How Bad is this Inflation thing that everyone is screaming about really

[Woodswalker]

I'm paying some more for gas. Some things in the supermarket have gone up a bit. But my household has every delivery truck there is stopping here almost daily. My local eateries haven't gotten more expensive? I'm really not feeling all this horror and dread and empty shelves shit? Id like to hear some Republican fantasies of shortages and having to go back to horses for transportation, I wanna hear Fox News fables of families starving and having to sell off Ole Bess the milk cow to the butcher to pay land tax. Let's hear the stories?

[pwb]

1. You won't hear many Fox News stories here?

We go elsewhere for news. Mostly.

[mahina]

2. It's a worldwide problem

Joe’s 2 bits he gave us didn’t start it

It’s definitely biting people but gas prices are more of an energy company profit grab and swipe at Joe in one move in my book.

[panader0]

3. No shortages here in SE Az.

Americans are a bit spoiled.

[captain queeg]

4. I've noticed increased prices for many things

Groceries have gone up, quite noticeably for somethings. I did see some empty shelves recently. Looked to be in the area where top ramen and similar items were. Since that’s some of the cheapest food out there (college students tend to eat it a lot) it made me wonder. My rent went up $100 which pretty much ate up my SS increase. It’s noticeable but not devastating for me. Also prices on restaurant food has gone up, both takeout and sit down. Egg McMuffin, hash brown, and coffee cost $7-1/2 the last time I went. Used to be around $5. Went to breakfast at a local chain last week and an omelet was $13. Used to be breakfast was a cheaper meal, one that I still go out for occasionally.

[Scrivener7]

5. I see it in gas prices, but I have a "gas-responsible" car. I can see how

it would be a hardship for people with big gas guzzlers, but so be that. For my car, it is a couple of dollars a week, no more.

Also, I'm not seeing gas prices going any higher than they did at times under TFG, but no one said anything about those spikes, and somehow we all lived through it.

I'm not seeing shortages around here.

[Walleye]

6. I wonder how much climate change is affecting the crop yields

[Busterscruggs]

7. I hang out

At walmart alot since it's close by. I noticed the soda machines in the lobby have gone from .50 to .75 for the house Sam's which is a pretty big increase if you drink several of those a day on no income.

[left-of-center2012]

8. Yes, inflation is real

$100 at the grocery store does not buy what it bought one or two years ago.

[Chainfire]

14. Being retired and living on a humble fixed income

The inflation is real to me. For instance, I have quit eating beef because of it.

[SoonerPride]

27. Most everyone's income is "fixed"

Whether retired or working 9 to 5.

Very people have incomes that vary widely on commission or gambling winnings.

[Vinca]

9. Prices have gone up, but it's a matter of supply and demand and the pandemic has been

a bomb thrown into the middle of a calm sea. It'll settle back down eventually, but not before Republicans have their slobbering followers believing there are bread lines.

[Woodswalker]

10. A bit more for gas

Gas is about 3.40. Thats not that far from the ten year average around here in NY. Meat and produce? Paper products, cleaners, I'm not seeing it. Angus Tbone 8.99lb on sale, Chicken the same, Pork the same??? Pork shoulder .89 cents a lb for Christ sake!
Then there's the obviously Biden hating bitch stocking shelves at our local supermarket complaining we're not getting stuff in, had to go thru great effort to point out to me which brand of Salsa wasn't available this week otherwise the supermarket had pretty much everything!

[Woodswalker]

11. What I'm seeing

I have family early thirties and their friends were getting paid 12 dollars an hr a little over a year ago. They've all switched jobs and are making 20+ now. Delivery drivers for Amazon starting at 80k a few miles from me in NY. A young guy I know just started at a retail management position in a corporate owned auto parts store at 100k! Damn paying another 35 a week for gas when your paycheck had gone up 40percent is "Good Business" where I come from. Shit Social Security has givin me a 5.9 percent raise! I never got that when I was working for someone!

[Johnny2X2X]

12. It's not that bad

Wages are way up, prices are up, but this isn't run away inflation where it's a crisis of any kind. There are supply chain issues causing most of it. The public doesn't understand that ordering needs to remain steady and predictable for costs to be low. The pandemic caused a lag and then a spike in ordering and it's costing firms money to warehouse or expedite goods.

