[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]

Originally Posted by MrFlorida

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]

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.

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]

Originally Posted by Mrfriendly

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]

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.

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

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by 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]

Originally Posted by Maker

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

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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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

[cjrjck]

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.

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]

Originally Posted by Steve

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

A timeline article that may be of interest:

Access Denied

[I'm Popeye!]

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.

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]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

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]

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.

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.