June at 3%

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Inflation was as high as 9.1% nationwide a year ago. We were still recovering from global shut-downs post-pandemic, restoring jobs lost, getting manufacturers back on track, and a bunch of other stuff that's political so I won't detail it here but - politics certainly played some part.

The good news, is that the inflation rate has been in decline for the past 12 months, consecutively, and hit 3% as of the end of June.

[MrFlorida]

Have you been to the gas station or the food store recently ?

[Michael G.]

3% drop for June is good news going forward but what about all the prices that were raised
in the past to the present, will those prices drop........I think not.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

3% drop for June is good news going forward but what about all the prices that were raised
in the past to the present, will those prices drop........I think not.

That would be up to the sellers of whatever you're asking about.

[Bill14564]

Have you been to the gas station or the food store recently ?

Yep, good to see gas prices are down over the past year and similar to 2021 prices.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Have you been to the gas station or the food store recently ?

Yup. Gas was $2.94 this morning at BJ's, which is where I get my gas. That's 4 cents lower than it was a week ago. It was $2.98 for around a month. It was consistently over $3.00 before that.

As I posted in response to MichaelG, the *price* that you pay as a customer, when inflation rates drop, is up to the seller. They're getting things cheaper, it's up to them to decide whether or not to reduce their retail price keep the higher margins.

[Cybersprings]

Yup. Gas was $2.94 this morning at BJ's, which is where I get my gas. That's 4 cents lower than it was a week ago. It was $2.98 for around a month. It was consistently over $3.00 before that.

As I posted in response to Michael61, the *price* that you pay as a customer, when inflation rates drop, is up to the seller. They're getting things cheaper, it's up to them to decide whether or not to reduce their retail price keep the higher margins.

I am a little confused. Prices didn't drop. So there is no price reduction to be passed on. They only went up 3% instead of 6% or 9%.

[Battlebasset]

Interesting article in the WSJ today that provides a calculator that lets you pick products that are most important to you, to create a "personalized" inflation number. Not perfect, but good insight.

For me, it shows it shooting up like a rocket in 2021, and slowly coming down over the most recent months.

The biggest component of inflation that I see is energy prices. Everything uses energy to be created, mined, grown, transported, keep hot/cold, etc. When gasoline/diesel/NG is expensive, it gets baked into everything.

Want to keep inflation low? Keep energy prices low.

[MrFlorida]

Yup. Gas was $2.94 this morning at BJ's, which is where I get my gas. That's 4 cents lower than it was a week ago. It was $2.98 for around a month. It was consistently over $3.00 before that.

As I posted in response to Michael61, the *price* that you pay as a customer, when inflation rates drop, is up to the seller. They're getting things cheaper, it's up to them to decide whether or not to reduce their retail price keep the higher margins.

Yesterday on 466 all the Circle K stations were $3.49 for regular...

[Stu from NYC]

Based on how we tend to spend our money do not believe inflation is slowing down at all.

Restaurants and groceries keep going up by considerably more than 3%.

At the end of the day overall inflation is 10% or so.

[MrFlorida]

Yup. Gas was $2.94 this morning at BJ's, which is where I get my gas. That's 4 cents lower than it was a week ago. It was $2.98 for around a month. It was consistently over $3.00 before that.

As I posted in response to Michael61, the *price* that you pay as a customer, when inflation rates drop, is up to the seller. They're getting things cheaper, it's up to them to decide whether or not to reduce their retail price keep the higher margins.

Go out on 466, yesterday most stations were $3.49 for regular, I don't see prices coming down, but quite the opposite.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

I am a little confused. Prices didn't drop. So there is no price reduction to be passed on. They only went up 3% instead of 6% or 9%.

So - here's how it works:

Widgets were invented 10 years ago, and were $1 each.

Last year, you needed a widget. Last year, widgets cost $9 each.

This year, the same widget is $3.

Yes - it's up from when it first came out on the market. But it's much less than it was last year.

[LuvNH]

Yesterday on 466 all the Circle K stations were $3.49 for regular...

Don't you think that is gouging people in TV? I think prices in TV are higher than in some other areas of the country. I am with family in NH for the summer and Market Basket prices are excellent. Lobsters $7,99 yesterday, fresh and they boil them for you. Swordfish $13,99 lb. Fresh haddock $8.99 lb. I even found a piece of Halibut at 18.99 lb. They had two Lobster rolls, fresh made while you waited for $8.99 for two - real lobster, none of that pink faux stuff. Yes, we are fish people, deep cold water fish, no steak in this house.

Food prices are definitely coming down around us. What surprises me is this area of NH is very affluent, and yet food prices are very affordable. It makes no sense to me, but I am not an economist.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Go out on 466, yesterday most stations were $3.49 for regular, I don't see prices coming down, but quite the opposite.

I don't live near 466. I live near 441, and all along 441, the prices are in the $3.30's.

The price of gas is based on - whatever the oil company wants to charge. If you don't like paying $3.49/gallon, drive a mile out of your way and pay $3.37/gallon. Or drive three miles out of your way and get it for $2.94/gallon.

People are willing to pay $3.49/gallon, and so - that's what they'll be charged. Such is the nature of free enterprise and a free market.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Don't you think that is gouging people in TV? I think prices in TV are higher than in some other areas of the country. I am with family in NH for the summer and Market Basket prices are excellent. Lobsters $7,99 yesterday, fresh and they boil them for you. Swordfish $13,99 lb. Fresh haddock $8.99 lb. I even found a piece of Halibut at 18.99 lb. They had two Lobster rolls, fresh made while you waited for $8.99 for two - real lobster, none of that pink faux stuff. Yes, we are fish people, deep cold water fish, no steak in this house.

Food prices are definitely coming down around us. What surprises me is this area of NH is very affluent, and yet food prices are very affordable. It makes no sense to me, but I am not an economist.

You can't compare lobster prices in New Hampshire to gas prices in Florida. You also can't get Maine lobster in Florida without paying an enormous premium, and it is likely to come in pre-cooked and frozen, not live in a tank.

Lobsters ALWAYS sell for market price. If they're in season /and/ local, you'll pay less than when they're out of season or shipped from somewhere else. If it's out of season AND shipped from somewhere else, you'll pay even more than that. When I lived in Connecticut I couldn't get a lobster roll for under $18 (including fries). But that'd be around 4 ounces (1/4 lb) of hot Maine lobster meat, no mayo or sauce but kept hot in a crockpot of butter, so you'd get maybe a tablespoon of butter in that 1/4 pound of meat. The Market Basket lobster roll is less than 4 ounces of cold lobster meat and mayonnaise. So maybe around 2 ounces of just lobster meat. The Market Basket lobster rolls are referred to as "finger sandwiches."

[Maker]

So - here's how it works:
Widgets were invented 10 years ago, and were $1 each.
Last year, you needed a widget. Last year, widgets cost $9 each.
This year, the same widget is $3.
Yes - it's up from when it first came out on the market. But it's much less than it was last year.

Is that a weird fantasy world math? Name the widget. Something technology based? Obsolete today because something newer was created?

The inflation numbers are published monthly, for a 1 year span. When there is a huge cost bump in a month from a year ago, and that bump falls off the moving average as time passes. So the "change" appears better. In actuality, we are still saddled with that huge cost increase today.

The fact is that the cost of living is way higher now than a year ago. Sure, one can hand pick an example of things that are not still up (typ obsolete technology), but everything else is way up. Food (meat, pop, bread, fruits, grains, etc), energy, insurance, hard goods, cars, labor, water, clothing... 99% of things cost a lot more now. Not 2% more (like prior to JB), many are 10% to 200% more.

Even if the inflation number goes to zero... all that says is that things are still way more expensive today than a year ago.

[Stu from NYC]

Is that a weird fantasy world math? Name the widget. Something technology based? Obsolete today because something newer was created?

The inflation numbers are published monthly, for a 1 year span. When there is a huge cost bump in a month from a year ago, and that bump falls off the moving average as time passes. So the "change" appears better. In actuality, we are still saddled with that huge cost increase today.

The fact is that the cost of living is way higher now than a year ago. Sure, one can hand pick an example of things that are not still up (typ obsolete technology), but everything else is way up. Food (meat, pop, bread, fruits, grains, etc), energy, insurance, hard goods, cars, labor, water, clothing... 99% of things cost a lot more now. Not 2% more (like prior to JB), many are 10% to 200% more.

Even if the inflation number goes to zero... all that says is that things are still way more expensive today than a year ago.

Right you are

[jimbomaybe]

Yup. Gas was $2.94 this morning at BJ's, which is where I get my gas. That's 4 cents lower than it was a week ago. It was $2.98 for around a month. It was consistently over $3.00 before that.

As I posted in response to Michael61, the *price* that you pay as a customer, when inflation rates drop, is up to the seller. They're getting things cheaper, it's up to them to decide whether or not to reduce their retail price keep the higher margins.
HUH prices didn't drop , they did not increase as much as previously, some commodities have dropped lowering overall inflation

[oldtimes]

Inflation was as high as 9.1% nationwide a year ago. We were still recovering from global shut-downs post-pandemic, restoring jobs lost, getting manufacturers back on track, and a bunch of other stuff that's political so I won't detail it here but - politics certainly played some part.

The good news, is that the inflation rate has been in decline for the past 12 months, consecutively, and hit 3% as of the end of June.

So we should be happy prices are still going up but just not as much?

[mbene]

Have you been to the gas station or the food store recently ?

Search oil companies record profits and you'll know why gas prices are high.

[Michael 61]

[QUOTE=OrangeBlossomBaby;2234539

As I posted in response to Michael61, the *price* that you pay as a customer, when inflation rates drop, is up to the seller. They're getting things cheaper, it's up to them to decide whether or not to reduce their retail price keep the higher margins.[/QUOTE]

Wrong Michael - I think you meant Michael G - There are two of us Michael’s here 😀

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

So we should be happy prices are still going up but just not as much?

With very few exceptions, inflation has ALWAYS existed. There's only been a scant handful of years in the past 50 years, when the inflation rate was at a negative. Prices go up. That's just how society works. If you want to eliminate the chance of inflation, you'll need to switch to communism. I'm guessing no one here wants to do that.

