Wheres the inflation?

[Mega]

Sorry EJ, but am losing a bit faith here mate.............i expect to see "Signs"...by Now you know + $100 oil + $1300 Gold........
Mike

[ThePythonicCow]

Re: Wheres the inflation?

How will the US government fund its debt at "20+%" ?

Out of my social security check .

That, and some austerity (more taxes, less service, military downsizing, "privatizing" government property and revenue streams, ...) and quite possibly some major international Bretton Woods style debt and currency reset.

A sizable amount of cash that was squirreled away (stolen?) during this great crisis will move to long U.S. Treasuries near the peak of the long bond rates, and then America will spend the next 30 years paying interest on that debt to some people sufficiently wealthy to hire others to clip coupons for them.

[ThePythonicCow]

Re: Wheres the inflation?

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[ThePythonicCow]

Re: Wheres the inflation?

The vBulletin software and I are having a spitting contest. vB is winning.

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[lsa420]

Re: Wheres the inflation?

Sorry EJ, but am losing a bit faith here mate.............i expect to see "Signs"...by Now you know + $100 oil + $1300 Gold........
Mike

Might want to check out FRED's post on this thread.

http://www.itulip.com/forums/showthr...191#post169191

[rabot10]

Re: Wheres the inflation?

Sorry EJ, but am losing a bit faith here mate.............i expect to see "Signs"...by Now you know + $100 oil + $1300 Gold........
Mike

I think it's coming. Just not sure when. The old "best looking horse in the glue factory" thing I guess. Question (I know I'm stupid OK) inflation against what? Other paper money or corn or gold bla bla bla? Just asking becouse I have no clue.

I did have a clue at one time and then I found out that I was either a retard or just plain STUPID - Im open -Help needed

[Mega]

Re: Wheres the inflation?

Not allowed excess there.
Mike

[Roughneck]

Re: Wheres the inflation?

The wifes car battery just crapped out. 3 years ago I paid $70,today $95. Same store,same battery. Inflation? what inflation.

[bart]

Re: Wheres the inflation?

Might want to check out FRED's post on this thread.

http://www.itulip.com/forums/showthr...191#post169191

Just added my most recent chart effort at inflation prediction to that thread, and Finster's deflation thread too.

[shiny!]

Re: Wheres the inflation?

A few years I went to a 50's diner and had a cheeseburger and fries for about $5. Fancier burgers cost a little more. Went back last week and the same meals were $8.50-$9! The restaurant was nearly empty, too.

My husband just bought some mens underwear. The ones he's been wearing have lasted about five years. These new ones were $30 for 6 pair (why are they called a pair when they are a single item?) of the same brand. Now the fabric is flimsy to the point of being almost transparent. I don't expect them to last six months.

I bought a few woven summer blouses online for $13 each, and when I got them they were so thin they were transparent. Before wearing it I washed one on the delicate cycle and hung it up to dry. It developed four holes just from that washing. Absolute throwaway garbage. Paper clothing would hold up better.

[flintlock]

Re: Wheres the inflation?

I had the same experience with a car battery. Last one I bought 3 years ago was $75. Got one last month for a similar vehicle, $110. I used to find Chinese restaurant lunch deals all over town for $5.95. Now $7-8. Anecdotal, but still I can see inflation creeping in.

[blazespinnaker]

Re: Wheres the inflation?

everytime i go to old navy, costco or walmart i'm always surprised how cheap stuff is.

I picked up a nice pair of khaki colored jeans for $15. $15!

Old navy is great too... lots of fantastic deals.

You know, a lot of stores will just draw on unsold clothing and then give it away for free. That's how much deflation we've seen in clothing.

We're always experiencing massive deflation on computer equipment of course.

Kids toys are way to cheap.

Lots of deflation and innovation happening in the prefab housing sector.

http://www.asul.us/ .. $100 per square foot

I see inflation on food though. I'll give you that.

We're experiencing significant deflation in real estate transaction costs in Canada because of innovative new ways of being able to list your house for a fixed cost.

Lots of massive massive deflation around bartering and Craiglist ... In fact, you'd be amazed how much shit you can just get for FREE.

in many ways, I think craigslist is singlehandedly changing the global economy really.

