Inflation? Only If You Look At Food, Water, Gas, Electricity And Everything Else

Zero Hedge ^ | 06/20/2014 | Tyler Durden

[george76]

Have you noticed that prices are going up rapidly? If so, you are certainly not alone. But Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen, the Obama administration and the mainstream media would have us believe that inflation is completely under control and exactly where it should be. Perhaps if the highly manipulated numbers that they quote us were real, everything would be fine. But of course the way that the inflation rate is calculated has been changed more than 20 times since the 1970s, and at this point it bears so little relation to reality that it is essentially meaningless. Anyone that has to regularly pay for food, water, gas, electricity or anything else knows that inflation is too high.

In fact, if inflation was calculated the same way that it was back in 1980, the inflation rate would be close to 10 percent right now.

But you would never know that listening to Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen.

...

median household income in the U.S. is now about 7 percent lower than it was in the year 2000 after adjusting for inflation.

And if realistic inflation numbers were used instead of the government-manipulated ones, it would look a lot worse than that.

Inflation is a hidden tax that all of us pay, and it is systematically eviscerating the middle class.

[Eagles6]

I receive ads for Dish tv. Internet for $19.99.

[Oatka]

Clever of that BLS to omit food and energy from the CPI basket of goods, because those measures “too volatile.”

Indeed, they conveniently forget that they could use a "moving average" which would, at least, give some kind of indication.

[VerySadAmerican]

I was raised on pinto beans cooked with pork fat, potatoes fried in lard and cornbread with real butter. Yummy!

As food gets higher and higher the crime rate will get higher and higher.

Oh, how I wish I wouldn’t have sold those little pieces of land I had at one time. I once had 5 acres and sold it. Later I had two acres and sold it. Now 1 acre anywhere near civilization is way more than I can afford.

[GailA]

For 2 people that is not practical. We had Sam’s and dropped it 3 yrs ago for that reason. To large of a quantity for our needs. Even if just stocking. You can only handle so many large items in a starter home like those large things of TP or paper towels. And paper towels are not a necessity I have plenty of old cotton under shirts and stained hand towels for clean ups I can wash. TP is a necessity. But not enough reason to pay for a membership.

[4Liberty]

Bump!

[familyop]

True. Some people with interest in real estate have insisted that the trend is deflationary, but generally, we’ve seen some radical price inflation and outrageous global dollar inflation. There’s no general deflation in any sense of the word.

[familyop]

"But of course the way that the inflation rate is calculated has been changed more than 20 times since the 1970s, and at this point it bears so little relation to reality that it is essentially meaningless. Anyone that has to regularly pay for food, water, gas, electricity or anything else knows that inflation is too high."

Investors--especially investors with government incomes and pensions--are heavily involved in commodities: food, energy and all. The more investors, the higher the prices. There are several causal relationships.

[familyop]

"Plant a garden and get some laying hens."

Good advice. If the chickens are allowed to eat the garden, chicken feed won't cost so much during gardening season. Really, since the pet chicken, TEOTWAWKI craze hit the suburbs, feed and chicks are crazy expensive. There are even toys for chickens on the market now.

[RipSawyer]

Anyone who believes the current inflation numbers should plant pumpkins so they can sit in the pumpkin patch on Halloween night and wait for the “Great Pumpkin” to rise up out of the pumpkin patch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2H0TfvNU3w

Actually I plan to plant some pumpkins myself but only because I like pumpkin pie. I really don’t believe in the “Great Pumpkin”, honest I don’t, I don’t really. Actually I think the “Great Pumpkin” is a little more credible than those inflation figures.

[RipSawyer]

“Demand pull” inflation is as you probably know, a fantasy. Inflation, in its proper meaning acttually refers to an increase in money relative to the supply of goods and services available. Rising prices are the symptom, not the cause of inflation. In the words of Gerald Celente, “American money is not worth the paper it is NOT printed on.”

[MrB]

Net zero dialup...

[Girlene]

I used to have that....I think I paid between $10 and $13....does that sound right?

[MrB]

Yes, I think $10 a long time ago. Haven’t looked back into it recently.

I know I had problems with Juno. I wouldn’t to this day recommend Juno. They wouldn’t cancel my account without me (re)giving my credit card info and refused to acknowledge that they could verify my account in another way.