Prices are currently up because companies know that you'll pay what they charge for what they're selling. They were up at a much higher rate in the past year because of supply chain issues, among other things. Most of those other things and the supply chain issues are resolved, or resolving. And so the rate has dropped back down.

If prices are still up, it's not because of inflation. It's because of greed. COSTS are down. That's why I can get my gallon of gas for $2.98, and why people getting gas on 466 are paying $3.39.

Oh and to whoever was all upset about it being $3.49 - I was just there today, it's $3.39 at the Circle K by Southern Trace. If you have their payment card thing, it's $3.29.

[Decadeofdave]

That's 9% +3%, if the latest reading was 0% we are stuck at the cumulative level.

[shut the front door]

The attempt at a political post has failed. We are and have been in a recession. You don't get to change the definition just because you caused it.

[Rainger99]

So - here's how it works:

Widgets were invented 10 years ago, and were $1 each.

Last year, you needed a widget. Last year, widgets cost $9 each.

This year, the same widget is $3.

Yes - it's up from when it first came out on the market. But it's much less than it was last year.

I think your math is wrong. If an item cost $100 two years ago and went up 9% the first year, it would cost $109 in 2022. If inflation goes up 3% the next year, the price should be about $112.27. The price did not go down.

Sort of like compound interest!

[shaw8700@outlook.com]

I don't live near 466. I live near 441, and all along 441, the prices are in the $3.30's.

The price of gas is based on - whatever the oil company wants to charge. If you don't like paying $3.49/gallon, drive a mile out of your way and pay $3.37/gallon. Or drive three miles out of your way and get it for $2.94/gallon.

People are willing to pay $3.49/gallon, and so - that's what they'll be charged. Such is the nature of free enterprise and a free market.
But you are forgetting about the rent they have to pay. The ones located closer to The Villages pay higher rent than the ones out in the country. Same goes for taxes and insurance.

(I have this same argument all the time with my husband)

[shut the front door]

But you are forgetting about the rent they have to pay. The ones located closer to The Villages pay higher rent than the ones out in the country. Same goes for taxes and insurance.

(I have this same argument all the time with my husband)

The economist seems to be forgetting that we were under $2.25 a gallon when we were energy independent. But that doesn't fit the narrative.

[npwalters]

[QUOTE=OrangeBlossomBaby;2234569]So - here's how it works:

Widgets were invented 10 years ago, and were $1 each.

Last year, you needed a widget. Last year, widgets cost $9 each.

This year, the same widget is $3.

Yes - it's up from when it first came out on the market. But it's much less than it was last year.[/QUOTE

No here is how it works. 3 years ago it cost $1.00. 2 years ago it cost $1.10. 1 year ago it cost $ 1.22. This year the rate of inflation has slowed so it cost $1.28.

[Chi-Town]

I still get a charge of of those that are fixated on higher gasoline prices. A reminder that it is supply and demand. During the covid years demand was very low and $2.29 was common. Compare it to the demand now.

[Mleeja]

So - here's how it works:

Widgets were invented 10 years ago, and were $1 each.

Last year, you needed a widget. Last year, widgets cost $9 each.

This year, the same widget is $3.

Yes - it's up from when it first came out on the market. But it's much less than it was last year.

No, here is how it works.
In July 2021 the widget was $1.00. Inflation from July 2021 to July 2022 was 9%. The widget now cost $1.09. Inflation from July 2022 to July 2023 is 3%. The widget now cost $1.1227 The cost is still going up, just not as fast.

[dewilson58]

politics certainly played some part.
.

:loco::loco::loco:

Nope.

It's an economic cycle.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

So yeah I had my math and logic all turned around upside down and backward. I guess my point remains the same though: the rise of inflation is lower now, than it was a year ago. It's been steadily decreasing all year. There is almost always inflation. It's a rare occurrence when there is a year of no inflation. It's also a rare occurrence when there is a -significantly- steady decrease for a full year.

This almost 6-point decrease is pretty significant. You can argue the math all you want, but I know I for one would prefer a 3% inflation rate than a 9% inflation rate. Zero would be best but - that isn't on the list of options at the moment.

[dewilson58]

.......................but I know I for one would prefer a 3% inflation rate than a 9% inflation rate.

Zero would be best but - that isn't on the list of options at the moment.

100 votes for 3% vs. 9%. :pepper2::pepper2:

Zero feel like the best.......................but it does come at a cost..............tomorrow.

:posting:

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

100 votes for 3% vs. 9%. :pepper2::pepper2:

Zero feel like the best.......................but it does come at a cost..............tomorrow.

:posting:

There's no such thing as a free lunch, so they say.

[Mleeja]

So yeah I had my math and logic all turned around upside down and backward. I guess my point remains the same though: the rise of inflation is lower now, than it was a year ago. It's been steadily decreasing all year. There is almost always inflation. It's a rare occurrence when there is a year of no inflation. It's also a rare occurrence when there is a -significantly- steady decrease for a full year.

This almost 6-point decrease is pretty significant. You can argue the math all you want, but I know I for one would prefer a 3% inflation rate than a 9% inflation rate. Zero would be best but - that isn't on the list of options at the moment.
I don’t think many are going to argue they would rather have 9% inflation over 3%, but making the argument that prices are going down is not valid. Cost of items are still increasing…

[Stu from NYC]

The attempt at a political post has failed. We are and have been in a recession. You don't get to change the definition just because you caused it.

Traditionally two quarters in a row when the gnp went down was considered to be a recession. Somehow that changed last year.

[dewilson58]

There's no such thing as a free lunch, so they say.

Has anyone gone to the free lunch with the Brothers trying to burn your dead body.
Lots of advertising on this site, but really.................free lunch and sign up for your burning?!?!?!

[mtdjed]

So - here's how it works:

Widgets were invented 10 years ago, and were $1 each.

Last year, you needed a widget. Last year, widgets cost $9 each.

This year, the same widget is $3.

Yes - it's up from when it first came out on the market. But it's much less than it was last year.

The above example scares me. I guess, if I read the words and it were a true or false statement for a first grader, I would have to say - True.

But that is not the issue. The issue was the current month's inflation index was 3%.

You stated that the inflation rate is down to 3%. That means that inflation was up "this month" at an annual rate of 3 per cent. It does not mean that the prices went up by 3% this month but only that if that rate continued at that level for 12 months it would be an annual rate of 3%. Likewise, it does not negate any of the price rises that have occurred in the past.

A single item does not follow the inflation rate cost. It is a basket of goods the government uses to determine "the rate" of inflation. Simply stated, that if that basket was $100 last year and the "annual" rate of inflation for the last 12 months was 10 %. (I am not compounding). The basket would now cost $110. If this month's inflation rate was plus 3% and stayed that way for a year, The price would be $113.30.

Am I misinterpreting?

[Normal]

I am a little confused. Prices didn't drop. So there is no price reduction to be passed on. They only went up 3% instead of 6% or 9%.

No, you have stated it all correctly.

[djplong]

Don't you think that is gouging people in TV? I think prices in TV are higher than in some other areas of the country. I am with family in NH for the summer and Market Basket prices are excellent.
...
Food prices are definitely coming down around us. What surprises me is this area of NH is very affluent, and yet food prices are very affordable. It makes no sense to me, but I am not an economist.

Market Basket is an anomaly. They are privately owned and had a very public family war over control of the chain. One side wanted to treat it like a corporation and the other wanted to treat it like a family member. Eventually the corporate slugs were bought out.

Market Basket can undercut Shaws and Hannafords here because they are not beholden to shareholders to maximize revenue. They can make a fair profit and be happy with that while paying their employees a fair wage. You just don't see nametags at the other supermarkets saying they have over 20 years at the store. That says something.

There was a famous strike that went on during the 'kerfuffle' and people supported the strike by simply not going there. Artie (the non-corporate family member) ended up winning because of the loyalty of the employees and customers. I've never seen anything like it, personally, in my lifetime.

[Sandy and Ed]

Interesting article in the WSJ today that provides a calculator that lets you pick products that are most important to you, to create a "personalized" inflation number. Not perfect, but good insight.

For me, it shows it shooting up like a rocket in 2021, and slowly coming down over the most recent months.

The biggest component of inflation that I see is energy prices. Everything uses energy to be created, mined, grown, transported, keep hot/cold, etc. When gasoline/diesel/NG is expensive, it gets baked into everything.

Want to keep inflation low? Keep energy prices low.
Thank you!! Cost of transportation, etc. All driven by fuel for the machine

[MandoMan]

3% drop for June is good news going forward but what about all the prices that were raised
in the past to the present, will those prices drop........I think not.

You got an 8.7% cost of living allowance from Social Security last winter to cover that.

[huge-pigeons]

The OP is trying to find ways to justify a terrible economy, which still has elevated inflation, high energy costs, high food costs, high labor costs, etc… If we are in such good shape, why is the stock market still low? Why are 30 year loans close to 7%? Why is Powell projected to raise rates 2 more times this year and will be keeping the rates high for a longer period?
Trying to justify a good job at bringing gas prices down to $3+ a gallon when it was over a $1 cheaper in 2020 and never should be over $2 if we were still the dominant oil producer in the world. Selling our reserves to keep gas prices low is not a good strategy for the country.

[CoachKandSportsguy]

Inflation was as high as 9.1% nationwide a year ago. We were still recovering from global shut-downs post-pandemic, restoring jobs lost, getting manufacturers back on track, and a bunch of other stuff that's political so I won't detail it here but - politics certainly played some part.

The good news, is that the inflation rate has been in decline for the past 12 months, consecutively, and hit 3% as of the end of June.

