Inflation snapshots: December 2009

[blazespinnaker]

Re: Inflation snapshots: December 2009



No really, we're just trying to curb obesity..

TO be fair though, I think CPI catches this.

[Jay]

Re: Inflation snapshots: December 2009

The tomatoes I grow in my backyard won't inflate a dime. And they are tasty. Damn, the thing about the northeast is that you can't grow everything you want!

I'm moving to Florida and buying a flip... ;)

[yernamehear]

Re: Inflation snapshots: December 2009

I mean no offense to you, KGW, but this list of hazards seems suspect. I don't use fabric softener myself, but there are a couple things about this list which ring warning bells.

Ethanol is, of course, what people drink in alcoholic beverages. Obviously, a lot of alcohol isn't good for you, but there is such a thing as a negligible dose. We get less exposure to ethanol from fabric softener than from intentionally imbibing alcoholic beverages, so it is odd to cite ethanol as a hazard in this case. The fact that ethanol is included in this list signals that the writer is disingenuous -- they are on a search for anything that sounds dangerous, without regard to any rational metric by which to assess the danger presented. Frankly, that makes me question the intent of the list, and the integrity of the rest of the information presented.

In my opinion, any list of "dangerous" chemicals which includes common drinking alcohol -- and which lists chemicals as being "dangerous" but does not say what levels of exposure are dangerous or what levels are present in the product being critiqued -- is a propaganda hit piece.

Yes, ethanol is drinking alcohol. So, take that with a grain of salt. EthylAcetate also occurs "naturally" in fermentation processes. It is the source of most of the "fruity" nature of wines. Limonene is the major component of the odor/taste of citrus oil and occurs in abundance in citrus fruit.

Yes, this is a distorted bit of information.

Happy Dooming.;)

[phinolerun]

Re: Inflation snapshots: December 2009

The most recent one I noticed.

This is one of the brands of chili I like to buy. Up until this week, it was sold in 20oz nice looking glass jars for $2.50. Now, its sold in 15oz shoddy looking cans for still, $2.50.... a reduction of 25% in product.

Before:


I can't seem to find a picture of the new can on the internet, probably because it just happened so recently. But if your store carries this stuff, check it out the next time you are shopping.

[MulaMan]

Re: Inflation snapshots: December 2009

Wow! That is a big problem, 10% less chili sauce - sugar and chemicals added for free - all for only $2.50.

Did you know that you could just buy the 2 chili pepers and the 8oz of sugar (skip the chemicals) and make your own yummy sauce for 50 cents?

The real issue is in the inflation rate of the typical American family.

Typical American family in 1950

[media]http://nicolemarie.umwblogs.org/files/2008/11/1950s-family-backyard_c2625.jpg[/media]

Typical American family in 2010

[media]http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/03/16/article-1162503-03EF1C61000005DC-379_468x423.jpg[/media]

If this inflation continues, then we will need even more Mexican slaves to carry us from home to Wal-Mart and back each day.

[mikedev10]

Re: Inflation snapshots: December 2009

i need to grow some maters. can't believe how much they cost me at the jewel!

[ocelotl]

Re: Inflation snapshots: December 2009

Wow! That is a big problem, 10% less chili sauce - sugar and chemicals added for free - all for only $2.50.

Did you know that you could just buy the 2 chili pepers and the 8oz of sugar (skip the chemicals) and make your own yummy sauce for 50 cents?

The real issue is in the inflation rate of the typical American family.

Typical American family in 1950

http://nicolemarie.umwblogs.org/file...yard_c2625.jpg

Typical American family in 2010

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/...79_468x423.jpg

If this inflation continues, then we will need even more Mexican slaves to carry us from home to Wal-Mart and back each day.

You want me to what? :eek:

Too heavy... I'm sure outrun those will be a piece of cake...

[Kadriana]

Re: Inflation snapshots: December 2009

The tomatoes I grow in my backyard won't inflate a dime. And they are tasty. Damn, the thing about the northeast is that you can't grow everything you want!

I'm moving to Florida and buying a flip... ;)

I'm thinking about getting a small greenhouse to extend growing season.

[ggirod]

Re: Inflation snapshots: December 2009

I'm thinking about getting a small greenhouse to extend growing season.

Ditto here ... where the growing season is really short.

[ThePythonicCow]

Re: Inflation snapshots: December 2009

The Texas Farm Bureau began a year ago sampling the prices of a list of food items every quarter. Their results for the year 2009 are described at Food prices fall in final quarter of 2009.

Here is a summary of their results, from the above link. It shows a net annual change of minus three per-cent, with each quarter declining slightly from the previous quarter.

[jneal3]

Re: Inflation snapshots: December 2009

Here is a summary of their results, from the above link. It shows a net annual change of minus three per-cent, with each quarter declining slightly from the previous quarter.

How do they get -3%? Straight averaging (of all the individual percent changes) gives +0.75%, so I assume they're volume-weighting somehow..?

[jneal3]

Re: Inflation snapshots: December 2009

It's in the rounding, if you calc the numbers for yourself you get a negative .77% as the average of the percent changes, and the overall percent change is -2.46%. They also seem to be calculating the numbers long-hand, their Q2/Q3/Q4 sums aren't quite right.

[ggirod]

Re: Inflation snapshots: December 2009

On the Texas chart, look at the items in the black, those that rose in price -- milk, rice, meats, produce. Processed foods and dairy dropped. For those households fortunate enough to still have one breadwinner, the other spouse can stay home and cook food instead of working at a job all day so they can outsource to daycare and food processors.

Basic foodstuffs going up is not a good sign for those people who have been cooking for themselves all along and still need to eat, but it is a good sign that maybe one excess of American society (convenience foods) may be declining. Bread's price decline is amazing - of course the three cups of flour required for a 1.5 lb loaf of bread is 50 cents with flour nominally at 75 cents a pound (4.5 cups) retail, so a bread machine can make a savings pretty quickly.

[doom&gloom]

Re: Inflation snapshots: December 2009

I ate at Red Robin (restaurant chain) yesterday with my elderly mom. ordered a 'french dip'. used to be that RR's claim to fame was heaping tons of fries on your plate -- more than any sane person would every want to eat. Well I got (I even counted them) 10 french fries of various lengths, all undecooked. It really looked paltry compared to what they used to do. and even these weren't cooked well, so I ate almost none of them. The cole slaw looked like it was doled up with a small ice cream scooper. Sandwich was fine.

[mikedev10]

Re: Inflation snapshots: December 2009

red robin by me is next to the imax theater with avatar constantly sold out, waitress said business was booming because of that. anyway they had an adequate round of fries for me, and the fries were unlimited if you wanted more (weren't yours?)