It will ease throughout this year.

[Amishman]

13. Depends on your situation, but pretty bad for some

Gas, energy, and food we know about.

The gotcha is if you need a big ticket item

If you need a vehicle it's insane vs two years ago

Housing has gone nuts

Appliances are also nuts. We debated replacing ours past year using stimulus money. The set we liked was $3500, and decided to wait since a year prior it was sub $3000. Today it's $4400.

Need a major house repair? Labor and materials will have you at least up 25% vs two years ago - possibly far worse

[jmbar2]

15. Inflation is to be expected over time.

Here are some stats from the 1970s

In 1970, on average, a man working full-time, year-round could earn approximately $9,180 a year, could rent for $108 a month, and could buy a gallon of gas for $0.36. A 1970 man’s annual base expenses totaled about $2,170 for shelter, gas (figuring around 760 gallons per year), and groceries (about $50 per month). After all, in the ’70s, most everything, from stamps to bread to motor oil, cost less than a dollar.

So, a man in 1970 spent about a quarter (around 24 percent) of his income on yearly predictable expenditures.

https://medium.com/s/story/the-minimum-wage-phallacy-fbed6eed42c6

Wages have not kept pace with the cost of living, but are now creeping up. That will likely increase inflation as well.

I'm not sure there is really anything you can do about it.

[Freethinker65]

16. Gas prices up. Food prices up unless you shop the sales.

Not driving as much during the pandemic so gas prices going up is hardly noticed overall except when filling up.

Non sale grocery prices on some items quite noticeable but if you are able to plan and shop the sales, not much different than pre-pandemic. Milk 2 gallons for $4, eggs $.99 for 18!, green beans $.99/#, pork shoulder $.99/#, Prego $.88 (all on sale). Paper products higher but available. $1.25/most items at the "Dollar Tree".

Major appliances were hard to get and expensive. Car lots seem pretty empty and I have been waiting almost 3 months for a part to repair my Subaru after getting rear ended.

[egduj]

17. It's bad.

[dumbcat]

18. I feel it every weekly trip to the grocery store

Lots of things we normally buy have gone up.

On empty shelves, I notice more empty shelves than before Christmas. The thing I have noticed most at our grocery store is the almost always depleted pasta section. Big, gaping, empty shelves that should have various pastas. It's been like that for over a month. I also have noticed there are fewer items and less stock in the instant noodles section, like Ramen noodles. As mentioned above, another item that is used by college students and those on tight budgets.

At least gas isn't TOO bad in my area. About $2.80/gal, up from $1.90/gal before the big increases. Luckily, I don't drive that much anymore.

[madville]

20. The empty shelf thing has been sporadic in

The stores I frequent. Like in Publix, you might go in and there is no Gatorade, or a specific brand of pasta, or Ore-Ida frozen potatoes, etc. I think they also do a good job at the higher end stores rearranging the shelves so you don’t see as many gaps.

[DuaneT]

32. If you live in a tourist area just wait a couple of months

Last summer at the height of Delta our Publix and Walmart's did experience quite a few shortages. After tourist season shelves were full and now with the snowbirds the shelves are depleting again so I expect it much harder in a couple more months to get what you need.

Publix in my area has no gatorade and very little pasta. Went to Walmart the other day and absolutely no pasta on the shelfs. Even at our local Walmart hamburger is now as much as Publix, hell 80/20 hamburger is up, as of this past Saturday at $4.99 a lb. Might be higher today.

[madville]

33. If you go to Walmart in the morning on weekdays

They tag all the clearance meat, like stuff with a use by date of that day, with new yellow price stickers. I got a bunch of 80/20 for $2.99 a pound and chicken breasts for $1.49 a pound last week, then I bring home and freeze.

[madville]

19. Prices have risen significantly, especially energy and food

Dismiss it if you want, grocery and restaurant prices have increased around 20% in my area in the last year. Numbers from November 2020 to November 2021, the root causes don’t matter so much, the perception to voters is that prices are skyrocketing.

