Upward and onward with inflation
Anyone who goes to the grocery store or gets a tank of gas knows about inflation anyway, but maybe not every single detail such as the fact that the increase in May was at the highest level since 1981:
Inflation accelerated further in May, with prices rising 8.6% from a year ago for the fastest increase since December 1981, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.
The consumer price index, a wide-ranging measure of goods and services prices, increased even more than the 8.3% Dow Jones estimate. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called core CPI was up 6%, slightly higher than the 5.9% estimate…
Energy prices broadly rose 3.9% from a month ago, bringing the annual gain to 34.6%. Within the category, fuel oil posted a 16.9% monthly gain, pushing the 12-month surge to 106.7%…
Finally, food costs climbed another 1.2% in May, bringing the year-over-year gain to 10.1%…
“It’s hard to look at May’s inflation data and not be disappointed,” said Morning Consult’s chief economist, John Leer. “We’re just not yet seeing any signs that we’re in the clear.”
And why would we? What’s been going on lately that would get us “in the clear”?
They say food prices have risen 10% in the past year, but I think I’ve experienced bigger grocery bill hikes than that. No doubt it depends on what you buy. But believe me, I’m not buying a bunch of steaks.
Years ago, they changed the “official” inflation rate to exclude such “volatile” items as food and fuel costs. So official inflation doesn’t even reflect what most of us spend most of our money on.
And they’re doing it on purpose.
Cat food prices have risen even faster than human food prices, and I don’t buy steaks any more than Neo does. The kitties still get their occasional dish of store-brand tuna, though.
Even if you accept the whole ‘Putin’s price hike’ thing how about taking some responsibility for it because they didn’t have to put all these sanctions on him and they are obviously not stopping him while at the same time hurting average people everywhere most importantly in this country where he was elected. He was elected by the American people and we should be his first priority.
But further why is it OK to say ‘Putin’s price hike’ and then just give up. How about taking some steps to offset them?
I know these clowns could make it worse but even Carter picked Volcker to head the Fed.
Has there ever been a president that has basically done nothing to address a major issue affecting virtually everyone?
Don’t forget that Biden’s rising fuel costs (especially diesel) also contribute to rising food costs. And there was also the chickens that were killed because of a viral disease. Those chicks aren’t producing eggs either.
Shadowstats has inflation at 17% based on the methodology the government used in 1980. Sure feels as if that is more accurate than the mere 8.6% reported today. http://www.shadowstats.com/alternate_data/inflation-charts
See the 2nd chart.
This tweet on the increases in various sectors tells it all.
All bad but fuel/energy is driving a huge amount of the inflation.
https://twitter.com/byHeatherLong/status/1535245905045209090
Also consumer confidence came in at it’s lowest reading since they began keeping track.
And yet–just today–Joey Plugs said we had “the fastest growing economy in the world”.
Here’s a link to AAA’s map of gas prices around the country:
https://gasprices.aaa.com
In parts of California, it’s up as high as $9+ per gallon.
Years ago, they changed the “official” inflation rate to exclude such “volatile” items as food and fuel costs. So official inflation doesn’t even reflect what most of us spend most of our money on
No, they did not. They report headline inflation, which includes those items, and core inflation, which does not. They draw the very distinction in the article she quotes.
PA Cat I had trouble getting the 60 can Friske’s at Sam’s. Finally got 2 cases. Price was up about 12%.
Today gas at the lower priced station went up 10cents from yesterday. We will hit $5 soon here in Northern CO. I put gas in every time I shop now.
Gas for the lawn stuff, Ethanol free, is now $5.179.
Our county is starting to push for higher Ethanol in gas, thinking (not really) that it will reduce emissions. Want to get rid of gas mowers too.
Shadowstats has inflation at 17% based on the methodology the government used in 1980.
Mr. Shadowstats is a business school graduate who fancies he produces more valid numbers from his desk than do federal statistical agencies who employ scads of trained personnel to conduct surveys and calculate indices.
Unleash the fossil fuel companies, reduce government spending, and work to unclog the supply chain. Just those three things would help slow inflation. The Dems won’t do any of it. They want what they want (renewable energy) and that’s that.
Art Deco is correct about “headline” versus “core” inflation. But the feds did rejigger the CPI calculation substantially a couple/few decades ago. The GW Bush admin.? They claimed that the previous overestimation of CPI led to overly generous boosts in the Social Security payouts.
This is from Investopedia:
Those substitution and product quality effects became part of the newer computation back then. I’ve read things about the owner occupied housing cost calculations which have a big affect on the net results, but it’s been way too long ago, plus I didn’t really understand it then.
This is a CPI table.
Eggs up 32% yoy. I wonder why that one is so bad.
How about this one: Fuel Oil is up 107% yoy. Ouch.
Nat. gas as delivered by the country’s piped gas services is up only (ha) 30% yoy.
Aren’t you glad Andrew Cuomo and the voters of NY have kept nat. gas pipelines out of NY State and thereby New England. You know, because fuel oil is so much cleaner than nat. gas. Oh, wait. Never mind.
yes he was kowtowing to cynthia nixon’s moonbat voters, and ring wraith hochul is not much better, everything will become more expensive and probably some products will be scarce or nonexistent, but you know no mean tweets,
TommyJay,
This tweet has the increases in various areas of the economy and from things I have heard at least around me the rent increase seems way too low.
https://twitter.com/byHeatherLong/status/1535245905045209090
JJ,
I would add to your list cut regulations that are making things way more expensive for businesses who then pass it on to consumers.
I saw somewhere and I can’t find it now that the Biden administration has enacted an unfathomable amount of new regulations in it’s first year and a half in office and of course that just adds to the prices of everything.
