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Prices never come down. Except maybe gasoline, after it jumps high in a panic now and again. Everything else just ratchets up, always. The best I can understan
by btbuildem 4y ago
Prices never come down. Except maybe gasoline, after it jumps high in a panic now and again. Everything else just ratchets up, always.
The best I can understand it, the low interest rates encourage lending / borrowing, which expands the money supply. As the supply of real goods and services is not keeping up, theres more money than goods, so prices of everything go up.
Layoffs are a way of keeping wages down, but that's just corporate greed. If wages went up, it would effectively negate inflation - we'd just get extra zeros on everything, but individual purchasing power would stay on par (you could still pay your rent with half a paycheck, etc).
Of course in a global economy that would cause the country to be at a disadvantage in the import/export game.
- sokoloff 4y agoSome categories do deflate over time. Consumer electronics, cell phone services, toys are examples that are cheaper now than 10, 20, or 30 years ago. You can get a 43" 1080p TV for $150: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/insignia-43-class-n10-series-led-full-hd-tv/6319495.p?skuId=6319495 https://www.bestbuy.com/site/insignia-43-class-n10-series-le...
- dcow 4y agoI never quite understood this. For things that are new and novel it makes sense for price to decrease over time, like TV tech (do note that OLEDs today aren't any cheaper so the category is not TVs it’s LCD TVs). But games/toys it does not. It implies quality is lower or efficiency of production is higher and with something like video games I really doubt efficiency is higher. This is why I welcome the $10 price hike for video games. I want good games again.
- sokoloff 4y agoI paid $3500 for a high quality 480p TV in 1997. A 4K OLED TV that will stomp all over that TV can be had now for under $1500. In nominal dollars, the TV fell by over 50%. In real dollars, it fell by over 75%.
- dcow 4y agoI spent $3500 on a nice OLED a few years ago. You’re not wrong, but there’s a lot of variance in what you compare.
- ROTMetro 4y agoNow do car prices.
- sokoloff 4y agoCars have both increased in reliability, features, safety, and longevity and deflated significantly in real terms. They have not deflated in nominal terms as consumer electronics have. https://www.in2013dollars.com/New-cars/price-inflation https://www.in2013dollars.com/New-cars/price-inflation
- HDThoreaun 4y agoCommodity prices fluctuate wildly. That means food.