That is right and the sad fact is..I doubt prices will ever go back down. At least most of them.
Correct because the labor shortage has forced employers to increase wages considerably and once given it’s almost impossible to take away so those additional costs are basically locked in until the next severe economic downturn.
Labor is a small component of most retail prices. Labor has been undervalued in the USA for decades. Labor could double and prices for DURABLE mass produced goods, food and services like retail/restaurants would not budge up much.
Didn’t in the 80s.
Yep. Even the ultra-liberal economist, J.M. Keynes, acknowledged that "prices are 'sticky' on the downward side."