But here is the PCE, which is more of what we buy, and is what the Fed, J Pow and the board look at to make interest rate decisions. Note that it isn't quite as low as the CPI with all the other crap thrown in, like owners equivalent rent. . . the rate is about 5% on a year over year basis. The sh!tty feeling about inflation is that income changes about once a year, and lags these changes so it messes with fixed budgets in the worst way

Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Release: Personal Income and Outlays
Units: Index 2012=100, Seasonally Adjusted

Frequency: Monthly

BEA Account Code: DPCERG

The Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index is a measure of the prices that people living in the United States, or those buying on their behalf, pay for goods and services. The change in the PCE price index is known for capturing inflation (or deflation) across a wide range of consumer expenses and reflecting changes in consumer behavior. For example, if the price of beef rises, shoppers may buy less beef and more chicken.

The PCE Price Index is produced by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), which revises previously published PCE data to reflect updated information or new methodology, providing consistency across decades of data that's valuable for researchers. They also offer the series as a Chain-Type index, as above. The PCE price index is used primarily for macroeconomic analysis and forecasting.

The PCE Price index is the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation. The PCE Price Index is similar to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' consumer price index for urban consumers. The two indexes, which have their own purposes and uses, are constructed differently, resulting in different inflation rates.

[Susan1717]

I am still comparing gas and food prices to 2020. Everything is still very high from then. They may be a little better than a year ago, but in my opinion, still off the charts high.

[Nana2Teddy]

Yup. Gas was $2.94 this morning at BJ's, which is where I get my gas. That's 4 cents lower than it was a week ago. It was $2.98 for around a month. It was consistently over $3.00 before that.

As I posted in response to Michael61, the *price* that you pay as a customer, when inflation rates drop, is up to the seller. They're getting things cheaper, it's up to them to decide whether or not to reduce their retail price keep the higher margins.
If you’re going to directly mention a user name at least get it right. It was Michael G, not Michael61 you were responding to.

[Maker]

Search oil companies record profits and you'll know why gas prices are high.

Totally incorrect.
Worldwide economics ties seemingly unrelated events together. Here's the timeline of cause and effects that triggered this inflation.

Energy companies lost a huge amount of money when Biden terminated land leases for oil and natural gas wells on federal land. The billions they invested in constructing those wells was instantly lost. Plus they lost the income from the raw product those wells would have produced.

Then Biden said no more leases.
The energy companies decided to hold on to (stop spending) their well investment dollars rather than risking it being lost on the whim of the president. They did not invest budgeted money into building new wells because they were worried about the the performance of new wells on existing unused leases that had a poor potential for being productive (that's why they were unused - junk geography after analysis), and fearing a repeat of Biden's previous financial hit.
That is where the record profits came from. Holding money instead of investing it. The future energy production is also now crippled.

So Biden said, ok, we will lease some land. It was the lousy areas. And there was no promise that leases wouldn't get pulled away again. A non-solution, but it sounded good in the press. Solved nothing.

That all had a cascading effect. Now there is not enough energy for the needs of the country. So the USA suddenly became an net importer of energy. No longer energy independent as more is being imported into the country than being exported. Foreign countries (Venezuela, Arabs, etc.. think OPEC) were happy to sell us energy, but at much higher prices than previously. The USA had no choice except to buy at those inflated prices. There is the reason for higher gasoline prices. (inflation)

With no new wells coming online, the future production will drop as wells dry up. Lower supply will drive prices up even more as time passes. (inflation)

And related, Biden restricted use of coal. A plentiful, low cost, energy resource within the USA. We all need electricity - even when it's cloudy or at night, or when the wind is not blowing. What do power plants use for generating power now? Oil and natural gas. That caused demand for oil and natural to go up substantially. That drove the USA into importing even more oil and natural gas. The spiral grows bigger. (inflation)

We see gasoline has gone from $1.90 to $2.92 (or more)
What you may not notice is diesel has more than doubled. Diesel moves trucks and trains. As a result, shipping costs have gone way up. That drives up the cost of everything we buy. (inflation)
Manufacturers also have to pay more to get the raw materials. That drives prices up again, this time at the source. (inflation)
Farmers costs for fuel for their tractors, buying seeds or feed, are all up too. Their costs for providing our food are way up, so that hits everybody. (inflation)

Having every step of the process to get goods into our homes suddenly become more expensive is a direct result of Biden's energy policy. That triggered the start of record inflation. What will stop inflation? Reversing the cause would be a great start.

[spinner1001]

Inflation was as high as 9.1% nationwide a year ago. We were still recovering from global shut-downs post-pandemic, restoring jobs lost, getting manufacturers back on track, and a bunch of other stuff that's political so I won't detail it here but - politics certainly played some part.

The good news, is that the inflation rate has been in decline for the past 12 months, consecutively, and hit 3% as of the end of June.

The 3% inflation rate year-over-year (YOY) through June 2023 (i.e., July 2022 to June 2023) is welcome overall compared to recent higher inflation. But that’s not a complete picture. The devil is in the details.

The main drivers of the slowing trend according to USA government Bureau of Labor Statistics data include much lower YOY prices of energy (includes gasoline) down 17% and used car prices down 5%.

Other prices went up much more than the headline 3%. Year-over-year, food is up 6%, housing costs up 8%, and transportation costs up 8%.

This matters depending on what items a person buys. One who is not buying used cars and lots of gasoline but is buying food, renting a home, flying and cruising may be seeing YOY price increases over the headline inflation rate of 3%.

From the BLS Access Denied (https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cpi.pdf:)

[Rainger99]

The good news, is that the inflation rate has been in decline for the past 12 months, consecutively, and hit 3% as of the end of June.

Core inflation last month was 4.8% in June. Core inflation excludes food and energy prices. This was the lowest since October 2021.

[NoMo50]

Totally incorrect.
Worldwide economics ties seemingly unrelated events together. Here's the timeline of cause and effects that triggered this inflation.

Energy companies lost a huge amount of money when Biden terminated land leases for oil and natural gas wells on federal land. The billions they invested in constructing those wells was instantly lost. Plus they lost the income from the raw product those wells would have produced.

Then Biden said no more leases.
The energy companies decided to hold on to (stop spending) their well investment dollars rather than risking it being lost on the whim of the president. They did not invest budgeted money into building new wells because they were worried about the the performance of new wells on existing unused leases that had a poor potential for being productive (that's why they were unused - junk geography after analysis), and fearing a repeat of Biden's previous financial hit.
That is where the record profits came from. Holding money instead of investing it. The future energy production is also now crippled.

So Biden said, ok, we will lease some land. It was the lousy areas. And there was no promise that leases wouldn't get pulled away again. A non-solution, but it sounded good in the press. Solved nothing.

That all had a cascading effect. Now there is not enough energy for the needs of the country. So the USA suddenly became an net importer of energy. No longer energy independent as more is being imported into the country than being exported. Foreign countries (Venezuela, Arabs, etc.. think OPEC) were happy to sell us energy, but at much higher prices than previously. The USA had no choice except to buy at those inflated prices. There is the reason for higher gasoline prices. (inflation)

With no new wells coming online, the future production will drop as wells dry up. Lower supply will drive prices up even more as time passes. (inflation)

And related, Biden restricted use of coal. A plentiful, low cost, energy resource within the USA. We all need electricity - even when it's cloudy or at night, or when the wind is not blowing. What do power plants use for generating power now? Oil and natural gas. That caused demand for oil and natural to go up substantially. That drove the USA into importing even more oil and natural gas. The spiral grows bigger. (inflation)

We see gasoline has gone from $1.90 to $2.92 (or more)
What you may not notice is diesel has more than doubled. Diesel moves trucks and trains. As a result, shipping costs have gone way up. That drives up the cost of everything we buy. (inflation)
Manufacturers also have to pay more to get the raw materials. That drives prices up again, this time at the source. (inflation)
Farmers costs for fuel for their tractors, buying seeds or feed, are all up too. Their costs for providing our food are way up, so that hits everybody. (inflation)

Having every step of the process to get goods into our homes suddenly become more expensive is a direct result of Biden's energy policy. That triggered the start of record inflation. What will stop inflation? Reversing the cause would be a great start.

Well said, and correct, but probably too much for some non-deep thinkers to grasp. To make it simple, folks should just remember that everything starts with, and hinges upon, the cost of energy. It wasn't that long ago, think 5 years, that our country was energy independent, and a net exporter of oil. Everyone benefited during those times.

[spinner1001]

Search oil companies record profits and you'll know why gas prices are high.

But gasoline prices fell overall 27% from July 2022 through June 2023 according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. How do you explain that? The evil managers of capitalist oil companies decided to cut their profits to help society?

Access Denied (https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cpi.pdf)

[coconutmama]

The OP is trying to find ways to justify a terrible economy, which still has elevated inflation, high energy costs, high food costs, high labor costs, etc… If we are in such good shape, why is the stock market still low? Why are 30 year loans close to 7%? Why is Powell projected to raise rates 2 more times this year and will be keeping the rates high for a longer period?
Trying to justify a good job at bringing gas prices down to $3+ a gallon when it was over a $1 cheaper in 2020 and never should be over $2 if we were still the dominant oil producer in the world. Selling our reserves to keep gas prices low is not a good strategy for the country.

I guess we can all cherry pick an item to prove our point. For me, I am very happy that the price of eggs are back down to where they were & that the stock market is doing well.

And I do see that many prices are lower outside of The Villages. Free enterprise at work.

[banjobob]

The inflation can be attributed directly to Uncle Joe, this economy is fossil fuel based, his green cronies and handlers had him destroy our energy independence by destroying the coal and oil business to force his green unworkable energy program.

[Rainger99]

Search oil companies record profits and you'll know why gas prices are high.

According to this website, gasoline is cheaper now than it was in 1976.


Gas price inflation, 1935→2023 (https://www.in2013dollars.com/Gasoline-(all-types)/price-inflation)

[oldtimes]

With very few exceptions, inflation has ALWAYS existed. There's only been a scant handful of years in the past 50 years, when the inflation rate was at a negative. Prices go up. That's just how society works. If you want to eliminate the chance of inflation, you'll need to switch to communism. I'm guessing no one here wants to do that.

Prices are currently up because companies know that you'll pay what they charge for what they're selling. They were up at a much higher rate in the past year because of supply chain issues, among other things. Most of those other things and the supply chain issues are resolved, or resolving. And so the rate has dropped back down.

