Inflation Gone Wild
 

Inflation has been raging beyond the typical norms for the last three years. It is significantly affecting virtually all Americans. While businesses need to increase prices to cover legitimate rising costs, too many are just taking advantage of the upward spiral in prices to gouge the consumer. I encountered the epitome of this trend in The Villages yesterday. I have patronized the “Village Car Wash” in the La Plaza Grande shopping center in Spanish Springs for over 10 years. Admittedly I had not been there in quite some time with covid and all, and the last time I was there was a couple of years ago. At that time the price of the cheapest basic car wash (they call it Bronze) was $14.95. Of interest, also note the prices of the various levels of service were prominently posted when you entered their property. To just digress for a moment, I pass their location several times a week and had been noticing the normal long waiting line of cars—regardless of time of year or time of day—has been absent. The place has always appeared to be a gold mine! Well, not so for the last few months. I don’t know exactly when they raised their prices, but the basic Bronze wash (again the cheapest option) was $34! I only found this out when I went inside to pay because their prices were no longer publicly posted. That is an increase from the relatively recent price of 127%!!! No way have their costs gone up anywhere near that. I now understand why there are no longer any lines of people waiting to get their cars washed, and I will certainly no longer be a customer. That is pure greed that should not be supported by the community.

I wash my own cars about 20 minutes total haven’t been to a car wash in years.

When enough people shop elsewhere the owners will get the message or go out of business.

A car wash is a luxury not a necessity

$34 !!! Whoa! I'll just have my wife continue to wash it! (just joking, I wash it)

Like you I had “sticker shock” at the Village Car wash too after in line with about 10 cars. The “gouge” didn’t seem to hurt their business but I won’t be back at $34 price even if they do an excellent job. Inflation has leveled off some. It hurts those on fixed incomes the most.

The rainy season will wash my car...never paid for a car wash.

In 10 years I hosed and washed my car maybe 8 times. Most time spray bottle and towel get road spray film off. BUT, I don’t have to go someplace every day or even week in it.

Oh, wow, $34!! My husband will just keep using a basic class wash: putting the cars out when it rains, followed by a quick wipe.

“ Inflation has leveled off” but it level off high and never goes back or down some.

So why did they just become greedy? According to your train of thought, they could have raised their prices years ago to $34 and been greedy back then. Their cost has gone up, less people are shopping there. It not greed but business.

My wife let's me know when she wants the car washed. Once I'm done, she says, "since you've just earned $34, you can take me to lunch!". Lucky me. A clean car, @$60 per hour rate of income, a little exercise, a meal out and a happy wife. Life ain't so bad.

Grocery Feat
 

I carried our groceries the other day from Public’s in one hand in one plastic bag. The bill was 97 dollars. I jokingly told my wife I never thought I could single handedly carry a hundred bucks worth of groceries like that. Kind of scary when you think about it.

As John Maynard Keynes (father of Keynesian economics) said prices are sticky downward.

Let it rain wipe it off
 

Been there - done that. For some reason a lot less love bugs now.

In 2009, the minimum wage was $7.25. Effective Sept 2022 it was $11.00, on the way to $15.00 in a few years. That's a 110% increase.

When payroll increases, payroll taxes (FICA) also increase, workers comp insurance increases. I expect health insurance costs have increased.

Property taxes have increased. I believe the cost of water and supplies has also gone up.

A lot has happened in the four or more years since you have been there. I do not attribute the price increase to greed. I attribute it to a poorly managed economy.

This is the same reason why there are fewer ambassadors on the golf courses and fewer workers at the fast food places.

No, I do not think it is greed.

I have a different take on this topic. A business has the right to charge whatever they want for their product or service. That is capitalism. Price gouging only occurs when a business is taking advantage of people as a result of a special situation where the customer has no other choice but to pay an excessively high price for an essential product. Washing a car is not a special situation where price gouging applies. If you don't want to pay $34 for a car wash, then go somewhere else. But, it is not price gouging. The business has no obligation to charge based on their costs.

A good answer here.
Let me add.... if a business wants to raise their prices so much and take a chance
of going under because of lack of business, that's fine with me, but I'll help them along by taking my business somewhere else.

BTW.....We all make choices on spending our money, so make yours.

I agree. Nothing wrong with making an honest buck.

"Charge what the market will bear". If people keep paying it (whatever "it" happens to be) the merchants will probably keep charging the price being paid for it.

Want the price to come down. Don't patronize them. If enough people do that, the price comes down or the merchant stops selling that particular product/service.

If you watch or listen to before The bell or Bloomberg Business its been reported on earning calls its blatant overcharging especially super markets nation wide.

A few basic stats on inflation. Please don't kill the messenger, I believe all of this to be 100% true.

In 2021, 22, and 23, the rate of inflation went up 7.0%, 6.5% and 3.4%, according to the BLS. Noteworthy that the rate of inflation in each successive year is on top of the rate of inflation from the prior year.

In 2021, 22, and 23, the COLA increase in Social Security Checks was 5.9%, 8.7% and 3.2%. Social Security uses a slightly different inflation metric, and they measure inflation during the months of July, August and September of each year for purposes of determining the following year's COLA.

In 2021, 22, and 23, the average wage increases by non-supervisory American workers were 6.4%, 5.5% and 4.5%.

The current year-over-year inflation as of the most recently measured month (April 2024) is 3.4%. May 2024's inflation rate is released on June 12.

While inflation sits at 3.4%, we are able to beat inflation on our savings with interest rates easily available on government guaranteed Treasuries or FDIC-insured CD's of well over 5%. Even net of income taxes, the return is still higher in most cases than inflation.

Some folks are freaking out over inflation, most likely because we haven't had that much of it in a while....but the average annual inflation rate for the 63 years between 1960 and 2022 is 3.8%.

