[Gaffer]

Go buy a pound of cheese, bacon, or hamburger etc. These people don’t know in the hell they are talking about.

[WKUHilltopper]

“That view is at odds with the demands of those Republicans who have been predicting a nasty outbreak of inflation since at least 2009.”

This guy hasn’t been to a grocery store?

They’re doing the same crap as they did in the 70s. Shrinking the product, selling you less—at the same price. Has he ever seen the size and thickness of a candy bar pre-1970s?

[eyeamok]

Since then, inflation has stayed tame — to the point that these days, the debate is about whether we have enough of it.???

If STEALING a little value form every dollar annually is good, then if we steal a little more it will be great??

Inflation is THEFT OF VALUE by DILUTION!

Where in the HELL do these IDIOTS COME FROM???

[stockpirate]

What a load of crap, and here’s why.

1. Containers have become smaller while prices remain the same, INFLATION, less product for the same price.

2. Fuel and food are no longer in the inflation list of items.

3. Go out and eat, the portions are smaller. When Panda Express first opened the portions were a lot larger, now they use smaller containers.

[stockpirate]

Doesn’t Townhall say they are “CONSERVATIVE”

[Vinnie]

Obviously these people do not grocery shop.
Oh, that’s right, they look at the index that doesn’t include food and fuel.
Yeah, that’ll be accurate. /s

[Stegall Tx]

http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/70yearsofpricechange.html

Interesting site that tracks the average cost of a few common items like gas, hamburger meat, loaves of bread, etc.

According to their figures, a bag of groceries + 1 gallon of gas that cost $54 when 0bama took office now costs $76. But there’s no inflation ... move along ... nothing to see.

[Moonman62]

It didn’t happen, thanks to a Federal Reserve that, in the early 1980s, slammed on the brakes by raising interest rates and curbing monetary growth.

...

Inflation was put in check by Reagan’s policies of less government and more economic growth. All the Fed did was cause a nasty recession.

[FredZarguna]

Complete rubbish that could only be written by an idiot who doesn't actually shop for food and other necessities, doesn't pay for electricity [still going up despite the price of gas/oil coming down], doesn't pay taxes [probably a liberal, so likely doesn't pay taxes until his confirmation hearing comes around], and doesn't compare the quality of consumer items.

Yes, the cost of durable goods has not increased. But like the posters who note that the quantity of many things has decreased as the nominal price stays fixed, even durable goods are significantly poorer quality than they used to be. This is also a hidden "price increase" that economists are deliberately ignoring.

Kids used to say: "Ma, I just picked it up, and it broke." That was true because your brother or sister had already broken the thing, and cleverly put it back together so that it seemed unbroken. But now that old excuse is literally true. And having to pay for the same flashlight, mop, lawn-mower .. whatever ... twice as frequently as you used to represents an inflation rate of 100% over the fully amortized lifetime.

The scam -- much needed but still a scam -- is that we don't have the money to pay the public pension increases and Social Security COLA's mandated by law. So measuring inflation has simply been jiggered so that it appears not to exist.

In my state -- and in many others -- healthcare is the single largest source of employment. Is the author completely unaware of the out-of-control increases in medical insurance? Those increases occur because the use and cost of healthcare is rapidly increasing. But where is that on the inflation radar? It's 1/7 of the economy, increasing at 10, 15, even 20% some years. A 20% increase in the cost of healthcare should be reflected by a 2.8% uptick in inflation. WHY DONT' WE SEE THAT.

Paraphrase Stalin: When you can print your own paper, it doesn't matter who spends the money. It only matter who counts the money.

[IC Ken]

re>In September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that U.S. inflation over the previous year was zero

Everything we are told is a lie. I'm getting tired of it.

[jimmygrace]

If people aren’t getting jobs and raises and buying extra things, there will be no upward pressure on demand. Not having inflation is not necessarily a good thing.

[ForYourChildren]

http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/pricebasket.html

The link has details as to what was used to calculate the prices.