If prices are still up, it's not because of inflation. It's because of greed. COSTS are down. That's why I can get my gallon of gas for $2.98, and why people getting gas on 466 are paying $3.39.

Oh and to whoever was all upset about it being $3.49 - I was just there today, it's $3.39 at the Circle K by Southern Trace. If you have their payment card thing, it's $3.29.

This is OBB economics and makes no sense to me

[Tonydivo]

What goes up must come down

[airstreamingypsy]

3% drop for June is good news going forward but what about all the prices that were raised
in the past to the present, will those prices drop........I think not.

If they don't its price gouging, like the gas companies did last year.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

The above example scares me. I guess, if I read the words and it were a true or false statement for a first grader, I would have to say - True.

But that is not the issue. The issue was the current month's inflation index was 3%.

You stated that the inflation rate is down to 3%. That means that inflation was up "this month" at an annual rate of 3 per cent. It does not mean that the prices went up by 3% this month but only that if that rate continued at that level for 12 months it would be an annual rate of 3%. Likewise, it does not negate any of the price rises that have occurred in the past.

A single item does not follow the inflation rate cost. It is a basket of goods the government uses to determine "the rate" of inflation. Simply stated, that if that basket was $100 last year and the "annual" rate of inflation for the last 12 months was 10 %. (I am not compounding). The basket would now cost $110. If this month's inflation rate was plus 3% and stayed that way for a year, The price would be $113.30.

Am I misinterpreting?

Read all the previous replies correcting me, and my response acknowledging that I was incorrect. There's around 1.5 pages of this. I mean unless you just want to jump on the "OB Is Wrong" bandwagon, in which case - go ahead and get your rocks off.

[airstreamingypsy]

The inflation can be attributed directly to Uncle Joe, this economy is fossil fuel based, his green cronies and handlers had him destroy our energy independence by destroying the coal and oil business to force his green unworkable energy program.

The drop in inflation can be attributed to uncle Joe, it seems his Inflation Reduction Act is doing just that!

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

But here is the PCE, which is more of what we buy, and is what the Fed, J Pow and the board look at to make interest rate decisions. Note that it isn't quite as low as the CPI with all the other crap thrown in, like owners equivalent rent. . . the rate is about 5% on a year over year basis. The sh!tty feeling about inflation is that income changes about once a year, and lags these changes so it messes with fixed budgets in the worst way

Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Release: Personal Income and Outlays
Units: Index 2012=100, Seasonally Adjusted

Frequency: Monthly

BEA Account Code: DPCERG

The Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index is a measure of the prices that people living in the United States, or those buying on their behalf, pay for goods and services. The change in the PCE price index is known for capturing inflation (or deflation) across a wide range of consumer expenses and reflecting changes in consumer behavior. For example, if the price of beef rises, shoppers may buy less beef and more chicken.

The PCE Price Index is produced by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), which revises previously published PCE data to reflect updated information or new methodology, providing consistency across decades of data that's valuable for researchers. They also offer the series as a Chain-Type index, as above. The PCE price index is used primarily for macroeconomic analysis and forecasting.

The PCE Price index is the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation. The PCE Price Index is similar to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' consumer price index for urban consumers. The two indexes, which have their own purposes and uses, are constructed differently, resulting in different inflation rates.

1. Your thumbnail didn't show up for me so no idea what it is.
2. I haven't ever seen PCE until this post so it'll take me a couple weeks to learn what it means, its significance, and what various "people who get paid to know this stuff" have to say about it.
3. I don't know what a Chain-Type index is.
4. I don't know what DPCERG is. Sounds like the model number of a sci-fi fantasy movie robot. "Oi Dipkerg, over here!" "Bleep bloop blip bleep."
5. I'm really not interested enough in finances to bother learning. Y'know, learning the same way real students learn about accounting and finances when they're in actual school taking actual classes. Not just googling a few websites.

I saw a thing about the inflation rate dropping significantly since last year, which was pretty bad last year. And now it's more in line with the "usual" rate of inflation, historically. Not quite there yet but pretty close. I expect inflation to always exist. When we have zero inflation, it's a happy surprise for a short time - but it invariably goes back up again. The fact that it's 3% instead of 9% is a great thing. People should be happy about that, and hopeful that we can continue the trend and get it closer to 0.

As for who can afford what (the true impact of inflation): I just got my first Social Security check 2 days ago. I can afford everything I want now. The past couple of years has required a somewhat tight budget - not frugal, but not easy-going either. And now, I can afford to set aside some savings for a new (used) car next year, without having to give up dinner and drinks out at the country club every couple of months.

[rrthoresen]

Sorry but I can't believe any numbers the Government puts out If you like the jobs numbers check them in 2 weeks they always go way down with their adjustment.
If the inflation numbers are real we should see the result in 2 months after supplies in stock are replaced.

[Mrfriendly]

Yesterday on 466 all the Circle K stations were $3.49 for regular...

Last week we were at our home and had use of a car for the week. We noticed gas prices in the bubble ( The Villages) were .40 or more higher than gas stations outside our area. Hmmm
I was thinking, maybe these stations have a captured audience of many, many golf carts and the abundance of landscapers needing fuel for their equipment who don’t want to lose time driving further away to refuel?

[Nordhagen]

So - here's how it works:

Widgets were invented 10 years ago, and were $1 each.

Last year, you needed a widget. Last year, widgets cost $9 each.

This year, the same widget is $3.

Yes - it's up from when it first came out on the market. But it's much less than it was last year.
That’s not how inflation is calculated. If prices were up 9% last year and now are up 3%, that’s up more than 12% this year over 2 years ago. Elections have consequences.

[glsatterlee]

The price of labor has went way up, and it affects everything, and it’s not coming down.

[spinner1001]

Last week we were at our home and had use of a car for the week. We noticed gas prices in the bubble ( The Villages) were .40 or more higher than gas stations outside our area. Hmmm
I was thinking, maybe these stations have a captured audience of many, many golf carts and the abundance of landscapers needing fuel for their equipment who don’t want to lose time driving further away to refuel?

Could be. Maybe a landlord charges the station higher rent. Maybe the Local Option Tax on fuel differs. Maybe the station’s convenience store doesn’t make as much profit on beer, snacks, etc. so they make it up on gasoline. Maybe…

I suppose that if the gasoline stations in TV were making a ton of profit, we would see more gas stations. How many gas stations are south of the Turnpike?

[Ski Bum]

So - here's how it works:

Widgets were invented 10 years ago, and were $1 each.

Last year, you needed a widget. Last year, widgets cost $9 each.

This year, the same widget is $3.

Yes - it's up from when it first came out on the market. But it's much less than it was last year.

If widgets were $9.00 last year, they are $9.27 now. Where in the world of math would you get $3.00?

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Read all the previous replies correcting me, and my response acknowledging that I was incorrect. There's around 2 pages of this. I mean unless you just want to jump on the "OB Is Wrong" bandwagon, in which case - go ahead and get your rocks off.

I'll just re-post this every so often with an update on how many "pages of this" it's up to.

[dtennent]

Totally incorrect.
Worldwide economics ties seemingly unrelated events together. Here's the timeline of cause and effects that triggered this inflation.

Energy companies lost a huge amount of money when Biden terminated land leases for oil and natural gas wells on federal land. The billions they invested in constructing those wells was instantly lost. Plus they lost the income from the raw product those wells would have produced.

Then Biden said no more leases.
The energy companies decided to hold on to (stop spending) their well investment dollars rather than risking it being lost on the whim of the president. They did not invest budgeted money into building new wells because they were worried about the the performance of new wells on existing unused leases that had a poor potential for being productive (that's why they were unused - junk geography after analysis), and fearing a repeat of Biden's previous financial hit.
That is where the record profits came from. Holding money instead of investing it. The future energy production is also now crippled.

So Biden said, ok, we will lease some land. It was the lousy areas. And there was no promise that leases wouldn't get pulled away again. A non-solution, but it sounded good in the press. Solved nothing.

That all had a cascading effect. Now there is not enough energy for the needs of the country. So the USA suddenly became an net importer of energy. No longer energy independent as more is being imported into the country than being exported. Foreign countries (Venezuela, Arabs, etc.. think OPEC) were happy to sell us energy, but at much higher prices than previously. The USA had no choice except to buy at those inflated prices. There is the reason for higher gasoline prices. (inflation)

With no new wells coming online, the future production will drop as wells dry up. Lower supply will drive prices up even more as time passes. (inflation)

And related, Biden restricted use of coal. A plentiful, low cost, energy resource within the USA. We all need electricity - even when it's cloudy or at night, or when the wind is not blowing. What do power plants use for generating power now? Oil and natural gas. That caused demand for oil and natural to go up substantially. That drove the USA into importing even more oil and natural gas. The spiral grows bigger. (inflation)

We see gasoline has gone from $1.90 to $2.92 (or more)
What you may not notice is diesel has more than doubled. Diesel moves trucks and trains. As a result, shipping costs have gone way up. That drives up the cost of everything we buy. (inflation)
Manufacturers also have to pay more to get the raw materials. That drives prices up again, this time at the source. (inflation)
Farmers costs for fuel for their tractors, buying seeds or feed, are all up too. Their costs for providing our food are way up, so that hits everybody. (inflation)

Having every step of the process to get goods into our homes suddenly become more expensive is a direct result of Biden's energy policy. That triggered the start of record inflation. What will stop inflation? Reversing the cause would be a great start.

It appears that your original statement that Biden cancelled existing gas and oil leases isn't true.

Access Denied (https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/24/biden-administration-pausing-new-oil-and-gas-leases-amid-legal-battle-.html)

If so, your conclusion that the oil companies lost billions on existing assets is wrong.

Can you tell me when he cancelled existing leases?

[Steve]

I still get a charge of of those that are fixated on higher gasoline prices. A reminder that it is supply and demand. During the covid years demand was very low and $2.29 was common. Compare it to the demand now.

Then how do you explain that it was $1.87 before COVID hit?

[cjrjck]

So - here's how it works:

Widgets were invented 10 years ago, and were $1 each.

Last year, you needed a widget. Last year, widgets cost $9 each.

