5 ms·

Anyone who was alive 20 years ago will tell you it's not a conspiracy. How much does health insurance cost now vs 20 years ago? Rent? A university degree? We ca

Anyone who was alive 20 years ago will tell you it's not a conspiracy. How much does health insurance cost now vs 20 years ago? Rent? A university degree? We can see the massive inflation with our own two eyes (and feel it in our wallets).

UncleMeat 6y ago
> How much does health insurance cost now vs 20 years ago? Rent? A university degree? We can see the massive inflation with our own two eyes (and feel it in our wallets). People mention exactly these three things every single time they say "actually inflation is super super high". The fact that nothing else ever comes up is evidence that the bulk of things have not inflated at rates outpacing the government documentation. These three things are getting very expensive very fast. That's bad. Policies can be put into place to limit this. This is not evidence that the government is full of liars and really inflation is at 20%.
- solosoyokaze 6y ago
  Other things don't come up because these three are major expenses for most people, percentage-wise dwarfing the rest of their spending. I don't care that the price of steak is only up $5 /lb when I have to pay $3k more a month due to housing, insurance and education costs.
  - souprock 6y ago
    Well, that's your anecdote. My anecdote: Health insurance went to zero. Back in 2001 there were copayments and my employer would deduct from my paycheck to purchase coverage. Rent went to zero, or $266 if you count property tax. Back in 2001 my landlord made me pay $750 per month. Education went to zero if you aren't fussy about your degree and aren't lazy. Dual-enrollment has become popular, letting students take college classes without paying. It's enough for a BA or BS degree. Suppose you insist on an engineering degree. Back in 2001 the cost was about $17,000 per year for me. Today it is about $16,000 per year for my son. Meanwhile I'm paying about $48,000 per year for food, so I do care about that steak. Even the burger is $5 or $6 per pound, and the reasonable fish is $8 to $12 per pound.
    - solosoyokaze 6y ago
      You’re health insurance most definitely did not go to zero. It’s up thousands of percent. If your employers are eating that cost, they’re taking it out of your salary. Your rent went to zero: complete BS or you’re in some kind of unique situation that applies to only you. Housing is one of the main drivers of inflation. Your education claim is equally ridiculous. I also don’t believe you spend $4k a month on groceries (but zero for rent).
      - souprock 6y ago
        Well, those are my costs, as paid by me. I suppose my employer could have given me a raise instead of deciding to fully pay for the health insurance. The line item on my paycheck is gone now, and I didn't take a pay cut to make that happen. Actually I got a big raise at the time. 20 years ago, and even 10 years ago, getting health insurance required that I grant permission to deduct part of it from my paycheck. That's gone. Although in theory I have a high deductible now, my employer effectively cancels that by putting an equal amount into a health savings account. My rent went to zero because I bought a house and fully paid for it. It is 3109 square feet on 0.39 acres. In other words, there is no mortgage anymore. I suppose repairs might be needed at some point. The education is really what I paid. I attended Northeastern University and UMass Lowell long ago, which was about $17,000 per year. I have a kid in University of Central Florida now, paying $16,000 per year. I have multiple kids at Eastern Florida State College now, attending for almost nothing because tuition is paid under a dual-enrollment agreement by the local school district. Even books are covered. We just pay for a $40 parking permit and $10 per semester for wireless network access. I spend $4k a month on groceries because I have a family of 14, I shop at Publix (a normal nice-quality supermarket), and I have a fondness for things like fish and less-typical fruit. That estimate is a couple years old, so it might be higher now. So really I'm not feeling any inflation. Power is cheap (thanks FPL), water is cheap, I no longer have to pay a long-distance provider per-minute phone charges, and fuel is still cheap. I went from having a car loan at 7% to just buying my cars in cash. For less money, I get a car with more seats and more power. Capitalism does a really nice job of making life affordable. Maybe I'm the inflation. I cost more, but you won't find me in the consumer price index.
- jjav 6y ago
  Compared to ten years ago: My electric bill is 10x. My water bill is 6x-8x. I live in the same house and have the same consumption then and now. My supermarket costs are 5x-7x. So yes, real inflation has been pretty scary the last 10 years. On a silicon valley techie salary I can absorb these costs but it's still a huge increase. Talking with some friends the other day about this topic, I projected the numbers for the next ten years if things were to continue on this path and the result would be that in ten years I won't be able to pay utilities + food on my salary. So presumably something will change or break, because that's not sustainable.
  - sokoloff 6y ago
    I can’t see how your electric rate (in terms of per unit usage) could have 10x’d in 10 years: https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/General.aspx?id=12057 https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/General.aspx?id=12057 If you weren’t mining BTC in 2011 and are now, well sure your bill could, which I admit is all you claimed.
  - marcusverus 6y ago
    > My supermarket costs are 5x-7x. If the cost of your groceries doubles every ~2 years, you've got yourself a local problem. If this was caused by inflation, it would be the common experience of all Americans. And yet, the price of my groceries today is not noticably different than the price was two years ago.
  - UncleMeat 6y ago
    Your supermarket costs are 5x? Mine are up like 10% over the last six years.
    - jjav 6y ago
      Around $200/mo a decade ago, now always over $1000/mo. Also, in 1990 it was ~$140/mo. Inflation was quite gradual from 1990 to 2010, the last 10 years have been brutal.

