Inflation???????

In my real life, I am seeing inflation everywhere.

I am seeing inflation at the pump, the grocery
store, everywhere.
I believe that inflation
right now today is greater than ever in this country.
This includes the 1970s and 1960s.

But the media keeps announcing that there is no
inflation. What gives?

"Tom" wrote in message
...
In my real life, I am seeing inflation everywhere.

I am seeing inflation at the pump, the grocery
store, everywhere.
I believe that inflation
right now today is greater than ever in this country.
This includes the 1970s and 1960s.

But the media keeps announcing that there is no
inflation. What gives?

My utility bill has gone up 55% since 1999. My car insurance has gone up
about the same--I have no tickets. Gas went from a buck a gallon in '99 to a
high of $2.48 a gallon last week. In my tax and spend state of Michigan
they've tripled and doubled the amount they charge for everything from dog
liscences to trailer tags--they call these tax increases "revenue
enhancements".
So I'm with you--I ain't buying it.

On Sat, 16 Jul 2005 00:00:00 -0500, "Tom" wrote:


But the media keeps announcing that there is no
inflation. What gives?

Most of the factors you mention are not included in the calculations
that the media is relying upon. If you are interested in such things,
you need to look for some of the other indices.

BLReed

To e-mail me, remove the obvious spam trap.
For collector coins and supplies at fair prices: http://tinyurl.com/pt9r
Cool things and Bust Coin Forum: http://www.byronreed.com

NPR had a story about that disconnect
between official govt. stats that people
hear about and the "real world" pricing
that people have to deal with on a
regular basis. It was very interesting.

The consumer price index et al. don't always reflect the things that
people
are spending money on a daily basis.

Tom wrote:

In my real life, I am seeing inflation everywhere.

I am seeing inflation at the pump, the grocery
store, everywhere.
I believe that inflation
right now today is greater than ever in this country.
This includes the 1970s and 1960s.

But the media keeps announcing that there is no
inflation. What gives?

The only sign of inflation that the "government" recognizes is rising
wages. There is none of that in my neighborhood.

JAM

stonej wrote:

The consumer price index et al. don't always reflect the things that
people are spending money on a daily basis.

We had a similar situation in Germany 3+ years ago: People noticed
"price hikes" because they observed a limited range of services and
products only. (There were other psychological factors as well that led
to this effect.) Interestingly, the price index and inflation rate have
been extremely low at the same time.

The German newspaper FAZ had an article about this effect called "felt
inflation" and how it differs from the measured inflation. Here are two
graphs showing the discrepancy --

-- in Germany:
http://www.faz.net/imagecache/{4A1E4A82-B0D1-4C52-AF47-A13C6FD86038}pict
ure.gif
(or)
http://tinylink.com/?6BLYDlmPnH

.... in all of Euroland:
http://www.faz.net/imagecache/{92CDEE19-AC0A-4F4A-96D1-CF77DBA0391B}pict
ure.gif
(or)
http://tinylink.com/?OPbaBbL8NI

In both pictures, the red lines (and the figures on the left) refer to
the inflation rate. The blue lines (and the figures on the right) refer
to that "felt inflation".

Christian

bri wrote:
"Tom" wrote in message
...
In my real life, I am seeing inflation everywhere.

I am seeing inflation at the pump, the grocery
store, everywhere.
I believe that inflation
right now today is greater than ever in this country.
This includes the 1970s and 1960s.

But the media keeps announcing that there is no
inflation. What gives?

My utility bill has gone up 55% since 1999. My car insurance has gone up
about the same--I have no tickets. Gas went from a buck a gallon in '99 t=
o a
high of $2.48 a gallon last week. In my tax and spend state of Michigan
they've tripled and doubled the amount they charge for everything from dog
liscences to trailer tags--they call these tax increases "revenue
enhancements".
So I'm with you--I ain't buying it.

Typical government lies. Here in NY if you get a traffic ticket for
anything (including an expired inspection), you get fined as would be
expected. BUT, the DMV decided to throw on an additional "fee", which
is at least the same amount as the initial fine. And recently, they
decided to throw in a $5 "Victim's Assistance Fund" fee as well.
Triple punishment for one offense. Maybe I should write my assembly
woman and complain (like it would do any good).