This year, the same widget is $3.

Yes - it's up from when it first came out on the market. But it's much less than it was last year.

What? Is this that "new math" I keep hearing about? If the annual inflation rate is 3% that widget is going to cost you $9 x 1.03 = $9.27, correct?

[Chi-Town]

Then how do you explain that it was $1.87 before COVID hit?

A timeline article that may be of interest:

Access Denied (https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/31/us-gasoline-prices-are-below-2-per-gallon-on-average-for-first-time-in-four-years.html)

[I'm Popeye!]

Inflation was as high as 9.1% nationwide a year ago. We were still recovering from global shut-downs post-pandemic, restoring jobs lost, getting manufacturers back on track, and a bunch of other stuff that's political so I won't detail it here but - politics certainly played some part.

The good news, is that the inflation rate has been in decline for the past 12 months, consecutively, and hit 3% as of the end of June.

I see a different story than you!
Nationwide, prices went up in June; no info yet for July, so where did you get this info that prices are down?

[Daddymac]

This Dumbass administration has to STOP SPENDING. NO administration has ever done as much damage to America as this one. Plain and simple ............

[njbchbum]

Yup. Gas was $2.94 this morning at BJ's, which is where I get my gas. That's 4 cents lower than it was a week ago. It was $2.98 for around a month. It was consistently over $3.00 before that.

As I posted in response to MichaelG, the *price* that you pay as a customer, when inflation rates drop, is up to the seller. They're getting things cheaper, it's up to them to decide whether or not to reduce their retail price keep the higher margins.

LOLOLOL Gas averages $3.50 in my NJ area! That's up 20 cents in a month!

[npwalters]

So yeah I had my math and logic all turned around upside down and backward. I guess my point remains the same though: the rise of inflation is lower now, than it was a year ago. It's been steadily decreasing all year. There is almost always inflation. It's a rare occurrence when there is a year of no inflation. It's also a rare occurrence when there is a -significantly- steady decrease for a full year.

This almost 6-point decrease is pretty significant. You can argue the math all you want, but I know I for one would prefer a 3% inflation rate than a 9% inflation rate. Zero would be best but - that isn't on the list of options at the moment.

Don’t feel bad. Even the “expert” financial reporter on NBC nightly news said last night that costs have gone down. Most of the audience they aim at just accept it. You are correct in that there is almost always a certain level of inflation each year. Otherwise we would still be paying 12 cents for a loaf of bread.

[Maker]

It appears that your original statement that Biden cancelled existing gas and oil leases isn't true.

Access Denied (https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/24/biden-administration-pausing-new-oil-and-gas-leases-amid-legal-battle-.html)

If so, your conclusion that the oil companies lost billions on existing assets is wrong.

Can you tell me when he cancelled existing leases?

How can you say it is not true when the link you sent talks about when Biden was working on allowing additional land leases to happen on worthless land. The first line says: "The Biden administration is delaying decisions on new oil and gas leases"

Harvard Law School has a lot of information about Biden's actions to cancel and then block land leases for oil and natural gas wells. Simple legal facts without any political spin. Here is one example.

h-t-t-p-s://eelp.law.harvard.edu/2021/12/leasing-pause-and-review/
Federal Onshore and Offshore Oil and Gas Leasing Pause and Review - Harvard Law School (https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/2021/12/leasing-pause-and-review/)

[Keefelane66]

Fuel around where we live 466a is around $3.40 gal Circle K 3 miles north circle K is $2.96 along with BJ’s and Sam’s. Yes we’ll drive that far to save $.44 a gallon or almost $9.00 on a fill up.
Many businesses grocery stores, gas stations, restaurants are over charging. One example is Publix’s sales for the three months ended April 1, 2023 were $14.3 billion, an 8.2% increase from $13.2 billion in 2022. Comparable store sales for the three months ended April 1, 2023 increased 6.4%.

Gas prices show an 8% difference in 3 miles it’s called price gouging!

[Rainger99]

I'll just re-post this every so often with an update on how many "pages of this" it's up to.

You might want to ask the moderator to close the thread.

[schwarz]

3% drop for June is good news going forward but what about all the prices that were raised
in the past to the present, will those prices drop........I think not.

Salaries and SS payments up too...you want them lowered?

[bumpa]

So we should be happy prices are still going up but just not as much?

Prices ALWAYS go up, just a matter of how much. In any case the slower the increase the better. Remember the Feds goal is to limit annual price increases to 2%.

[ChezD]

Read all the previous replies correcting me, and my response acknowledging that I was incorrect. There's around 1.5 pages of this. I mean unless you just want to jump on the "OB Is Wrong" bandwagon, in which case - go ahead and get your rocks off.

Economics lesson over for the day. 😎

[Elixir34]

Not seeing gas prices dropping in IL. Saw a station in Joliet, IL last night with regular at $4.37/gal. Other area stations at $4.00. Compare with price at Costco in Maui - selling for $4.36 which one would expect there. You all are lucky to be living in FL and in TV even more so. We will be back soon.

[ron32162]

And the rest of us that will not drive 5 to 10 miles to BJs ,pump prices are still at 3.50 a gallon and up around here and everywhere else. But good for you to be able to see thru those rose colored glasses and avoid reality

[jimbomaybe]

:loco::loco::loco:

Nope.

It's an economic cycle.
The cycle being, the government prints money, nice to have more money, the Government looks good for doing so. this of course causes inflation , the government then prints less, inflation goes down, the government is now a hero for fighting inflation, but you are still stuck with higher prices overall , of course its the fault of greedy businesses and evil corporations

[Keefelane66]

Then how do you explain that it was $1.87 before COVID hit?
I makeup stuff too. Actually “ U.S. average retail gasoline prices in 2019 were slightly lower than in 2018. U.S. regular retail gasoline prices averaged $2.60 per gallon (gal) in 2019, 11 cents/gal (4%) lower than in 2018.”
Although it may be considered an inferior petroleum I refuel at BJ’s $2.96 gal

[Chasue]

Yes. If you hurry over to Beall's you can get 10% off of everything they marked up 20% yesterday!

[Normal]

Are we missing the part about about the economy, and that it really, really, really bites right now? That seniors who budgeted for retirement may be forced to work again? That a trip to the grocery store this year is almost twice the price it was 30 months ago? That homes are now a small fortune and the middle class has never been smaller? That our national debt is at unfathomable levels? Inflation hit and the damage is huge.

[mambeg]

Inflation was as high as 9.1% nationwide a year ago. We were still recovering from global shut-downs post-pandemic, restoring jobs lost, getting manufacturers back on track, and a bunch of other stuff that's political so I won't detail it here but - politics certainly played some part.

The good news, is that the inflation rate has been in decline for the past 12 months, consecutively, and hit 3% as of the end of June.

That is a 3% increase over and above last years 9.1%. 3 % sounds good but it just added on the the already high prices.

[oldtimes]

Are we missing the part about about the economy that it really, really bites right now? That seniors who budgeted for retirement may be forced to work again? That a trip to the grocery store this year is almost twice the price it was 30 months ago? That homes are now a small fortune and the middle class has never been smaller? That our national debt is at unfathomable levels?

Doesn't fit the narrative

[Byte1]

Some folks will grasp at any manipulated stat to push their agenda. If inflation increased only 3% over the 9% last year, that's still 12%. Time to celebrate? So funny. Kind of like saying, only a million jobs were lost this year, when last year 12 million jobs were lost (not fact, just an example). The only people that might enjoy increased inflation are those that benefit for higher interest rates.
When I spend over $300 a week at the grocery store when I only spent $150 a couple years ago, I don't need someone telling me that it's raining when their dog is peeing on my shoes.

[mickey100]

I am still comparing gas and food prices to 2020. Everything is still very high from then. They may be a little better than a year ago, but in my opinion, still off the charts high.

The pandemic was unprecedented and changed things in ways we have never seen before. There was high spending on goods during the pandemic, but then supply-chain snarls complicated things, and there were production problems that persist to this day. To expect everything to return to the way it was a couple years ago with the wave of a wand is just naive. And we have to look at the global perspective. The war on Ukraine has pushed up gas and food prices all over the globe, although we have seen a decrease in gas prices here in the US since last summer. However there are positives. The unemployment rate is the lowest its been in 50 years. And this has given laborers the leverage to demand raises. The Fed is working hard to keep inflation down. The deficit has fallen by $1.7 trillion.

[Nighmom]

Inflation was as high as 9.1% nationwide a year ago. We were still recovering from global shut-downs post-pandemic, restoring jobs lost, getting manufacturers back on track, and a bunch of other stuff that's political so I won't detail it here but - politics certainly played some part.

The good news, is that the inflation rate has been in decline for the past 12 months, consecutively, and hit 3% as of the end of June.

Unfortunately, that 3% is on top of a higher cost of living.

[AJ32162]

So - here's how it works:

Widgets were invented 10 years ago, and were $1 each.

Last year, you needed a widget. Last year, widgets cost $9 each.

This year, the same widget is $3.

Yes - it's up from when it first came out on the market. But it's much less than it was last year.
"So - here's how it works" Really? Using your example: "Last year, you needed a widget. Last year, widgets cost $9 each.

This year, the same widget is $3."

The most recent June year-over-year inflation rate was 3%. So a widget costing $9 last June would have cost 3% more this June or $9.27...not $3.00.

[Djean1981]

It depends on how much competition there is.

[oldtimes]

Stop drinking the Republican Kool Aid.

The annual deficit that Biden inherited from Trump, Fiscal Year 2021 (which started October 1, 2020) was $2.8 trillion

The annual deficit for Fiscal Year 2022 (from Oct 1 2021 to Sep 30 2022) was $1.4T - HALF of what Biden inherited from Trump.

To be fair, the deficit numbers are up this year and a bi-partisan organization tracking it has some details here:

Deficit Tracker | Bipartisan Policy Center (https://bipartisanpolicy.org/report/deficit-tracker/)

I've given up all hope that either party is concerned about doing what's right for the country. When they keep putting up the same old failed choices year after year the system is definitely broken. The last two elections in a row I didn't even want to vote the choices were so noxious and I'm not feeling optimistic for 2024.