A few years I went to a 50's diner and had a cheeseburger and fries for about $5. Fancier burgers cost a little more. Went back last week and the same meals were $8.50-$9! The restaurant was nearly empty, too.

My husband just bought some mens underwear. The ones he's been wearing have lasted about five years. These new ones were $30 for 6 pair (why are they called a pair when they are a single item?) of the same brand. Now the fabric is flimsy to the point of being almost transparent. I don't expect them to last six months.

I bought a few woven summer blouses online for $13 each, and when I got them they were so thin they were transparent. Before wearing it I washed one on the delicate cycle and hung it up to dry. It developed four holes just from that washing. Absolute throwaway garbage. Paper clothing would hold up better.

[shiny!]

Re: Wheres the inflation?

everytime i go to old navy, costco or walmart i'm always surprised how cheap stuff is.

Deflation and inflation are really about money supply, but are discussed as if they mean lower and higher prices, which is the effect of deflation and inflation. So by that definition...

If the only difference was lower prices, I'd agree it's deflation. But it's also lower quality, much lower. The $15 jeans I got recently are thin fabric and will not hold up as well as the rugged $21 jeans I got of the same brand five years ago. I looked at cheap $20 work boots at Kmart. They had glued-on soles that were actually separating while still in the box! The entire shoe department there just reeked of glue, because none of the soles are stitched on anymore. I can't even go into Payless because the glue smell is so strong. I ended up buying boots at a Western store, where I didn't smell any glue at all. The boots cost me $80, but they're stitched well and made like iron.

Quantities have gotten smaller, too. A 1/2-gallon of Breyer's ice cream is now 3/8 gallon. They made the change so suddenly that at first they just filled the 1/2-gallon carton 3/4 full. When I bought some a month later, they had made the carton smaller so it looks full again. Tissue, laundry detergent... sizes are smaller now. Foods like cereal, spagetti sauce, pasta... the quantities per package or jar are smaller now.

When you see lower prices, check the quality and quantity carefully to see if it's the same as before. What you call deflation is what I call "hidden inflation". Maybe this will be the new normal for a stagflation economy?

Lots of massive massive deflation around bartering and Craiglist ... In fact, you'd be amazed how much shit you can just get for FREE.

I suspect that a lot of the free furniture and TVs and things on Craigslist reflect how many people are being displaced from their homes due to non-payment of rent. I work in the housing industry, not building but renting. In my city, people are moving out of their homes and apartments to the point that a lot of neighborhoods, apartment complexes and mobile home communities are really hurting. Landlords are having increasing problems collecting rent, with evictions and home abandonments on the rise.

So people are moving and leaving their stuff behind. I wonder where these people go?

[ThePythonicCow]

Re: Wheres the inflation?

In my city, people are moving out of their homes and apartments to the point that a lot of neighborhoods, apartment complexes and mobile home communities are really hurting. Landlords are having increasing problems collecting rent, with evictions and home abandonments on the rise.

So people are moving and leaving their stuff behind. I wonder where these people go?

My favorite Basmati Rice used to come in 20 pound sacks. Now it comes in 15 pound sacks.

The mobile home's on all three sides of me have had their renters evicted over the last year for lack of paying rent.

The enticements to attact new renters at the three apartment buildings down the street have been getting increasingly aggressive.

The mobile home part worries me the most. What would happen if the owners of my mobile home park were foreclosed on? I keep an eye on the other parks in the area, and keep money aside to pay for a quick move of my trailer if need be, but it would be a serious pain in the backside. On the other hand, I can't imagine they'd dump 200 mobile homes out "onto the streets" of my fine town.. That would be a real mess.

[ThePythonicCow]

Re: Wheres the inflation?

So people are moving and leaving their stuff behind. I wonder where these people go?

I've gone from living alone to having as many as 3 relatives living with me at various times this last year. Now 2 of those 3 have moved out ... to live with other relatives.

That's one upside of the housing boom of the last two decades. Americans are occupying more square feet per person than they need to. There is quite a bit of opportunity to pack ourselves in tighter.