Price increases November 2020 to November 2021:
Fuel oil: 59.30%
Gasoline (all types): 58.10%
Car/truck rental: 37.20%
Propane/kerosene and firewood: 34.30%
Used vehicles: 31.40%
Beef roasts: 26.4%
Hotel/Motels: 25.5%
Beef steak: 24.2%
Beef and veal, other: 24.2%
Bacon: 21%
Frozen orange juice: 16%
Ground beef: 13.9%
Pork chops: 12.7%
Furniture/Bedding: 11.8%
Ground chuck: 11.1%
Ham: 10.7%
Fresh fish and seafood: 10.6%
Fats and oils (including peanut butter): 9.1%
Eggs: 8%
Chicken, fresh whole: 6.7%
Whole milk: 6.6%
Frankfurters: 3%
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/items-hit-hardest-inflation-gas-120015313.html

[Tickle]

23. Thank you

for not pretending we don't have inflation. Heating my house this winter has been a challenge. A challenge I'm not sure I can handle

[milestogo]

24. Yes

I don't eat meat or fish and it feels like everything I do eat has gone way up.

[Magoo48]

28. For the check to check folks, working and not working poor, and what's left of the middle class,

it’s bad; it’s always fucking bad. How bad is it? Really?

[Woodswalker]

34. Not at all accurate.

Are those Fox News numbers. None of that is near true

[madville]

37. They are CPI numbers

Consumer Price Index

[sarisataka]

21. I am very glad to hear

You have sufficient means that inflation doesn't affect you personally. It is also nice for you that the universe it aligned in such fashion that if something doesn't affect you personally, it doesn't exist and affects no one. You are among that elite group of people whose needs and experiences are universal and apply to everyone equally.

[Woodswalker]

35. Dont get so touchy

Never said I couldn't be affected by inflation. I just haven't

[Demsrule86]

22. It is not inflation...but corporate greed IMHO.

[former9thward]

25. Either you don't have a family or you are living in a different world

if you think inflation is a "fable". It is very real and serious. All things in supermarkets have gone up and not just "a bit".

[Septua]

26. Crude oil drives the world...

We generally think of crude oil in terms of gasoline but there are literally thousands of products that require some form of crude oil. In 2020 when the demand for crude products dropped drastically, the crude producers and refineries had to cut production significantly and gasoline prices dropped, of course...the supply-demand thing.

Then when the demand picked back up, the producers didn't react proportionally and the supply went deficient...and prices went up.

I personally suspect the crude industry rationale is to exploit the situation and recover some of their losses accrued during the low demand period...but don't have any data to back that up.

Add to the crude situation all the other products that went deficient as a result of covid shutdowns around the world and most everything is or was, in short supply, driving up prices...supply-demand.

Here are a couple of relative links:

Crude oil products:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum_product

Crude oil prices:

https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=50738

So far as the stock market paranoia, it is most always emotion driven by people speculating what might happen...

https://www.barrons.com/articles/stock-market-today-51643021522

[machoneman]

29. 3 things in a very recent study: gas (oil actually), meat, car purchases.

Yes, meat had gone up but it's what 20-40% max of ones grocery bill. Cars? Zero impact unless your buying right now, used or new. Gas? Yes, it's up but as noted above its not much higher than the last 5 years or so. BTW, we will never see gas under $2.00/ga. due to greedy oil producers and other corporation greediness.

Methinks the media, even left leaning media, just needs a story NOT directly related to COVID-19. Unemployment at historic lows? Snore. Real wages climbing rapidly across the US? 1 day's worth of press. TFG says some shit? Days and weeks on end of anti-Biden quotes and discussions.

Jeesh, gimme a break!

[Sympthsical]

30. Ugh, more "I'm fine, so what's the problem here?"

People on food stamps, living paycheck to paycheck, or no savings or little cushion are being squeezed of what little breathing room they have.

We're Democrats, damnit. The poor and working class who struggle should always be in our minds.

[Johonny]

31. My two financial advisors whom I talked to yesterday

were of the opinion that it's
1) Bad, but partially transitory
2) Likely to cause rate hikes
3) Likely to extend economic fears into the Fall

Personally, it's annoying as my salary simply can't keep up with it.

[Skittles]

36. um.....yeah, OK