[mickey100]

Originally Posted by 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.

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]

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.

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

[AJ32162]

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.

"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]

Originally Posted by djplong

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

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]

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?

GasBuddy app is your friend. .

[Pixelpups]

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.

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]

Originally Posted by CoachKandSportsguy

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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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]

Originally Posted by AJ32162

"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]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

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]

Originally Posted by Pixelpups

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]

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.

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!