[CoachKandSportsguy]

Last week we were at our home and had use of a car for the week. We noticed gas prices in the bubble ( The Villages) were .40 or more higher than gas stations outside our area. Hmmm
I was thinking, maybe these stations have a captured audience of many, many golf carts and the abundance of landscapers needing fuel for their equipment who don’t want to lose time driving further away to refuel?

GasBuddy app is your friend. .

[Pixelpups]

So - here's how it works:

Widgets were invented 10 years ago, and were $1 each.

Last year, you needed a widget. Last year, widgets cost $9 each.

This year, the same widget is $3.

Yes - it's up from when it first came out on the market. But it's much less than it was last year.
Your math is wrong. The widget cost $1. Last year the widget was $1.09. This year the widget is $1.12. Plus, the govt. plays around with how inflation is calculated (which is why the WSJ little calculator is so handy). Often food and gas is excluded. Package shrinkage is not accounted for in any of the percentages. Any administration doesn’t want bad numbers; I don’t care which party is in power.

[Stu from NYC]

GasBuddy app is your friend. .

And Sams M/C gives a 5% rebate on gas purchases

[Normal]

I would rather deal with the inefficiencies of a gas driven vehicle with good mileage than the more serious inefficiencies of using the electrical to battery middle man system that adds more co2 to our atmosphere.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Some folks will grasp at any manipulated stat to push their agenda. If inflation increased only 3% over the 9% last year, that's still 12%. Time to celebrate? So funny. Kind of like saying, only a million jobs were lost this year, when last year 12 million jobs were lost (not fact, just an example). The only people that might enjoy increased inflation are those that benefit for higher interest rates.
When I spend over $300 a week at the grocery store when I only spent $150 a couple years ago, I don't need someone telling me that it's raining when their dog is peeing on my shoes.

I've never spent $150 at the grocery store. If I could afford to spend $150 a week at the supermarket, I'd never NEED to spend $300/week at a supermarket. We spend around $70/week on groceries. It's around $6 more than we spent two years ago on the same groceries.

If you can afford to spend $150 on groceries every week, you're doing just fine.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

"So - here's how it works" Really? Using your example: "Last year, you needed a widget. Last year, widgets cost $9 each.

This year, the same widget is $3."

The most recent June year-over-year inflation rate was 3%. So a widget costing $9 last June would have cost 3% more this June or $9.27...not $3.00.

Wow, thank you for the correction! I never would've known this if you hadn't been the one to tell me. Never mind the almost-two-pages of people who offered the same correction over the past couple of days. Your post is the one that convinced me for sure.

Great job at being correct!

[AJ32162]

Wow, thank you for the correction! I never would've known this if you hadn't been the one to tell me. Never mind the almost-two-pages of people who offered the same correction over the past couple of days. Your post is the one that convinced me for sure.

Great job at being correct!

Glad I could help. I always like helping those who lack basic math skills.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Your math is wrong. The widget cost $1. Last year the widget was $1.09. This year the widget is $1.12. Plus, the govt. plays around with how inflation is calculated (which is why the WSJ little calculator is so handy). Often food and gas is excluded. Package shrinkage is not accounted for in any of the percentages. Any administration doesn’t want bad numbers; I don’t care which party is in power.

Wow, thank you for the correction! I never would've known this if you hadn't been the one to tell me. Never mind the almost-two-pages of people who offered the same correction over the past couple of days. Your post is the one that convinced me for sure.

Great job at being correct!

[jamesrcorbett]

Inflation was as high as 9.1% nationwide a year ago. We were still recovering from global shut-downs post-pandemic, restoring jobs lost, getting manufacturers back on track, and a bunch of other stuff that's political so I won't detail it here but - politics certainly played some part.

The good news, is that the inflation rate has been in decline for the past 12 months, consecutively, and hit 3% as of the end of June.
CPI under Biden is up 15% and wages are up 11%. You have lost 4% of you purchasing power under Biden policies. Inflation was less than 2% throughout the previous administration. You might want to fill up your car today because oil is now at $77 a barrel up from under $70 just a few weeks ago.?

[Driller703]

REALLY?!! I couldn’t get lobster rolls anywhere near that price in Maine last week! Maybe 28.99 for one!

[Annie66]

3% drop for June is good news going forward but what about all the prices that were raised
in the past to the present, will those prices drop........I think not.

If not, you have the option to vote with your feet and find other suppliers. I think the word I'm searching for is "capitalism."

[spinner1001]

Your math is wrong. The widget cost $1. Last year the widget was $1.09. This year the widget is $1.12. Plus, the govt. plays around with how inflation is calculated (which is why the WSJ little calculator is so handy). Often food and gas is excluded. Package shrinkage is not accounted for in any of the percentages. Any administration doesn’t want bad numbers; I don’t care which party is in power.

Math scores are the lowest in decades.

U.S. reading and math scores drop to their lowest levels in decades : NPR (https://www.npr.org/2023/06/22/1183653578/u-s-reading-and-math-scores-drop-to-their-lowest-levels-in-decades)

[Normal]

REALLY?!! I couldn’t get lobster rolls anywhere near that price in Maine last week! Maybe 28.99 for one!

It’s what we pay in Norwalk Connecticut.

[Vermilion Villager]

Search oil companies record profits and you'll know why gas prices are high.
BINGO!!!!
:BigApplause::BigApplause::BigApplause:

[KAM+6]

WOW, 8 pages of posts and no mention of the tariffs imposed by the previous administration. Oh yea, China was going to pay. WRONG

Attached is an invoice i paid for fabric with a 17% tariff added. I

Expect lumber prices to go up due to Canadian fires but of course Biden will be blamed.

[Vermilion Villager]

This does seem to support the fact that inflation is slowing down. Almost to 2021 levels.:clap2:
America's retailers have a new challenge: Cooling inflation (https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/americas-retailers-have-a-new-challenge-cooling-inflation-152510154.html)

[Andyb]

I don’t see good news. It’s down because no once can afford to buy anything. It’s smoke and mirrors. Prices are still high and not coming down, but not going up. Sorry, it was definitely caused by politics.

[Normal]

I don’t see good news. It’s down because no once can afford to buy anything. It’s smoke and mirrors. Prices are still high and not coming down, but not going up. Sorry, it was definitely caused by politics.

The current administration had everything to do with this. The damage is irreversible. I don’t think anyone believes workers will take pay cuts and prices will come back down. Prices are here to stay.

[cjrjck]

This does seem to support the fact that inflation is slowing down. Almost to 2021 levels.:clap2:
America's retailers have a new challenge: Cooling inflation (https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/americas-retailers-have-a-new-challenge-cooling-inflation-152510154.html)

If you are looking for that silver lining, you may be disappointed. Read the last two paragraphs. They paint a different picture. It is also the reason the Fed is still planning on at least one more rate hike this year and perhaps two. Sorry.

[Escape Artist]

Inflation was as high as 9.1% nationwide a year ago. We were still recovering from global shut-downs post-pandemic, restoring jobs lost, getting manufacturers back on track, and a bunch of other stuff that's political so I won't detail it here but - politics certainly played some part.

The good news, is that the inflation rate has been in decline for the past 12 months, consecutively, and hit 3% as of the end of June.

It’s called stagflation. Prices that went sky high during the past 2-3 years never came down and wages never increased enough to offset the higher costs. I’m still shocked at the prices of basic necessities like food every time I go to the store.

[Keefelane66]

It’s what we pay in Norwalk Connecticut.
Lobster roll hot or cold $18-$20 in Newport Ri.

[rsmurano]

With very few exceptions, inflation has ALWAYS existed. There's only been a scant handful of years in the past 50 years, when the inflation rate was at a negative. Prices go up. That's just how society works. If you want to eliminate the chance of inflation, you'll need to switch to communism. I'm guessing no one here wants to do that.

Prices are currently up because companies know that you'll pay what they charge for what they're selling. They were up at a much higher rate in the past year because of supply chain issues, among other things. Most of those other things and the supply chain issues are resolved, or resolving. And so the rate has dropped back down.

If prices are still up, it's not because of inflation. It's because of greed. COSTS are down. That's why I can get my gallon of gas for $2.98, and why people getting gas on 466 are paying $3.39.

Oh and to whoever was all upset about it being $3.49 - I was just there today, it's $3.39 at the Circle K by Southern Trace. If you have their payment card thing, it's $3.29.

So wrong!!! Prices are determined by supply and demand, quality over cheap stuff, and what it takes to build this widget over another widget. Why is a Gucci purse 100x more expensive than a Kohls purse? Is it greed? How about the price of a Porsche vs a Toyota Corolla, greed again? Rolex vs times?

If the WH puts far more restrictions on drilling oil, or opec decides to cut oil drilling by millions of barrels of oil (and since we are not a oil drilling powerhouse anymore) then gas will go up.
I have seen companies set their widgets at very high costs because of r&d costs or material costs and the companies went out of business because people didn’t want to buy that widget for that price. This is why the WH is putting all the restrictions ions on drilling oil so it becomes more expensive so it forces their agenda of purchasing more ev’s.
1 more thing, when you want to pay burger flippers $20 hr, the companies will have to raise their costs. So when 1 company raises costs, costs will rise on down the line. This has added greatly to the economic conditions here. What do people think when everybody gets a 50% raise, in the long run, that same burger flippers will only be able to purchase items just like he did when making $8 hr.
Capitalism works and eventually will even everything out. You have a superior product that people want/ need, then they will pay the price. If you are overpriced and you are not a monopoly, you will have to cut prices or go out of business.

[Steve]

Inflation was as high as 9.1% nationwide a year ago. We were still recovering from global shut-downs post-pandemic, restoring jobs lost, getting manufacturers back on track, and a bunch of other stuff that's political so I won't detail it here but - politics certainly played some part.

The good news, is that the inflation rate has been in decline for the past 12 months, consecutively, and hit 3% as of the end of June.

Say an item three years ago cost $100. Due to 9% inflation it went up to $109. Then inflation "dropped" to 3%. It now costs $112.27. Where's the good news here? I think I must have missed it.