UncleMeat 6y ago

> How much does health insurance cost now vs 20 years ago? Rent? A university degree? We can see the massive inflation with our own two eyes (and feel it in our wallets). People mention exactly these three things every single time they say "actually inflation is super super high". The fact that nothing else ever comes up is evidence that the bulk of things have not inflated at rates outpacing the government documentation. These three things are getting very expensive very fast. That's bad. Policies can be put into place to limit this. This is not evidence that the government is full of liars and really inflation is at 20%.

solosoyokaze 6y ago
Other things don't come up because these three are major expenses for most people, percentage-wise dwarfing the rest of their spending. I don't care that the price of steak is only up $5 /lb when I have to pay $3k more a month due to housing, insurance and education costs.
- souprock 6y ago
  Well, that's your anecdote. My anecdote: Health insurance went to zero. Back in 2001 there were copayments and my employer would deduct from my paycheck to purchase coverage. Rent went to zero, or $266 if you count property tax. Back in 2001 my landlord made me pay $750 per month. Education went to zero if you aren't fussy about your degree and aren't lazy. Dual-enrollment has become popular, letting students take college classes without paying. It's enough for a BA or BS degree. Suppose you insist on an engineering degree. Back in 2001 the cost was about $17,000 per year for me. Today it is about $16,000 per year for my son. Meanwhile I'm paying about $48,000 per year for food, so I do care about that steak. Even the burger is $5 or $6 per pound, and the reasonable fish is $8 to $12 per pound.
  - solosoyokaze 6y ago
    You’re health insurance most definitely did not go to zero. It’s up thousands of percent. If your employers are eating that cost, they’re taking it out of your salary. Your rent went to zero: complete BS or you’re in some kind of unique situation that applies to only you. Housing is one of the main drivers of inflation. Your education claim is equally ridiculous. I also don’t believe you spend $4k a month on groceries (but zero for rent).
    - souprock 6y ago
      Well, those are my costs, as paid by me. I suppose my employer could have given me a raise instead of deciding to fully pay for the health insurance. The line item on my paycheck is gone now, and I didn't take a pay cut to make that happen. Actually I got a big raise at the time. 20 years ago, and even 10 years ago, getting health insurance required that I grant permission to deduct part of it from my paycheck. That's gone. Although in theory I have a high deductible now, my employer effectively cancels that by putting an equal amount into a health savings account. My rent went to zero because I bought a house and fully paid for it. It is 3109 square feet on 0.39 acres. In other words, there is no mortgage anymore. I suppose repairs might be needed at some point. The education is really what I paid. I attended Northeastern University and UMass Lowell long ago, which was about $17,000 per year. I have a kid in University of Central Florida now, paying $16,000 per year. I have multiple kids at Eastern Florida State College now, attending for almost nothing because tuition is paid under a dual-enrollment agreement by the local school district. Even books are covered. We just pay for a $40 parking permit and $10 per semester for wireless network access. I spend $4k a month on groceries because I have a family of 14, I shop at Publix (a normal nice-quality supermarket), and I have a fondness for things like fish and less-typical fruit. That estimate is a couple years old, so it might be higher now. So really I'm not feeling any inflation. Power is cheap (thanks FPL), water is cheap, I no longer have to pay a long-distance provider per-minute phone charges, and fuel is still cheap. I went from having a car loan at 7% to just buying my cars in cash. For less money, I get a car with more seats and more power. Capitalism does a really nice job of making life affordable. Maybe I'm the inflation. I cost more, but you won't find me in the consumer price index.
jjav 6y ago
Compared to ten years ago: My electric bill is 10x. My water bill is 6x-8x. I live in the same house and have the same consumption then and now. My supermarket costs are 5x-7x. So yes, real inflation has been pretty scary the last 10 years. On a silicon valley techie salary I can absorb these costs but it's still a huge increase. Talking with some friends the other day about this topic, I projected the numbers for the next ten years if things were to continue on this path and the result would be that in ten years I won't be able to pay utilities + food on my salary. So presumably something will change or break, because that's not sustainable.
- sokoloff 6y ago
  I can’t see how your electric rate (in terms of per unit usage) could have 10x’d in 10 years: https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/General.aspx?id=12057 https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/General.aspx?id=12057 If you weren’t mining BTC in 2011 and are now, well sure your bill could, which I admit is all you claimed.
- marcusverus 6y ago
  > My supermarket costs are 5x-7x. If the cost of your groceries doubles every ~2 years, you've got yourself a local problem. If this was caused by inflation, it would be the common experience of all Americans. And yet, the price of my groceries today is not noticably different than the price was two years ago.
- UncleMeat 6y ago
  Your supermarket costs are 5x? Mine are up like 10% over the last six years.
  - jjav 6y ago
    Around $200/mo a decade ago, now always over $1000/mo. Also, in 1990 it was ~$140/mo. Inflation was quite gradual from 1990 to 2010, the last 10 years have been brutal.