[dewilson58]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

politics certainly played some part.
.

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]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

.......................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%.

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

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by dewilson58

100 votes for 3% vs. 9%.

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

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

[Mleeja]

Originally Posted by 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.

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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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

[dewilson58]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

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]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

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]

Originally Posted by Cybersprings

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]

Originally Posted by LuvNH

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]

Originally Posted by 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.

Thank you!! Cost of transportation, etc. All driven by fuel for the machine

[MandoMan]

Originally Posted by 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.

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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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.