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).

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?