151–160 of 195 posts
In other news, the chocolate ration has been increased to 25 grams! Great success! /s Anybody living in the world can tell you that consumer prices are up a lot, lot more than 2.6%. Look even at this very thread. Food prices are way up, lumber prices are way up, restaurant prices are way up, clothing costs are up. Lots of goods literally just seem unbuyable at this point. Even in my city (nowhere near the southeast)…
In other news, the chocolate ration has been increased to 25 grams! Great success! /s Anybody living in the world can tell you that consumer prices are up a lot, lot more than 2.6%. Look even at this very thread. Food prices are way up, lumber prices are way up, restaurant prices are way up, clothing costs are up. Lots of goods literally just seem unbuyable at this point. Even in my city (nowhere near the southeast)…
I did some grocery shopping for my parents the other day. Three tomatoes, three green peppers, a half gallon of milk, one bunch of bananas, and a soup bread. "Give me a twenty(USD)," I said. "No way, prices are higher than that," said my dad. "Take two."
The bill came out to $13.60.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Tangentially, wouldn't it be nice if we could buy a 1990-quality car for the inflation-adjusted price? Poor(ish) people would have a decent shot at actually affording reliable transportation and climbing up the ladder.
With the exception of a few brands (e.g. Honda, Toyota), I’m not sure the dismal mechanical quality of many 1990-quality cars would save people money versus buying a 10 year old used car for the same money. Remember, 1990 is still the era of the 5 digit odometer. Cars have gotten hugely more reliable over the years. A 2010 car hitting 200k miles is routine and expected; a 1990 car hitting 200k miles would be exceptio…
Further, if the reality is that a 1990 equivalent car cannot be purchased today - then the consumer who could only afford the 1990 accord will instead buy used. Is this person going to feel wealthier than they did in 1990?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The Fed and U.S. government are rigging our economic system to backdoor tax the middle class while gaslighting all of us into thinking that this is normal. You don’t print $10T and handwave away millennia of basic economic principles. Help me understand how CPI is not a joke with respect to how it’s used to say “this is normal.” Everything I’m interested in spending money on, new hires for my company, real estate, ca…
But iPads are faster! https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fed-dudley-ipad-idUST...
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The Honda Accord of 1990 is a different class of vehicle than the Honda Accord of 2021. In 2021, there are other entry level vehicles that can be purchased for much less than an Accord.
Indeed. A 2021 Accord is far superior to a 1990 Rolls Royce or other ultraluxury car in terms of amenities, engine power, quietness, build quality, etc. That’s not even mentioning the leaps and bounds in efficiency and safety. I’d argue cars have gotten effectively cheaper over the years, as they’ve dramatically improved in every respect. If you could still buy a 1990 Accord manufactured today, it would probably sell…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The Honda Accord of 1990 is a different class of vehicle than the Honda Accord of 2021. In 2021, there are other entry level vehicles that can be purchased for much less than an Accord.
Indeed. A 2021 Accord is far superior to a 1990 Rolls Royce or other ultraluxury car in terms of amenities, engine power, quietness, build quality, etc. That’s not even mentioning the leaps and bounds in efficiency and safety. I’d argue cars have gotten effectively cheaper over the years, as they’ve dramatically improved in every respect. If you could still buy a 1990 Accord manufactured today, it would probably sell…
Why stop at the 90s, lets look at the early 19th century. The early Model T was $20k inflation adjusted. A modern car would have been millions.
In other news, the chocolate ration has been increased to 25 grams! Great success! /s Anybody living in the world can tell you that consumer prices are up a lot, lot more than 2.6%. Look even at this very thread. Food prices are way up, lumber prices are way up, restaurant prices are way up, clothing costs are up. Lots of goods literally just seem unbuyable at this point. Even in my city (nowhere near the southeast)…
There's a lot of fiddling done on the numbers. One thing they do to keep CPI low is using "equivalent items". So if the iPhone 4 cost $500 ten years ago, and you can now buy an "equivalent" cheap Android from WalMart for $50 then they measure this as deflation.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Tangentially, wouldn't it be nice if we could buy a 1990-quality car for the inflation-adjusted price? Poor(ish) people would have a decent shot at actually affording reliable transportation and climbing up the ladder.
With the exception of a few brands (e.g. Honda, Toyota), I’m not sure the dismal mechanical quality of many 1990-quality cars would save people money versus buying a 10 year old used car for the same money. Remember, 1990 is still the era of the 5 digit odometer. Cars have gotten hugely more reliable over the years. A 2010 car hitting 200k miles is routine and expected; a 1990 car hitting 200k miles would be exceptio…
Every government gets away with printing money for a very short time, then the Zimbabwe Effect takes over. It will happen in the US just like it happened in the Confederacy. IIRC, in 1865 one silver dollar cost sixty paper dollars in exchange.
In Germany in 1923, one wheelbarrow-load of Weimar Deutchmarks could buy you a loaf of bread.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
With the exception of a few brands (e.g. Honda, Toyota), I’m not sure the dismal mechanical quality of many 1990-quality cars would save people money versus buying a 10 year old used car for the same money. Remember, 1990 is still the era of the 5 digit odometer. Cars have gotten hugely more reliable over the years. A 2010 car hitting 200k miles is routine and expected; a 1990 car hitting 200k miles would be exceptio…
This gives cart blanche to mark the price increases of each car year as hedonic adjustments. The BLS can simply say the price increase is due to enhancements. While some fraction of the increase is due to improvements, at least a portion is due to direct inflation. Further, if the reality is that a 1990 equivalent car cannot be purchased today - then the consumer who could only afford the 1990 accord will instead buy…
Hedonic regression actually quantifies the expected year-over-year price changes due to quality changes. It doesn’t give automakers carte blanche to increase prices, because a year-over-year price increase without quality increases commensurate with previous years will increase the residuals of the regression prediction for the current year.
> Is this person going to feel wealthier than they did in 1990?
Yes, because a 10 year old car in 2021 is still leaps and bounds better than a 1990 equivalent new car. Drive a few miles in a 2010 Civic (an entry level car), then drive a few miles in a 1990 Accord (a midrange car). You’ll be amazed at how much better the 10 year old Civic is in every aspect.