[Vermilion Villager]

I don’t see good news. It’s down because no once can afford to buy anything. It’s smoke and mirrors. Prices are still high and not coming down, but not going up. :mornincoffee::mornincoffee:

Please explain.......

[mickey100]

It’s called stagflation. Prices that went sky high during the past 2-3 years never came down and wages never increased enough to offset the higher costs. I’m still shocked at the prices of basic necessities like food every time I go to the store.

It's not about the wages, it's about the corporations and their profit margins. We know that prices of goods went up because of inflation, caused in part by the War in Ukraine, recovery from the pandemic, etc. Supply chain issues and other disruptions drove higher prices.

However, I read an interesting article in Business Insider that says corporations' markups - the difference between the price that they charge vs the cost that they paid to produce the item, has also hit record highs. A number of economists are saying that when we had the supply chain issues, the companies that had items to sell had a temporary monopoly on the item, and less competition from other companies so they were able to raise their prices. And in some cases, given the market in any area, the competing companies reach an agreement that they will all raise their prices. Even after supply chain issues lessened, these companies kept up their high prices, despite the fact their profits were up more than they ever were. The name for this is price gouging. Politicians could do something to make corporations pay their fair share, but congress is so divided it will never happen, so that just leaves the Federal reserve to fight inflation with interest rate changes, which is hard on everyone.

[Steve]

BINGO!!!!
:BigApplause::BigApplause::BigApplause:

In today's Daily Sun Pepsi reported an 18% increase in profits--not by selling more product (they actually sold less), but by increasing the price of their product.

[Vermilion Villager]

The current administration had everything to do with this. The damage is irreversible. I don’t think anyone believes workers will take pay cuts and prices will come back down. Prices are here to stay.

Please explain.
Oil, retail, airlines all showing record profits. These are not government entities.
Again......please explain

[Vermilion Villager]

WOW, 8 pages of posts and no mention of the tariffs imposed by the previous administration. Oh yea, China was going to pay. WRONG

Attached is an invoice i paid for fabric with a 17% tariff added. I

Expect lumber prices to go up due to Canadian fires but of course Biden will be blamed.
GOOD POST!
Hey.......At least Mexico paid for that wall. Oh wait.......What?!?!?.... never mind. :1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

[Regorp]

Yup. Gas was $2.94 this morning at BJ's, which is where I get my gas. That's 4 cents lower than it was a week ago. It was $2.98 for around a month. It was consistently over $3.00 before that.

As I posted in response to MichaelG, the *price* that you pay as a customer, when inflation rates drop, is up to the seller. They're getting things cheaper, it's up to them to decide whether or not to reduce their retail price keep the higher margins.

Gas is still way higher overall compared to where it was in January 2021 and non BJ shoppers pay over 3.30 per gallon at Circle K.

[mickey100]

Gas is still way higher overall compared to where it was in January 2021 and non BJ shoppers pay over 3.30 per gallon at Circle K.

Don't forget we have the Ukraine war which has increased the price of oil and gas worldwide. Recently OPEC cut production in order to raise oil prices which translates to higher gas prices. OPEC says it will continue to cut production through 2024, so don't expect gas prices to drop any time soon. In addition, China is re-opening since the pandemic will create a huge demand for oil, which with lesser amounts available due to OPEC, will cause a jump in prices. Big oil, as others have pointed out, is raking in record profits, handing the bulk of those profits to executives and wealthy shareholders.

[JIMQ3100]

"The annual inflation rate in the US slowed to 3% in June of 2023, the lowest since March of 2021 and compared to 4% in May and expectations of 3.1%. The slowdown is partly due to a high base effect from last year when a surge in energy and food prices pushed the headline inflation rate to 1981-highs of 9.1%. Energy cost slumped 16.7% (vs -11.7% in May), with prices falling 36.6% for fuel oil, 26.5% for gasoline, and 18.6% for utility gas service. Electricity prices increased by 5.4%. Also, inflation slowed for food (5.7% vs 6.7% in May) and shelter (7.8% vs 8%). Smaller price increases were also recorded for new vehicles (4.1% vs 4.7%), apparel (3.1% vs 3.5%), and transportation services (8.2% vs 10.2%). The cost of medical services was down 0.8% and prices of used cars and trucks declined 5.2%. The core inflation rate dropped to 4.8%, the lowest since October of 2021. source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics"
Prices for most items are higher than last year !

[Maker]

Don't forget we have the Ukraine war which has increased the price of oil and gas worldwide. Recently OPEC cut production in order to raise oil prices which translates to higher gas prices. OPEC says it will continue to cut production through 2024, so don't expect gas prices to drop any time soon. In addition, China is re-opening since the pandemic will create a huge demand for oil, which with lesser amounts available due to OPEC, will cause a jump in prices. Big oil, as others have pointed out, is raking in record profits, handing the bulk of those profits to executives and wealthy shareholders.

Russia invaded Ukraine because they no longer feared the US. We are much weaker because of Joe. Russia calculated the US and Europe's dependence on OPEC and Russian oil would allow them to invade, and resistance from the west would be minimal.

Big oil cut way back on spending for drilling new wells because of fear Biden will cut off the land lease again, causing Billions spent to become worthless (again).
So instead they held on to those funds. It gets lumped into profits. People scream "record profits" without understanding the cause and effect.
Same could be said for anyone on here, given the right circumstances. Just stop buying everything. No food, no clothing, no electricity or gas. Suddenly you have record savings, aka profits. Your future in in serious jeopardy, but lets report those big scary half facts.

How do we fight OPEC controlling the prices of oil?
Allow oil companies to drill again. Grant land leases in places where productive reserves are actually located. Add a clause that if the lease gets altered by the government, or there are other limitations imposed that effect obtaining that well's production, oil company gets reimbursed for all costs spent on that site.
Then oil companies will have safety investing, and Biden won't be able to drive his EV agenda by restricting land leases again. US will be on track to energy independence once again, and OPEC can suffer.

[MrFlorida]

A few years ago, we exported oil.... without being political, we all know the reason for high gas prices....

[rsmurano]

Don't forget we have the Ukraine war which has increased the price of oil and gas worldwide. Recently OPEC cut production in order to raise oil prices which translates to higher gas prices. OPEC says it will continue to cut production through 2024, so don't expect gas prices to drop any time soon. In addition, China is re-opening since the pandemic will create a huge demand for oil, which with lesser amounts available due to OPEC, will cause a jump in prices. Big oil, as others have pointed out, is raking in record profits, handing the bulk of those profits to executives and wealthy shareholders.

Wrong! Our gas prices were up by over $1 way before the war started, the WH has used this excuse to try to get out of the mess they created. Also untrue about opec. When we were a major oil exporting country, we could care less what opec did. The United States can be self sufficient in energy if we didn’t have all the BS regulations of this WH. So now we are dependent on our enemies for sending us oil, no wonder they are trying to screw us anyway they can.

[Kenbobe]

Inflation was as high as 9.1% nationwide a year ago. We were still recovering from global shut-downs post-pandemic, restoring jobs lost, getting manufacturers back on track, and a bunch of other stuff that's political so I won't detail it here but - politics certainly played some part.

The good news, is that the inflation rate has been in decline for the past 12 months, consecutively, and hit 3% as of the end of June.


Don’t ignore the fact that the 3% is in addition to the 9.1% of Last Year!

[joshgun]

Keep in mind that inflation rate is a measurement from one point to another for a basket of goods and services. If the rate of increase is 3% from 22 to 23 and 9% from 21 to 22 then the rate of increase from 21 to 23 is 12%. The fed targets a 2% increase for a healthy economy, but negative inflation I believe stagflation is what would get us back to prepandemic prices. However we don’t want that, because the economy would be in shambles.

[Gigi3000]

That’s not how inflation is calculated. If prices were up 9% last year and now are up 3%, that’s up more than 12% this year over 2 years ago. Elections have consequences.

What election and what did it influence?

[mickey100]

Wrong! Our gas prices were up by over $1 way before the war started, the WH has used this excuse to try to get out of the mess they created. Also untrue about opec. When we were a major oil exporting country, we could care less what opec did. The United States can be self sufficient in energy if we didn’t have all the BS regulations of this WH. So now we are dependent on our enemies for s biding us gas, no wonder they are trying to screw us anyway they can.

Bless your heart, you are missing some important facts. Where do I start?

Yes gas prices were higher before Russia invaded Ukraine, but that was because of a rise in gas demand, due to a return to the road after Covid lockdowns, according to Forbes. You do understand supply/demand I hope? In late 2021 the administration pushed to release some oil reserves to push down prices. If you check Forbes again, they have a great article on energy independence. (Forbes, being a conservative news source.) If you consider energy independence to mean we produce more energy than we consume, there was a shale boom that unleashed huge amounts of domestic oil and gas, and by the time the previous administration had taken office, our net energy imports had fallen, and by 2019 NET energy imports turned negative, due to the SHALE boom. Now with a new administration, numbers for 2022 show that US energy exports have been the highest on record, and total US energy production was the highest on record.

We have always imported oil. The reason for this is that there are different types of oil that are used for different purposes. For example, crude oil is a better fit for our energy systems rather than the shale oil which is lighter. So we export the shale oil while refiners import the heavy crude they prefer. The idea of energy independence is to export more than we import.

It goes without saying that renewable energy has great potential to reduce prices and dependence on fossil fuels in the future. We are in a transition phase.

I have a hybrid car, that gets 50 MPG around town. You wouldn't have seen that 10 years ago.

[Normal]

Please explain.
Oil, retail, airlines all showing record profits. These are not government entities.
Again......please explain

Yes, the government overspent and consumer confidence gobbled up the poor supply chain issues. They made sure oil supplies were cut and drove up transportation costs that further exasperated everything. Obviously before the pandemic, our economy was doing great with barely 2% inflation. The mismanagement of the government we have will be straightened eventually I hope.

[mickey100]

Russia invaded Ukraine because they no longer feared the US. We are much weaker because of Joe. Russia calculated the US and Europe's dependence on OPEC and Russian oil would allow them to invade, and resistance from the west would be minimal.