Most people would consider many of those years to be excellent for the economy. When I opened up my first passbook savings account as a young man, the minimum interest rate allowed by law was 5.25%. The fixed mortgage rate on my parent's house in 1964 was 5.25%. The flexible mortgage rate on my first home was 5.50% in 1996 plus two points. Fixed rates that year were much higher, they were over 8%. Lower inflation and lower interest rates are a recent phenomenon, mostly for the last 15 years, but for most of my life, the current inflation rate is not something that would have even raised an eyebrow. I can still see President Gerald Ford on TV trying to get people to wear the WIN buttons, Whip Inflation Now.

Understand it is proportional
 

Yes, but it is proportional further dividing income brackets. For instance, if you had 100 dollars in 2020 it would now take 121.15 in 2024 to equal the same buying power. That is more than a 1/5 increase for just 4 years time. A fun tool online is

Inflation Calculator

Did you buy gift cards??

Your mistake was getting all your groceries from Publix.

Most of what you got, you -probably- could've gotten at Walmart for much less. You can even get ground chuck cheaper by a couple dollars per pound at Fresh Market, if you go on Tuesdays.

You probably love their customer service, you enjoy knowing that an employee will walk your shopping cart to your car and load up the trunk for you. You probably like the layout, the lighting, their color scheme, and all the other psychological boosts you get from shopping there. They also have fresh-ish fish (it's not THAT fresh, it's just "not frozen") and they grind and cut their own beef on site. They also have excellent ice cream.

But you're paying a premium for all of that. I price it out regularly, because I'm on a budget. Other than things that I /can't/ get at Walmart, such as freshly ground beef or non-frozen fish, or really excellent subs - Walmart saves me anywhere between 20-60% of my grocery costs.

I shop at Publix when I need specialty stuff, like the Schweid's prime burgers or a sub, or bourbon salmon.

I believe that for seniors who own home without a mortgage, inflation is much higher than what they are showing us. Groceries and restaurants up substantially.

I stopped going when they charged $29, like you I been going there for over 10 years
Watch the way you vote this year

Just yesterday I watched funny commercials from the past on YouTube and there was one for Volkswagen comparing 2 neighbors with $3,000. One bought a brand-new car the other bought a house full of appliances and a Volkswagen. Look inflation has been growing for ever, lately it seems to be at a faster past and that is worldwide. As far as car washing, I purchased a new car last week that has a matte finished and I have 2 choices either was the car by hand with special products or take it to a specialist. That life.

Are you sure you didn’t accidentally buy a monthly membership? I.e. pay $35, get your car washed all month, as much as you want.

I had mine washed and dried Friday and saw the prices, I asked how much for just a car wash, no interior and was told it would be $21 which included a bug removal. I agreed and someone who didn’t speed English cleaned most of the bugs of and then drove the car through the car wash where several people wiped it down. First and last time there and only 5 cars getting cleaned.

I had a similar experience. I thought I was just getting stronger.

I really feel bad for the young families with growing bodies to feed.

I hit up Big Dan’s unlimited wash for $32 a month on 441 just north of 466 in Lady Lake. First class wash too.

The OP doesn’t understand inflation nor the true cost of running a business. In 3 years, everything is way up in cost. The cost to hire people with no experience or the cost to hire people for a menial job, is way up, the cost of water, electricity, insurance, and rent, have gone up. It’s not greed, it’s the current situation.
The people that really feel it are people on a fixed income.

It's leveled off at an unsustainable high rate. It needs to be under 2%/year, like it had been previously before all the government spending kicked in. The dollar is now worth only 80 cents over the last 3 years. Those on fixed income (pensions) really have got hurt.
Look at this chart.
Historical Inflation Rates: 1914-2024

Perhaps the price increase is due to the cost of liability insurance? Businesses are getting slammed with rising insurance costs as well..

businesses are taking advantage.....ALL businesses. covid, supply chain issues, ( all now 4 years old), minimum wage increases, all contribute to the inflation, high prices we are now in. Everyone is still using these excuses....4 YEARS LATER!

Inflation Gone Wild
 

I think new owners.

All too often now, a business, when questioned about why their prices have gone up, will claim it is because help is getting more expensive. That is a convenient rubrick that just does not hold water.

In the past, businesses would claim they increased prices or decided not to provide a particular service because of the lawyers, or because of insurance. Again, that was and is nonsense.

We live in a free enterprise society. Businesses must adjust their prices and services accordingly. No excuse is necessary for me!

Simply put, since we live in a free enterprise society, I am also free just to walk away from doing business with a business whose services or prices no longer align with my interests. If others follow me and the business fails, I really do not feel anything. To my mind, it is simply that the affected business was unable to manage their business plan appropriately.

There is always another car wash. There is always another business that meets my needs.

Greed? perhaps, I would rather believe the cost of doing business, hiring staff that will work in hot wet conditions daily , hopping in and out of hot cars, being wet and sweating continually. The price of hiring good help ain't cheap , cost of water and chemicals always increasing maintenance on equipment ,building rents taxes the list goes on. have you ordered a large order of fries at McDonalds lately Greed??
The car wash does a great job, although out of my price range as is an order of McD's fries not a value.

Yep. An easy job so why farm out the job

Wow! You’re right! $34 for the basic wash without even anyone drying your car! Fortunately, there are many cheaper options here. I’ll never go there. This isn’t “inflation”. It’s a switch to a different business model that entails soaking those suckers born every minute. There’s a lot more profit in a $3 car wash sold at $34 than in one sold at $15. They can serve 40% as many customers and make the same profit while cutting down on wear and tear to the equipment and hiring fewer workers.

The government does not include food or gasoline in the CPI. So if you don't eat or drive you have nothing to worry about.