 wrote: post #174
win311fwg wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's using a fixed value of goods The CPI basket is definitely not fixed. It is constantly evolving to ensure that the metric is useful. Consumption habits are not fixed. > The price of a dollar is one dollar. Technically true, just like the price of one iPhone is the price of one iPhone (assuming equivalent specs), but in the real world price is used to compare the value of different things. Currently, the price o…

The basket shifts but it's trying to stay equivalent . Not in dollar terms but in benefit terms. If it's not trying to have a stable value then it's not a useful measuring stick.

Not in benefit terms, in buying habit terms. CPI tries to be calculated on a regular basis, and thus is only useful if it looks at things people are actually buying. If people used to regularly buy steak, but due to production issues there isn't much to go around, where customers have largely shifted to buying ground beef instead, then steak is no longer a useful item in the basket. It will get phased out in favour of ground beef.

Steak is objectively more valuable in the traditional sense, as evidenced by the price, and also quite arguably more valuable than ground beef in the "benefit" sense, but that doesn't matter. Ground beef is just as good in the basket as CPI only needs to see relative change in price. It is not measuring benefit.

Re: US Consumer Price Index up 4.2%

#182

Post by asdff »

Dylan16807 wrote: post #66
win311fwg wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not quite. The value of the currency has declined by 33% since 1999. Prices are subject to the combination of the value of the currency and the value of the good. Food may be worth more than in the past, for example, so you cannot look at the value of the currency alone.

Food is one of the things that's going to have the least change in value.

Pick your favorite crop and look at yields per acre over the last century.

Re: US Consumer Price Index up 4.2%

#183

Post by jmyeet »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #111
jmyeet wrote: post #104

Worse is coming and the markets seem to be in complete denial about it. Oil has only really maintained the ~$100/barrel price because of record SPR releases worldwide. Also, that $100 price is kinda fake because it's a future price. The spot prices got much higher. Well, that runway is coming to an end. If the Strait of Hormuz re-opened today , we'd still be facing an energy shock. Plus there's famine coming. Now the…

> don't know how this ends without a deep, long recession The same way Powell ended the last one without a deep, long recession.

You mean with the greatest wealth transfer to the wealthy in history that added a quarter to our entire national debt? Yeah, you can't do that often.

The US national debt is about to hit $40 trillion. It was $20 trillion 9 years ago.

What Trump and Biden should've done is implemented a windfall profits tax of probably 80%. But there's absolutely zero chance of that happening by either party.

Re: US Consumer Price Index up 4.2%

#184

Post by david927 »

jmyeet wrote: post #104

Worse is coming and the markets seem to be in complete denial about it. Oil has only really maintained the ~$100/barrel price because of record SPR releases worldwide. Also, that $100 price is kinda fake because it's a future price. The spot prices got much higher. Well, that runway is coming to an end. If the Strait of Hormuz re-opened today , we'd still be facing an energy shock. Plus there's famine coming. Now the…

When I was in high school I was a reckless driver, and with each narrow escape, I became more confident and certain that I was in control and a bad outcome wouldn't happen, couldn't happen. Your comment was downvoted with the same hubris. Success is not a teacher.

Re: US Consumer Price Index up 4.2%

#185

Post by jr3592 »

dw_arthur wrote: post #93

Paradoxically, inflation has contributed to me taking a sabbatical. While I live in a LCOL area and made ~140k/year it just no longer felt worth it to work as I saw my retirement accounts start to match and exceed my salary in yearly gains. I do plan on going back to work in a part time manner, but inflation has killed any reason for me to work hard at a job for that level of salary. Furthermore, the feeling of "what…

This actually makes 0 sense. Like, do you even understand what you're saying? The value of your savings is decreasing at a faster rate than ever before, so its a good time to stop saving and spend it?

The stock market increasing is not the same thing as inflation. What you're saying makes sense only if you are referring to stock market valuation... strictly retiring because inflation is high makes no sense.

Re: US Consumer Price Index up 4.2%

#187

Post by jr3592 »

jbmchuck wrote: post #165
Salgat wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're still cutting your annual income in half though. That's pretty big no?

I have the same feelings as the original poster as I get further into middle age and have a good retirement nest egg - for me there are things more valuable - free time and the things I want to do with it but can't get paid to do - than making more income than I really need.

How much do you have saved?

Re: US Consumer Price Index up 4.2%

#188

Post by nonethewiser »

breakpointalpha wrote: post #127
dw_arthur wrote: post #93

Paradoxically, inflation has contributed to me taking a sabbatical. While I live in a LCOL area and made ~140k/year it just no longer felt worth it to work as I saw my retirement accounts start to match and exceed my salary in yearly gains. I do plan on going back to work in a part time manner, but inflation has killed any reason for me to work hard at a job for that level of salary. Furthermore, the feeling of "what…

I don't understand this point of view. $140k in a LCOL is a fantastic salary. Median US household income is $83k/yr. It feels more likely your investment account gains are driving your decisions. Stock gains are also driven by inflation though! I can sort of understand the feeling though, I just recently got a 2.5% raise for "inflation", which hardly feels like it's making a dent.

Hacker news moment

Re: US Consumer Price Index up 4.2%

#189

Post by Dylan16807 »

asdff wrote: post #182
Dylan16807 wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Food is one of the things that's going to have the least change in value.

Pick your favorite crop and look at yields per acre over the last century.

If I have to look at an entire century I think that proves my point.

Re: US Consumer Price Index up 4.2%

#190

Post by boringg »

dw_arthur wrote: post #93

Paradoxically, inflation has contributed to me taking a sabbatical. While I live in a LCOL area and made ~140k/year it just no longer felt worth it to work as I saw my retirement accounts start to match and exceed my salary in yearly gains. I do plan on going back to work in a part time manner, but inflation has killed any reason for me to work hard at a job for that level of salary. Furthermore, the feeling of "what…

Equities rise and fall. Unless you fully cash out that stuff can materially drop and if you do materially cash out - it can inflate away.

Sorry to be a downer but there is no certainty on the future especially with the level of chaos being sown in the western world as a function of a few key people.

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