Big oil cut way back on spending for drilling new wells because of fear Biden will cut off the land lease again, causing Billions spent to become worthless (again).
So instead they held on to those funds.

How do we fight OPEC controlling the prices of oil?
Allow oil companies to drill again. Grant land leases in places where productive reserves are actually located. Add a clause that if the lease gets altered by the government, or there are other limitations imposed that effect obtaining that well's production, oil company gets reimbursed for all costs spent on that site.
Then oil companies will have safety investing, and Biden won't be able to drive his EV agenda by restricting land leases again. US will be on track to energy independence once again, and OPEC can suffer.

Russia invaded Ukraine because the two have at odds since Ukraine declared itself independent in 1991. Since then, Putin has denied that Ukraine is even a country. He considers it Russian, part of the Slavic brotherhood, and is threatened that Ukraine has aligned itself with the West in recent years, particularly with NATO. And Ukraine has supplied much of Russia's coal, steel, etc, over time. Russian experts say Putin wants to see himself as a great Russian leader restoring Russian lands. He took a break when the previous administration was in power, due to our president's favoritism towards Russian, and also the Covid pandemic played a part, since Putin was much more isolated. But again according to experts, He thought western leadership wasn't capable, and that there would be no opposition to his aggression. Of course, that assumption turned out to be wrong.

A look at actual FACTS regarding approvals for permits to drill on federal land, show that the present administration has approved more permits at this point in time, than the previous administration. In fact environmental advocates want that statistic to go down, but the government is holding fast.

There has been a decrease in leases to the oil companies, which the government counters by saying that companies could increase production using the many thousands of permits already available to them which have remained unused. The federal government will continue leasing land to oil drillers as long as there is demand, but look around. With the proliferation of electric and hybrid vehicles, solar power, etc., surely the demand is shifting away from fossil fuels.

And the oil companies continue to make record profits while they whine about the drop in leases. Cry me a river.

[SHIBUMI]

There is a change in the matrix.....inflation will level out but at a higher price level just as experienced thru time, oil is political
oil producers will turn off and turn on the oils spickets as they see fit until government steps in to halt the greed down to an acceptable level, no supply and demand there, wages have spiked causing prices to rise, 20$ an hour to stock shelves or fix coffee has an upward price move on products sold. Once business's have seen how to control their supply chains (when they make stuff available) they are learning how to profit more. No supply and demand there, but business control, scary. I am afraid people need to learn how to adjust there consumption to survive. The new matrix is here................

[rsmurano]

Bless your heart, you are missing some important facts. Where do I start?

Yes gas prices were higher before Russia invaded Ukraine, but that was because of a rise in gas demand, due to a return to the road after Covid lockdowns, according to Forbes. You do understand supply/demand I hope? In late 2021 the administration pushed to release some oil reserves to push down prices. If you check Forbes again, they have a great article on energy independence. (Forbes, being a conservative news source.) If you consider energy independence to mean we produce more energy than we consume, there was a shale boom that unleashed huge amounts of domestic oil and gas, and by the time the previous administration had taken office, our net energy imports had fallen, and by 2019 NET energy imports turned negative, due to the SHALE boom. Now with a new administration, numbers for 2022 show that US energy exports have been the highest on record, and total US energy production was the highest on record.

We have always imported oil. The reason for this is that there are different types of oil that are used for different purposes. For example, crude oil is a better fit for our energy systems rather than the shale oil which is lighter. So we export the shale oil while refiners import the heavy crude they prefer. The idea of energy independence is to export more than we import.

It goes without saying that renewable energy has great potential to reduce prices and dependence on fossil fuels in the future. We are in a transition phase.

I have a hybrid car, that gets 50 MPG around town. You wouldn't have seen that 10 years ago.

Forbes is a left leaning magazine, no conservative part about it. I cancelled my subscription a while back because they are woke.

12 years ago, I had a diesel car that got 52 mpg and I paid less than you did. IMO, hybrids are rather useless because you only get 20-30 miles on electric power so why have a hybrid?

During the pandemic, we had a glut of gas, everybody was home bound. Nobody traveled for vacations, work, no fishing, waterskiing, no airline flights. So if we had a high demand for gas during the pandemic, where did it come from? During the pandemic, cruise ships were shutdown, airlines were hurting, and it took over 2 years for these institutions to get back on their feet. I’ll bet 1/2 the employees of this country are still telecommuting so the demand is still weaker than before the pandemic.

[coconutmama]

Russia invaded Ukraine because the two have at odds since Ukraine declared itself independent in 1991. Since then, Putin has denied that Ukraine is even a country. He considers it Russian, part of the Slavic brotherhood, and is threatened that Ukraine has aligned itself with the West in recent years, particularly with NATO. And Ukraine has supplied much of Russia's coal, steel, etc, over time. Russian experts say Putin wants to see himself as a great Russian leader restoring Russian lands. He took a break when the previous administration was in power, due to our president's favoritism towards Russian, and also the Covid pandemic played a part, since Putin was much more isolated. But again according to experts, He thought western leadership wasn't capable, and that there would be no opposition to his aggression. Of course, that assumption turned out to be wrong.

A look at actual FACTS regarding approvals for permits to drill on federal land, show that the present administration has approved more permits at this point in time, than the previous administration. In fact environmental advocates want that statistic to go down, but the government is holding fast.

There has been a decrease in leases to the oil companies, which the government counters by saying that companies could increase production using the many thousands of permits already available to them which have remained unused. The federal government will continue leasing land to oil drillers as long as there is demand, but look around. With the proliferation of electric and hybrid vehicles, solar power, etc., surely the demand is shifting away from fossil fuels.

And the oil companies continue to make record profits while they whine about the drop in leases. Cry me a river.

Excellent post. Thank you for taking the time to write it

[Stu from NYC]

Forbes is a left leaning magazine, no conservative part about it. I cancelled my subscription a while back because they are woke.

12 years ago, I had a diesel car that got 52 mpg and I paid less than you did. IMO, hybrids are rather useless because you only get 20-30 miles on electric power so why have a hybrid?

During the pandemic, we had a glut of gas, everybody was home bound. Nobody traveled for vacations, work, no fishing, waterskiing, no airline flights. So if we had a high demand for gas during the pandemic, where did it come from? During the pandemic, cruise ships were shutdown, airlines were hurting, and it took over 2 years for these institutions to get back on their feet. I’ll bet 1/2 the employees of this country are still telecommuting so the demand is still weaker than before the pandemic.

Forbes used to a wonderful common sense magazine that taught lots about running businesses. Unfortunately the family sold the business and it went straight downhill. Different editorial philosophy, less issues for more money.

Stopped getting it a few years ago and if anything it is getting worse.

[mickey100]

Forbes is a left leaning magazine, no conservative part about it. I cancelled my subscription a while back because they are woke.

12 years ago, I had a diesel car that got 52 mpg and I paid less than you did. IMO, hybrids are rather useless because you only get 20-30 miles on electric power so why have a hybrid?

During the pandemic, we had a glut of gas, everybody was home bound. Nobody traveled for vacations, work, no fishing, waterskiing, no airline flights. So if we had a high demand for gas during the pandemic, where did it come from? During the pandemic, cruise ships were shutdown, airlines were hurting, and it took over 2 years for these institutions to get back on their feet. I’ll bet 1/2 the employees of this country are still telecommuting so the demand is still weaker than before the pandemic.

I don't think you read my post through. There wasn't a demand for gasoline during the pandemic. The demand came AFTER the pandemic, when people hit the road after being cooped up. Goods were in production and needed to be transported. Covid stifled demand for gas, causing production to collapse, and companies had to ramp up again. Yet OPEC said it would no boost oil production, hence higher prices.

Actually Forbes has a conservative rating on economic issues, but is rated "lean left" on social issues such as abortion and LBGTQ. And we were talking about economic issues here. But you used my favorite word: "woke" which means awakened to the needs of others, well informed, thoughtful, compassionate, kind, wanting to make the world a better place for ALL people. Proud to be woke.

[Maker]

A look at actual FACTS regarding approvals for permits to drill on federal land, show that the present administration has approved more permits at this point in time, than the previous administration. In fact environmental advocates want that statistic to go down, but the government is holding fast.

Lets say you are a cattle farmer and want to lease farm land for your herd of cattle. The government is offering you lots of land. Unfortunately it's in the middle of a desert. Unsuitable for a farm.

This is what the leases that the government is offering oil companies are like. Land that is useless for drilling productive wells.
They say "Why don't they use the ones they already have?"
They say "We are not stopping new leases."
Technically both are true statements, but they severely lacking accurate context. The news media parrots their talking points without the slightest bit of understanding. Something like describing Everglades swamp land with beautiful "waterfront views" when someone who wants to buy a beach condo.

[mickey100]

Lets say you are a cattle farmer and want to lease farm land for your herd of cattle. The government is offering you lots of land. Unfortunately it's in the middle of a desert. Unsuitable for a farm.

This is what the leases that the government is offering oil companies are like. Land that is useless for drilling productive wells.
They say "Why don't they use the ones they already have?"
They say "We are not stopping new leases."
Technically both are true statements, but they severely lacking accurate context. The news media parrots their talking points without the slightest bit of understanding. Something like describing Everglades swamp land with beautiful "waterfront views" when someone who wants to buy a beach condo.

What is your source of information?

[bumpa]

Well said, and correct, but probably too much for some non-deep thinkers to grasp. To make it simple, folks should just remember that everything starts with, and hinges upon, the cost of energy. It wasn't that long ago, think 5 years, that our country was energy independent, and a net exporter of oil. Everyone benefited during those times.

In 2022, total petroleum exports were about 9.58 million barrels per day (b/d) and total petroleum imports were about 8.32 million b/d, making the United States an annual net total petroleum exporter for the third year in a row. Total petroleum net exports were about 1.26 million b/d in 2022.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Such a sad thing to see here. I posted what I thought was some good news about the economy; the inflation rate has dropped from a very significant high, and has been dropping steadily for a year. And y'all turned it into some ugly political crap. Not surprised, but sad to see.