4 ms·

On your point 1), I'm obligated to point out that over the last 20 years, inflation has been very low by historical standards. We were only above 4% (historica

by jbooth 13y ago

On your point 1), I'm obligated to point out that over the last 20 years, inflation has been very low by historical standards. We were only above 4% (historical average) for a couple years in the late 90s and from about 2006-2008, if I recall correctly.

VLM 13y ago
If those fake rates were true, I'd only be paying about $2.10 for a gallon of gas and a new 2014 car like my old '97 would be about 7 grand cheaper than it actually was. I'd be able to buy ground beef for $2.25/pound, I could go on and on for days with this stuff.
- jbooth 13y ago
  There's actually a whole science to this that you're completely disregarding (which, generally speaking, is the cause of a lot of dumb thinking in this world). Look up BLS inflation measures and the 'basket of goods'. You could spend years coming to an informed conclusion, and people have. Then look up the costs of patio furniture or computing equipment compared to 20 years ago. They decreased in price. It's an average, yo. Also, if you don't trust broad consensus across economists, take a look at the free market. People are buying gov't treasuries. If they thought that inflation was higher than the interest rate, they wouldn't be buying them, right?
- onebaddude 13y ago
  >If those fake rates were true Energy and food prices are volatile, as they depend on exogenous factors. Try reading about droughts and wars. Your new car is more expensive in 2014 because it's safer, more fuel efficient and technologically superior in every way to your 1997 version. Only the ignorant think the CPI reports are fake. Perhaps you should read up on the methodology of how it's calculated. There is a whole world of finance that depends on a reasonable calculation of inflation rates. I suppose we are to believe the best financial minds on the planet are wrong in their bets, and you are right?
- _delirium 13y ago
  If you look at energy, there isn't really a big shift, depending on what energy sources you use. Oil prices have gone up substantially, due to a change in supply vs. demand. But natural gas prices have gone down, for the same reason. So it costs more to fill up your car, and less to run your furnace. Things do change real price, so the fact that gasoline and beef cost more now can just mean that gasoline and beef are actually more in demand relative to supply, just like natural gas is now more in supply relative to demand.
- anigbrowl 13y ago
  There are good fiscal reasons for the price rise of some goods. You're confusing fiscal factors with monetary ones, while ignoring all the stuff you can get cheap today that cost a small fortune in 1997.
  - camus 13y ago
    and there is a price to pay for that,it's called debt.
    - anigbrowl 13y ago
      No. Lots of goods get cheaper through technology and economies of scale rather than through subsidies. Your ideology is causing you to miss the forest for the trees.
- VLM 13y ago
  Does anyone have an argument better than an appeal to coincidentally self-serving authority or claiming it doesn't matter? No? I guess that's settled then. I've seen better arguments in the "bible says the earth is flat" threads.
  - anigbrowl 13y ago
    I like how you simply ignore the economic arguments that you were offered, such as increased demand for energy or the behavior of market actors who are perfectly happy to buy bonds.

by jbooth 13y ago

VLM 13y ago

If those fake rates were true, I'd only be paying about $2.10 for a gallon of gas and a new 2014 car like my old '97 would be about 7 grand cheaper than it actually was. I'd be able to buy ground beef for $2.25/pound, I could go on and on for days with this stuff.

jbooth 13y ago
There's actually a whole science to this that you're completely disregarding (which, generally speaking, is the cause of a lot of dumb thinking in this world). Look up BLS inflation measures and the 'basket of goods'. You could spend years coming to an informed conclusion, and people have. Then look up the costs of patio furniture or computing equipment compared to 20 years ago. They decreased in price. It's an average, yo. Also, if you don't trust broad consensus across economists, take a look at the free market. People are buying gov't treasuries. If they thought that inflation was higher than the interest rate, they wouldn't be buying them, right?
onebaddude 13y ago
>If those fake rates were true Energy and food prices are volatile, as they depend on exogenous factors. Try reading about droughts and wars. Your new car is more expensive in 2014 because it's safer, more fuel efficient and technologically superior in every way to your 1997 version. Only the ignorant think the CPI reports are fake. Perhaps you should read up on the methodology of how it's calculated. There is a whole world of finance that depends on a reasonable calculation of inflation rates. I suppose we are to believe the best financial minds on the planet are wrong in their bets, and you are right?
_delirium 13y ago
If you look at energy, there isn't really a big shift, depending on what energy sources you use. Oil prices have gone up substantially, due to a change in supply vs. demand. But natural gas prices have gone down, for the same reason. So it costs more to fill up your car, and less to run your furnace. Things do change real price, so the fact that gasoline and beef cost more now can just mean that gasoline and beef are actually more in demand relative to supply, just like natural gas is now more in supply relative to demand.
anigbrowl 13y ago
There are good fiscal reasons for the price rise of some goods. You're confusing fiscal factors with monetary ones, while ignoring all the stuff you can get cheap today that cost a small fortune in 1997.
- camus 13y ago
  and there is a price to pay for that,it's called debt.
  - anigbrowl 13y ago
    No. Lots of goods get cheaper through technology and economies of scale rather than through subsidies. Your ideology is causing you to miss the forest for the trees.
VLM 13y ago
Does anyone have an argument better than an appeal to coincidentally self-serving authority or claiming it doesn't matter? No? I guess that's settled then. I've seen better arguments in the "bible says the earth is flat" threads.
- anigbrowl 13y ago
  I like how you simply ignore the economic arguments that you were offered, such as increased demand for energy or the behavior of market actors who are perfectly happy to buy bonds.