Inflation Is Still Here
 

Went to Walmart today to buy cat litter. The litter I always get was just under $19.00 for a 40 lb. box as of two weeks ago. That same box today was $21.00 and change...and the 40 lb. box is now a 38 lb. box. When exactly does "Inflation Reduction" kick in?

People tend to misunderstand. Inflation going down doesn’t mean prices go down. It means they aren’t going up as fast as they were. But in your case a more than 10% increase in price would indicate inflation is going up. At least on that product.

Well eggs will be next due to Avian Flu millions of chickens being euthanized.
The reduction in cat litter VOLUME/Weight is just plain GREED.
I noticed Distilled water is $1.34 @ Walmart but if you go to the baby isle it’s $.20 cheaper per gallon.

Companies think we are too stupid to realize they shrunk the size so more and more doing that than increasing the price we see.

Wonder when the half gallon of ice cream will be further reduced from 48 ounces?

When the cat passes.

They’ve been shrinking the sizes for years. Like cake mix, now one box is good for one layer, instead of two. Which I guess it’s great because the older we get the less we eat, but still.

Wow not funny

Generally, Deflation does not happen. Historically, when it did, it was only 1 or 2 %. Prices aren’t going down.

Demonte just reduced the size of it's large grapefruit jar. Still looks the same, but smaller.

The answer to all this is: Stop buying it.

We all know that inflation rose as a result of Covid. The US had low inflation before 2020, then the virus created various problems such as supply chain issues and energy volatility, causing prices for goods and services to rise. And most people know that the Federal Reserve, operating separate from any political party, tames inflation by adjusting interest rates. Now we are seeing the results of all the rate hikes, and the rate of inflation has certainly come down from its peak. The Fed has said the target inflation rate is 2% and we're still at 3%, so while there is still work to do, economists are saying we are on the right path.

Working for me just say no and wait for sales.

Not inflation, just a price rise.
Different animal, and thankfully, it doesn't need litter.

That is so funny. I can see the hollowed, squinting eyes as "stop buying it" is whispered in the Mike.

And what do you propose I put in the cats' litter box?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but inflation IS a price issue.

I thought it was.

To answer your ? neve or until supply and demand theories go away. It has helped but is not going to end inflation. Look at other developed countries. Still much worse than in the US. Air travel has not changed much. In 1980 went from Miami to Denver. Round trip cost $400. Just got a price to go to Phoenix from Orlando $316. Do not get a crappy meal though.

I would say a price rise contributes to inflation.
No price rise, no inflation.
Horse in front of cart.

The Daily Sun?:icon_wink:

“ One 40-pound bag lasts one cat approximately three months. It is perfect for single and multiple cats and all litter box types.”

Train your cat. Save $$$$$$!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0vBE3U0r1g

That goes out the window as soon as virtually anything changes. Want a new horse? Sellers mkt, price goes up. Newer, better cart, cost goes up. If all things remained the same, nobody got raise in salary or wages or new, improved anything, then (maybe) prices might never go up. The moment "profit" enters the picture, well, you get it (I hope).

Right now we don't have a cat but when we get our next one I'm absolutely keeping this in mind. I've seen cats doing this before but never saw how they were taught. This is brilliant.

Whose arguing?
All I pointed out was rising prices,costs etc.cause inflation, not the other way round. :shrug:

It's called Shrinkflation - less of something for the same or more money. And prices of such goods typically never go down over time.

Directly form Investopedia: "What Is Inflation?
Inflation is a rise in prices"

But what do they know? 😁

Inflation Reduction is still inflation..................jus a reduced amount.

Wouldn't that have to be labeled as 6 pints or .75 Gal or 3 Quarts. Yes, I know it was a joke. Somewhat like selling a 12 oz steak as a pound. The new norm.

Well said. The post-Covid months saw prices rise rapidly. We should not expect them to come down. Eventually, life will seem normal again. Eventually.

editbyme

Agree.
"Seem normal". Change is normal! Like a river there are stretches of calm, placid flow, and stretches of turbulence, rapids. You can long for and dream of yesterday, but we can never go back.

Normal? Cold comfort to those, and there are so many, who were able to make ends meet and put a little away for retirement. They now live on the edge of expenses and are terrified if there is a medical expense that pops up.

A woman spoke with me in general pleasantries in a store and then shared after we both commented how much a certain product had gone up in price. She was single, late fifties and terrified by her current situation in which her apartment building was sold and she couldn't afford the apartment rates now. She wanted to stay out of the inner city pockets of crime and didn't want a handout but asked me to pray for her. She had never faced anything like this in her life. And everything had gotten so pricey.

I encourage the forty and fifty year individuals to blow through their retirement money, you will be handing it out to the millions who have nothing down the road and the future is bleak.

It's easy to say as seniors who pockets are full that it isn't bad out there. It's a mess.

I would encourage folks NOT to blow through their retirement money! Do save or invest what you reasonably can. Unlike what I interpret as your "doom and gloom" assessment, pretty much across the board, things have gotten better in every sector. But, prices have gone up and we feel that crunch. But, here in the U S, we are doing far better than other countries in reining in inflation. Covid was a world wide phenomenon that cause the global economic flow of goods and services to come to a halt. As the demand continued for those goods, the prices naturally went up.
Nothing is perfect and there will (sadly) be tales of woe, still, the economic news is good overall. Records in the stock mkt, phenomenal job growth, lowest unemployment rate, etc. I'm retired and living on a somewhat fixed income (savings and investments when supplement is needed). I live modestly, but comfortably. We should be OK unless something changes.

You’re examining your situation and the current market. I’m talking down the road in the next ten to twenty years. There is no way currently to fund social security, there are millions unable to put enough away for a retirement plan, there are now millions with no retirement plans. Where do you believe all this funding will come from to cover this shortage? I would spend my money and wait to be subsidized like most of the others. The fight has gone out of many.

We need to raise the max cap on deductions. Right now, anyone who works a legitimate job and gets a paycheck, only has to pay social security tax on the first $160k (or thereabouts). They don't have to pay SS tax for anything over that. So if they earn $400,000 per year, they're only paying the tax on the first $160k. Most millionaires don't get paychecks that equal a million bucks a year, most of them get their money through investments. But I'd still raise the cap to $500 or $750k. And increase the maximum payout from $3000-something to $5000 per month. That way the wealthier folks paying in, will know they're also getting the most back.

The system was created back when people were only earning $5-20 per WEEK for a full time job. Things have changed since then. The system needs to be renovated. Eliminating it won't solve the problem. Telling poor people tough luck won't solve the problem. And blaming it on one politician or another won't solve the problem.

Social Security is important in this county. It's a national program to ensure that old folks who retire will have something to show for their efforts, to the extent that they can live a modest life and pay modest bills in a reasonable place of living in their old age. If you were too poor to save, when you were younger, then SS saves on your behalf. When you're old enough, the money is therefor you.

Paid for by the younger generation. Just like my 50 years of working for living paid for my uncle's social security checks when he turned 65, and the younger generation is contributing to my monthly SS check. That's how it was set up. and if we use it as it as inendedk t should work finel

The premise of SS was a good intention. If you removed the income cap, it would help but there still would be a huge shortfall.

One must realize the millions in this country now who add nothing to the SS pot and will require these benefits at age 65. We’re talking SS and Medicare benefits for everyone and I think we will look like a third world country with the huge shortfall. And nothing changes.