------------------

Our Price Basket - or Cost Of Living 2008 - 2014 Latest Inflation Update December 2014 Interest Rates, Housing, Food, Gas, Stamps, Dollar Exchange Rate, Dow Jones, Movie Ticket, College Tuition and Wages. We created this page to address two specific needs 1. Providing a comparison for earlier years and 2. As a means of watching how prices and wages react and the effects on inflation, prices and wages when the world comes out of the recession . As you can see we have changed the format to make it easier to read. Hope You Like the new style. To gain an idea of true inflation check 2008 prices to current with our Price Basket Graphic -- Steve As you can see from our table the overall basket of goods has increased significantly from 2008 to 2014, Our real world Price basket of goods shows an increase of over 45% from May 2008 to September 2012 far above published inflation figures and I believe reflects how the working class and the middle class have been effected by real world prices and stagnation in wages due to high unemployment, our basket is representative of the goods and services we all use and buy. Obviously different people spend on different amounts and types from our food basket dependent on multiple factors 1. Size of family, 2. Income, but we hope it offers an insight into real world inflation we are all affected by as opposed to government statistics. Our basket of goods shows a slight increase from 2013 to 2014 which could be suprising when you consider the price of Gas has decreased ( the big factor was the increase of Tide Soap Powder ) other factors including rent, taxes ( local and State ) College Tuition, Cost of a Stamp, Movie Ticket or going out for a meal all affect how much disposable income we have available

And even the fed numbers shows household income declining during the same years from $58,000 to $54,000.

[Dimples]

There is a bit of deception here because, technically, inflation is growth in the money supply ... not growth in prices (CPI). Yes indeed prices are rising (price inflation.)

If you look at the three major money supply measures, M0 (cash/currency in circulation), it is indeed relatively flat meaning that the actual amount of folding money and coin hasn't changed much. THAT is what is being reported as the basis for the no inflation claim.

However, the other two principle measures: M1 (M0 plus Checking Accounts) and M2 (M1 plus Savings Accounts), show significant inflation: M1 has grown by 6.7% in the last year, and M2 has grown 5.4% in the last year.

One other interesting measure "Loans to the Private Sector" has grown a whopping 10.2%!! In an economy where more and more purchases are made through credit instruments and not cash, M0 as a measure of inflation is increasingly irrelevant.

Inflation is real, it has been with us all along, it's just being hidden in the Credit boom rather than evident in cash. Wheel barrows are only needed to haul cash around ... not credit cards, mortgage loans and consumer credit loans.

In the end, the inflation of the money supply through credit is responsible for the increases in prices. So, yes ... all are correct in their assessment that inflation is not zero. The only thing not growing is the amount of folding money and coin running around ... a component of the money supply that has rapidly fallen into disuse and as a result has become not a very reliable indicator of inflation!

[Springman]

Bump for later.

[1rudeboy]

Lots of people here don’t realize that shrinking package sizes boost the inflation number. So you need to look elsewhere for the cause.

[HamiltonJay]

2% annually my ass... only because they leave out a crapload of things.... Like food... and energy... the 2 things you can’t live without... while Shale natural gas has lowered energy and gas is off its highs, food prices are outrageous.

Beef is easly up 30% in a few years, as well as other food stables.. etc.

2% is a joke, paying way more for things now than I was 5 years ago.

[central_va]

The Surprising Disappearance of Inflation for people that don't eat or pay for higher education.

Fixed.

[exDemMom]

With all of the money that Obama dumped into the economy at the beginning of his reign, it is impossible for their NOT to be inflation.

I see the inflation whenever I go to the grocery store. Food is expensive, these days—and my salary is not growing as fast as food prices.

[PeterPrinciple]

No one would have imagined a couple of decades ago that we would learn how to stop high inflation and keep it stopped. Like communism, it can still be found in a few places. But like communism, it’s no longer much of a threat.

---

yep, we people are gods. we can control the climate, we can control the economy. Is there anything we cannot control?

Regarding the article. There is NEVER pure deflation or inflation. There will be deflation of some things and inflation of other things.

PLACE YOUR BETS.......................