[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by Pugchief

Awesome, you can now watch everything collapse on a 65" screen while you starve to death! /s

Technology, not wage growth has enabled this phenomenon. Big screen TVs are way cheaper than when they fist came out. So are computers. Big whoop. These are one-time purchases you make maybe every 5 years. Gotta buy food every week to survive, and those prices are on a rocket ship to the moon.

I don't have the data for this but I imagine standard (55"-65") flat screens cost about what a standard television did back when I was young. BUT, I now have two in my house and families with kids likely have three or four. AND, that is only the standard size - Amazon and Best Buy have no problem selling the 80"+ models at over $1,000 each.

Food prices seem to be about 2.2% higher over last year. A 2.5% COLA should cover that.

Yes, I am sure you can find items that have increased more. Eggs have peaks and valleys due to avian flu. Citrus prices depend on the weather. Avocados were expensive earlier but I don't remember why. Crab, lobster, and filet could be skyrocketing right now for all I know. But overall (at least according to the first five links in my search) food prices are up 2.2% on average. (I believe grocery prices were up less than restaurant prices but that wasn't as clear. If that is the case then it *could* be attributed more to labor costs than product costs)