And while we're at it, let's do a gas thing. In 1973, before the
so-called *oil embargo,* gas cost me 32=A2 a gallon. Adjusted for
inflation, it would cost $1.41 today, not the almost $3.00 per gallon
the media is reporting.

http://www.westegg.com/inflation/

Jerry
VOTE THE *******S OUT!

Jerry Dennis wrote:

bri wrote:
"Tom" wrote in message
...
In my real life, I am seeing inflation everywhere.

I am seeing inflation at the pump, the grocery
store, everywhere.
I believe that inflation
right now today is greater than ever in this country.
This includes the 1970s and 1960s.

But the media keeps announcing that there is no
inflation. What gives?

My utility bill has gone up 55% since 1999. My car insurance has gone up
about the same--I have no tickets. Gas went from a buck a gallon in '99 to a
high of $2.48 a gallon last week. In my tax and spend state of Michigan
they've tripled and doubled the amount they charge for everything from dog
liscences to trailer tags--they call these tax increases "revenue
enhancements".
So I'm with you--I ain't buying it.

Typical government lies. Here in NY if you get a traffic ticket for
anything (including an expired inspection), you get fined as would be
expected. BUT, the DMV decided to throw on an additional "fee", which
is at least the same amount as the initial fine. And recently, they
decided to throw in a $5 "Victim's Assistance Fund" fee as well.
Triple punishment for one offense. Maybe I should write my assembly
woman and complain (like it would do any good).

And while we're at it, let's do a gas thing. In 1973, before the
so-called *oil embargo,* gas cost me 32¢ a gallon. Adjusted for
inflation, it would cost $1.41 today, not the almost $3.00 per gallon
the media is reporting.

Isn't that '$3.00' adjusted-for-inflation maximum based on the price in
March, 1981, when pump prices had first gone well over $1.00?

From what I have learned over time, 'inflation' is simply an increase in
the money supply (ie, 'printing' new money). What we are seeing are
market-based fluctuations in price based on supply, demand, taxation,
regulation, etc. The USA's money supply has not been changing much.

--
___________________________________________ ____ _______________
Regards, | |\ ____
| | | | |\
Michael G. Koerner May they | | | | | | rise again!
Appleton, Wisconsin USA | | | | | |
___________________________________________ | | | | | | _______________

"Jerry Dennis" wrote in message
oups.com...



And while we're at it, let's do a gas thing. In 1973, before the
so-called *oil embargo,* gas cost me 32¢ a gallon. Adjusted for
inflation, it would cost $1.41 today, not the almost $3.00 per gallon
the media is reporting.

Yeah, but the Chinese weren't buying as much oil back then.

X-No-Archive: yes

Michael G. Koerner wrote:

From what I have learned over time, 'inflation' is simply an increase in
the money supply (ie, 'printing' new money). What we are seeing are
market-based fluctuations in price based on supply, demand, taxation,
regulation, etc. The USA's money supply has not been changing much.

An increase in the money supply is one thing that can *cause* inflation,
but it's not the definition of it. Inflation is simply the general rise
in all prices in an economy over time. In our society, it is generally
caused by (aggregate) demand rising faster than (aggregate) supply.
Simply put, we buy too much and business output can't keep up.

The reason many folks think that inflation is higher than the government
actually reports it has to do with the way they calculate inflation to
begin with. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is the one most often
mentioned on newscasts. Without getting into too many boring details,
it's based on a "market basket" of goods whose prices are tracked over
time. Many economists feel that the basket itself doesn't accurately
reflect people's actual expenditures in the modern economy (health care,
for example, is understated in the basket). Thus, it looks like the
rise in prices isn't as extreme as it really is for individuals. The
CPI also doesn't account for new products, changes in quality, etc.
Although the government has made some changes, many feel it's still
flawed.

--
Ken

(PLEASE EDIT MY ADDRESS TO REPLY)