Inflation; Reality or perception.
We are blessed on Daily Kos to have a stable of brilliant economic diarists; I couldn't hold a candle to any of them. So this is a much more superficial and personal reflection of inflation. This has nothing to do with football inflation or deflation.
The value of the dollar has obviously been falling for a long while. Here's a calculator which allows you to enter a dollar amount and any year since 1913 and see the rate of inflation.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics compiles the Consumer Price Index based on a "basket of goods and services" sampled from various areas, more than 200 items,
FOOD AND BEVERAGES (breakfast cereal, milk, coffee, chicken, wine, full service meals and snacks);
HOUSING (rent of primary residence, owners' equivalent rent, fuel oil, bedroom furniture);
APPAREL (men's shirts and sweaters, women's dresses, jewelry);
TRANSPORTATION (new vehicles, airline fares, gasoline, motor vehicle insurance);
MEDICAL CARE (prescription drugs and medical supplies, physicians' services, eyeglasses and eye care, hospital services);
RECREATION (televisions, cable television, pets and pet products, sports equipment, admissions);
EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATION (college tuition, postage, telephone services, computer software and accessories);
OTHER GOODS AND SERVICES (tobacco and smoking products, haircuts and other personal services, funeral expenses).
The CPI is used to calculate the inflation rate. The latest inflation rate for the United States is 0.8% through the 12 months ended December 2014, as published by the US government on January 16, 2015. Falling oil prices undoubtedly contributed to the low number. Cost of living increases for social security and federal pensions were 1.7% last year so I guess this would be the government's perception of the effective rise in prices.
The best site I could find on details (and misconceptions) of these calculations is from the Department of Labor.
Why do I bring up this subject? It seems as though there's a few disconnects between the statistics and what I see around me, knowing of course that there's a disparity across the country. Food prices are definitely up. We read the grocery circulars each week and make purchases based on price. Virtually no bargains. Both rents and the price of homes have been skyrocketing. When I see the prices for movies, concerts, and sporting events I can't believe what I'm seeing. College prices are through the roof and heading higher, forcing students to borrow.
So what I'm wondering is whether or not you KTKers are seeing what I'm seeing in your area. Have you found any goods or services that are lower-priced recently? Are you making lifestyle modifications because of rising prices? For that matter are you driving more now that gasoline prices are lower? Is inflation Obama's fault?
Moving from tutorial to arboreal……..
Several years ago FoundingFatherDAR gave me a small redwood tree which she thought would do better on our farm. I planted it amongst a row of larger redwoods to fill a gap. It is doing well; growing slowly because of only filtered sunlight. It's over 6 feet now and you will notice it has bifurcated: two for the price of one.
It will become one of a row consisting of around 120 redwoods; it's in good company.
If my responses are slow or delayed, it's because my internet has been slow all day. It emphasizes the importance of Net Neutrality.
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