Just a quick note: according to the 3, 6 and 12 month moving average of Y/Y percentage change in total and core PCE price indexes, there is little to no inflation to worry about.
Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.
That’s just the cost of living for people who have to work to get by. If you expect your money to do your work for you, then there has been plenty of inflation. Have you looked at the stock market lately? How about the cost of A rated debt? High end real estate went through a shock 10 years ago, but there’s still been plenty of inflation there, and let’s not talk about the cost of symbolic art.
Where the inflation? I dunno, have you had to get your car fixed lately, or a repair done on your house, or looked at how much you are being charged for doctor’s visits and medical tests, or paid full price for a prescription drug, or paid your kids’ college tuition bills?
There is plenty of inflation, but economists are paid to deliberately hide it.
I think someone should define what inflation means in this modern age. The layman’s definition is that prices are going up for some reason or another. What exactly is the modern economists definition for it? If price increases by themselves are signs of inflation, how does value enter into that price increase? For instance, a telephone in 1980 cost about 30 bucks, a home computer maybe 2000 bucks, now an Iphone is around 600 bucks. They are not remotely comparable are they? So all you economists on this site, tell an armchair economist follower what the hell it means these days because to be honest, I have no clue anymore.
sure glad there is no inflation. means there won’t be any rise in interest rates on savings. now we just need to do something about the rising cost of living.
wooley,
yes that i phone costs more, but it does so much more for you,
kinda like cars. today’s cars cost more, but they do so much more.
on the other hand if you are a granny and you just need a car to go shopping or get to the doctor you probably don’t need remote door locks.
and of course having an internet connection can’t possibly be inflation because, well, on accounta you didn’t have one in 1936 so ANY cost must be an increase in value not inflation. but just like the car, it’s going to get really hard to live without one.
Coberly
So if the price went down for something but its value and power went up, does that decrease overall inflation because in the mix of goods being measured, this item is actually cheaper and a better product? Ok, throw that product out of the bag of goods, throw all technology out of the basket. That leaves what exactly? Commodities, food, rents, interest rates? Is the world now in a global shortage of things to buy cheaply? Are commodities suddenly becoming more expensive? Food production has never been more efficient, are food prices going up or down a cause of inflation? Maybe its tied to fertilizer prices or transportation costs, who knows. My point is how is inflation measured today, what is the formula used by the Fed? Why that formula and not some other? Are all national banks using the same formula across the globe? The very idea of inflation is an artifact from the gold bug era in my opinion, as it relates to our currency I cannot see how inflation could ever become a threat to us again. I may be wrong and I bet someone on this site can tell me I am wrong, lets hear it from the experts.
Woolley
I’d be careful of asking the experts. They generally are experts in what other people say, but dont really know what they are talking about.
On the other hand, you ask very good questions. What the Fed formula is you can find out easily enough. And that would be the operational definition of inflation (or one of them). Just what this means in terms of “the cost of living” is another question altogether.
The “operational definition” appears superficially to have something to do with the cost of living, but if you look at it carefully, and then look at what happens to real people you might see a problem.
Incidentally, my rant was based on some shenanigans that were made public during the clinton years. a great effort was made to prove “inflation” was overstated by the measure then in use. the argument was essentially that the measure failed to note that when the price of steak went up people switched to chicken therefore their cost of living did not go up. and of course when the cost of chicken when up they could always switch to potatoes. and then when the cost of potatoes goes up they can switch to turnips. so you see there is really no reason to adjust the social security benefit for “inflation” after all.
Shays
any relation to Daniel?
but as for “muttering a dialect” I think your comment could profit from actually saying what you mean. or maybe not.
Good bye Bert
Shays
for some reason your reply appeared in my inbox but not here on AB.
but thank you for the clarification. i probably agree with you.