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What's the point of that? My mom who walks into a store doesn't adjust for inflation. Her income hasn't been adjusted for inflation, let alone exchange rate. M

What's the point of that? My mom who walks into a store doesn't adjust for inflation. Her income hasn't been adjusted for inflation, let alone exchange rate. Many people on HN can probably explain why the price is what it is now. That doesn't mean that people are willing (or capable) to pay that much.

yazzku 4y ago
It really is hard for some people to understand, right? Mom makes X Prices go up Mom still makes X
- bombcar 4y ago
  And Mom decides not to buy an M2, which makes perfect sense (to me) - most people's income eventually somewhat maybe adjusts for inflation at some time, but prices on milk and stuff adjust much faster. One of the best ways to look at the effects of inflation is how long between "upgrades" of various things like cars, computers, phones, TVs, etc. Also, everyone and their mother wanted to buy the M1 when it came out, because it was just so much better than what came before; but there's no real pressing reason to upgrade to the M2 from the M1, so most of the new purchases will be the last few Intel hold-outs upgrading, or new customers. At $999 and a major performance increase, a new laptop might be a no-brainer (especially compared to replacing batteries, etc). But at $1199 and a minor increase, why bother?
- astrange 4y ago
  Not true for retirees because Social Security gets inflation adjustments. Probably not true in general either except in stagflation.
  - kipchak 4y ago
    Social Security is about 30% of the income of the elderly according to the SSA. https://www.ssa.gov/news/press/factsheets/basicfact-alt.pdf https://www.ssa.gov/news/press/factsheets/basicfact-alt.pdf
  - yazzku 4y ago
    How exactly is it not true for the working mom in my example?
    - astrange 4y ago
      That's stagflation, which happened in the 70s. Inflation usually means wages going up. Of course they don't all go up at the same time and people get shuffled around, which makes them really angry. But low wage workers in the US have gotten significant pay raises since 2019. In fact, they're the only workers who are making more after inflation. https://bcf.princeton.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Combined-Slides.pdf https://bcf.princeton.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Combine... …This also means wealth and income inequality are down, which maybe people will be happy about.
      - yazzku 4y ago
        This isn't a contradiction of my example. My example is pretty clear: Mom makes X before/after prices have gone up, and years after so. > Inflation usually means wages going up. Inflation is a rise in prices, that's what it means. Maybe I am being pedantic about your use of "means". > But low wage workers in the US have gotten significant pay raises since 2019. Mom in my example hasn't, so irrelevant. Why do you insist on using generalizations to try to contradict an example? My example is very real, the generalization does not apply.
        astrange 4y ago
        Maybe you should help her find a better job. > Inflation is a rise in prices, that's what it means. Maybe I am being pedantic about your use of "means". Wages are a price for labor, so prices going up includes wages.
  - donkeyd 4y ago
    This thread was about pricing in the EU. Even if it was inflation adjusted, it wasn't adjusted for exchange rate differences, which are a significant part of the price increase on Apple products in the EU.

yazzku 4y ago

It really is hard for some people to understand, right? Mom makes X Prices go up Mom still makes X

bombcar 4y ago
And Mom decides not to buy an M2, which makes perfect sense (to me) - most people's income eventually somewhat maybe adjusts for inflation at some time, but prices on milk and stuff adjust much faster. One of the best ways to look at the effects of inflation is how long between "upgrades" of various things like cars, computers, phones, TVs, etc. Also, everyone and their mother wanted to buy the M1 when it came out, because it was just so much better than what came before; but there's no real pressing reason to upgrade to the M2 from the M1, so most of the new purchases will be the last few Intel hold-outs upgrading, or new customers. At $999 and a major performance increase, a new laptop might be a no-brainer (especially compared to replacing batteries, etc). But at $1199 and a minor increase, why bother?
astrange 4y ago
Not true for retirees because Social Security gets inflation adjustments. Probably not true in general either except in stagflation.
- kipchak 4y ago
  Social Security is about 30% of the income of the elderly according to the SSA. https://www.ssa.gov/news/press/factsheets/basicfact-alt.pdf https://www.ssa.gov/news/press/factsheets/basicfact-alt.pdf
- yazzku 4y ago
  How exactly is it not true for the working mom in my example?
  - astrange 4y ago
    That's stagflation, which happened in the 70s. Inflation usually means wages going up. Of course they don't all go up at the same time and people get shuffled around, which makes them really angry. But low wage workers in the US have gotten significant pay raises since 2019. In fact, they're the only workers who are making more after inflation. https://bcf.princeton.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Combined-Slides.pdf https://bcf.princeton.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Combine... …This also means wealth and income inequality are down, which maybe people will be happy about.
    - yazzku 4y ago
      This isn't a contradiction of my example. My example is pretty clear: Mom makes X before/after prices have gone up, and years after so. > Inflation usually means wages going up. Inflation is a rise in prices, that's what it means. Maybe I am being pedantic about your use of "means". > But low wage workers in the US have gotten significant pay raises since 2019. Mom in my example hasn't, so irrelevant. Why do you insist on using generalizations to try to contradict an example? My example is very real, the generalization does not apply.
      - astrange 4y ago
        Maybe you should help her find a better job. > Inflation is a rise in prices, that's what it means. Maybe I am being pedantic about your use of "means". Wages are a price for labor, so prices going up includes wages.
- donkeyd 4y ago
  This thread was about pricing in the EU. Even if it was inflation adjusted, it wasn't adjusted for exchange rate differences, which are a significant part of the price increase on Apple products in the EU.