Griffin, yep. It has been anti-Trump all the way. Trump removed many, many regulations. All Biden’s policies are seemingly aimed at punishing the middle class.
I never would have believed I would loathe Biden more than Obama, but here we are.
PA Cat,
My wife called me from the store today, “Do you know how much the cat food costs now?!”
It is incomprehensible the Fed can reduce the value of our savings (including the short term savings of the cash in our pockets and pocketbooks) as they choose. How did we surrender that right to the Federal government? Why do we allow it to persist?
Since 1971 at least, no we didnt vote for that directly but all this spending has to have some impact
Rufus T. Firefly on June 10, 2022 at 11:07 pm
How did we surrender that right to the Federal government?
We ratified the Constitution, including Article I, Section 8. And then the 16th Amendment.
But you already knew that. 🙂
Most of our problems and issues result from the Congress, and of course the Congress is “us”, by extension. We are not so great when we are AOC, Bernie, Maxine, et al. Altogether too few Tom Coburns when we need them.
RTF–
About the cost of cat food– do you remember when people joked (!) about elderly people squeezed by inflation shoplifting cans of cat food to survive? It looks as if kitty food will be the next “luxury” food item for humans.
You can tell your wife that if it’s any comfort to her, Canadians are paying even more for cat food than we are. I do hope, BTW, that Willow, the First Cat, is well fed (rats being plentiful around the WH), as the Bidens are known for their lack of concern about inflation.
My Costco here on Oahu has been out of the cases of Friskies for months. Same story at Walmart. I ordered a case of some ‘natural’ food they seem to like from Amazon. At double the cost. Before I order another one, they are going to have to finish off the dog food my shepherd won’t eat!
Our cats are fed before we are. That’s policy.
For once, “the people”, the real people, are opening their eyes, because their wallets are opened widely. How can they not? @Molly+Brown mentions Costco—where in my town, everyone shops-doesn’t matter if you are an illegal etc. I normally buy their Peet’s, but one of my progeny introduced me to the Costco 3 lb medium roast (which I would walk right on by in my own snobby way)-it was $8.99 for 3 lbs 15 months ago. Now $14.99. Costco cream $3-now $8. Costco chicken breast meat pre-cooked-$8.99, now $17.99 ‘Nuff examples-what more be said of this? All of us who shop-and that is most of us- know that we are going the wrong way.
@Rufus Firefly-We’ve been salame sliced-just as the commies said they would do to us.
And not to be a bore, but here in California, the State legislature is debating Assembly Bill 2098, which would allow the State to discipline (including taking away physician’s licenses) for Covid “disinformation” such as what the FLCCC.net website recommends. Who needs docs with “other” opinions? We don’t need no other stupid opinions, Comrade. Think correctly, shut up, or lose your livelihood. Doesn’t matter that you took the Hippocratic Oath or Oath of Lasagna. Crazy.
Tina,
“First, do no harm” now means don’t breathe fresh air, lock yourself inside, take medications to stifle normal, developmental hormones and lop off vital, functioning body parts.
Seems Hippocrates was a hypocrite!
It is incomprehensible the Fed can reduce the value of our savings (including the short term savings of the cash in our pockets and pocketbooks) as they choose. How did we surrender that right to the Federal government? — Rufus
There was a whole litany or maybe even a perfect storm of government stupidity and corruption because of the pandemic that caused this level of inflation. A big chunk of it was the Fed too. Shutting down the economy, excessive unemployment benefits, big stimulus spending including Fed quantitative easing (QE). Shrinking supply (of goods) while goosing demand. I’m calling some of the stimulus spending corruption because Dems always do this so that they can buy votes and skim some off the top.
The creation of the Fed in the 1910’s was a response to boom and bust economic cycles and banking panics. A “run” on a bank (think Jimmy Stewart’s bank in “It’s a Wonderful Life”) used to be common. The Fed discount window was perhaps a nice solution to runs on banks, though such things always create moral hazard. That is, banks with a safety net are willing to take on more risk.
The Fed’s variable “funds rate” or ultra short term interest rate is supposed to be countercyclical. The economy’s penchant for herd behavior causes these cycles and the Fed is supposed to dampen the bullishness and stimulate the bearishness. Move against the herd = countercyclical.
Two areas got screwed up with the Fed. First, (and I don’t know how it happened) is that suddenly there was this 2%/yr inflation target. The Goldilocks amount of inflation. It’s small but not at all tiny. It is a huge annual government robbery of savers. The excuse for it is the supposed fact that deflation will cause recessions or even depressions, so we better stay clear of it.
The second area, is this quantitative easing garbage that was first instigated by Hank Paulson and Ben Bernanke. Throughout its history the Fed could only go into the markets for the purpose of manipulating ultra short term debt and interest rates. (Rand Paul thinks that is corrupt too.) Now the Treasury can put out a trillion of debt in 10 year notes, and the Fed can go right out and buy a trillion in 10yr notes. Just cite Ben Bernanke and shout QE while doing it. Sweet. And corrupt.
Congress should repeal the part of the Fed’s charter requiring them to try and achieve “full employment”. Mandate that the Fed focus solely on maintaining a stable value of the dollar, as close to a 0% change as possible, as they watch the economy grow and shrink. Somewhat tougher to do when there are major supply chain issues as now, that distort the price rise data with actual supply-demand changes, rather than the relative quantity of money chasing some level of goods and services.
The money supply is the lubricant for the economy, not the fuel. The fuel for growth is new ideas, innovation, and entrepreneurship. This factor is basically independent of the money supply, per se. And helps support the view that production (supply) must proceed consumption (demand). If someone has a promising new idea, he/she can always find some source of money capital to try and bring it into existence. Then the jobs are defined and employment can be increased.