Whatever happened to all that inflation conspiracy talk?

[blazespinnaker]

I noticed people are complaining a lot less about core-cpi these days.

I wonder why that is..

[zadok]

Re: Whatever happened to all that inflation conspiracy talk?

It's because everything is fading away..........

[kingcopper]

Re: Whatever happened to all that inflation conspiracy talk?

It's because everything is fading away..........

leads to a bear market ralley! For no good reason!:rolleyes:

[Yaowarat]

Re: Whatever happened to all that inflation conspiracy talk?

Because central bankers are responsible stewards of their respective nation's money supply.

And now with modern "tools" central bankers are able to "target" inflation so that it never shall occur again.

We are so fortunate to live in a time like this.

[GRG55]

Re: Whatever happened to all that inflation conspiracy talk?

Because central bankers are responsible stewards of their respective nation's money supply.

And now with modern "tools" central bankers are able to "target" inflation so that it never shall occur again.

We are so fortunate to live in a time like this.

You forgot to mention they've also found a way to eliminate the boom and bust cycle.

[GRG55]

Re: Whatever happened to all that inflation conspiracy talk?

I noticed people are complaining a lot less about core-cpi these days.

I wonder why that is..

I am curious whether iTulipers are actually seeing any real decreases in their cost of living? Gasoline is down on the back of crude, but what about other stuff?

Anybody's property taxes go down this year? How about your family food bill? Power utility? Clothing or tuition for your kids?

Maybe the stronger US$ is helping south of the 49th, but up here in Canada I'm not seeing anything, other than gasoline, that has declined. In fact the City of Calgary just announced property tax increases of between 21% and 25% over the next 3 years in their budget [good thing the bunker isn't inside the city limits].

[we_are_toast]

Re: Whatever happened to all that inflation conspiracy talk?

Anybody's property taxes go down this year? How about your family food bill? Power utility? Clothing or tuition for your kids?

Don't get me started on property taxes! My county tried to raise my taxes by 140%! There were no property improvements from the previous year. After a protracted fight, I was able to get them to lower it to a 50% increase. Mine was an exceptional case, but in general the increases were pretty hefty.

The assessments were made on property values from 2006, the peak of the housing bubble. I think the county saw the writing on the wall when housing sales dropped dramatically in 2007 and decided to get as much as they could while the getting was good.

[tsetsefly]

Re: Whatever happened to all that inflation conspiracy talk?

I am curious whether iTulipers are actually seeing any real decreases in their cost of living? Gasoline is down on the back of crude, but what about other stuff?

Anybody's property taxes go down this year? How about your family food bill? Power utility? Clothing or tuition for your kids?

Maybe the stronger US$ is helping south of the 49th, but up here in Canada I'm not seeing anything, other than gasoline, that has declined. In fact the City of Calgary just announced property tax increases of between 21% and 25% over the next 3 years in their budget [good thing the bunker isn't inside the city limits].

funny you say that, this is the headline from msn today:
Why aren't groceries getting cheaper?

[c1ue]

Re: Whatever happened to all that inflation conspiracy talk?

Last month's numbers were interesting: Core CPI at 0.4% increase despite overall 2.8% drops in both retail and wholesale prices.

Notice the complete break from former 0.2% core cpi's showing inflation is 'contained'.

Still no 10% official CPI increase as speculated by iTulip, but 0.4% = nearly 5% a year.

Once the energy price correction stops, then perhaps the iTulip view will happen.

[flintlock]

Re: Whatever happened to all that inflation conspiracy talk?

Im convinced the next "crisis" in America is going to be the local governments running out of money. Of course they'll raise taxes, step up the "traffic enforcement" etc. More government oppresson on the way folks.

Government both local and federal, has become such a huge part of our economy, it can't help but have a huge impact. So any potential "savings" from lower fuel and food prices will probably be eaten up by big brother and his henchmen.

[blazespinnaker]

Re: Whatever happened to all that inflation conspiracy talk?

I am curious whether iTulipers are actually seeing any real decreases in their cost of living? Gasoline is down on the back of crude, but what about other stuff?

Anybody's property taxes go down this year? How about your family food bill? Power utility? Clothing or tuition for your kids?

Maybe the stronger US$ is helping south of the 49th, but up here in Canada I'm not seeing anything, other than gasoline, that has declined. In fact the City of Calgary just announced property tax increases of between 21% and 25% over the next 3 years in their budget [good thing the bunker isn't inside the city limits].

Nothing significant, this is why we have core CPI versus real CPI.

You'll notice that core CPI won't drop as much as the headline #s do, which are plummeting.

It works both ways, but people only seemed to complain on the way up.

However, do note that housing prices are coming down pretty hard. Again, this doesn't show up in CPI because the fed looks at rents.

It's funny, all those people complaining about house prices on the way up and how they were being ignored, aren't saying much on the way down.

Maybe the FED had a good reason for ignoring those prices?

Not that they don't make mistakes in other areas (eg, ignoring bubbles) but I have to say, with the inflation issue, they deserve some credit.

[zoog]

Re: Whatever happened to all that inflation conspiracy talk?

I am curious whether iTulipers are actually seeing any real decreases in their cost of living? Gasoline is down on the back of crude, but what about other stuff?

Anybody's property taxes go down this year? How about your family food bill? Power utility? Clothing or tuition for your kids?

Maybe the stronger US$ is helping south of the 49th, but up here in Canada I'm not seeing anything, other than gasoline, that has declined. In fact the City of Calgary just announced property tax increases of between 21% and 25% over the next 3 years in their budget [good thing the bunker isn't inside the city limits].

Everything seems the same for me; particularly all the organic groceries I buy at Whole Paycheck and a local chain are as expensive as ever. I have seen items on sale more often, which I've taken advantage of but it hardly makes a difference in my monthly food costs. Only put gas in the car about once every two months so the drop in gas prices hasn't really meant anything to me. Do wish oil prices had dropped before topping off the heating oil tank back in August.

I noticed people are complaining a lot less about core-cpi these days.

I wonder why that is..

Do you mean here on iTulip or just in general? For those of us who know the official numbers are bogus... what more is there to say about it? Can't do anything to change the situation. I know... doesn't stop people complaining about gold... For the population at large, I think most people's concept of inflation centers entirely around gas prices. If gas is up, inflation is high, if it's down, inflation is low. Of course everything has been getting more and more expensive over time but the change has been slow enough that most people haven't really noticed. They notice the monthly bills keep getting higher but not the point-of-purchase increases. The short-term volatility in gas prices and the frequency with which most have to fill up always grabs people's attention.

[blazespinnaker]

Re: Whatever happened to all that inflation conspiracy talk?

Do you mean here on iTulip or just in general? For those of us who know the official numbers are bogus... what more is there to say about it? Can't do anything to change the situation. I know... doesn't stop people complaining about gold... For the population at large, I think most people's concept of inflation centers entirely around gas prices. If gas is up, inflation is high, if it's down, inflation is low. Of course everything has been getting more and more expensive over time but the change has been slow enough that most people haven't really noticed. They notice the monthly bills keep getting higher but not the point-of-purchase increases. The short-term volatility in gas prices and the frequency with which most have to fill up always grabs people's attention.

People were always complaining that core-cpi missed increasing housing prices and fuel prices.

Now that housing and fuel prices have dropped hard and core-cpi hasn't (reflecting the fact that prices aren't going down for most people), it doesn't seem so dumb.


I'm sorry but I don't think core-cpi is 'bogus' at all. In fact, I think it's the only sane indicator out there.

Not everything is a government conspiracy to keep the people down.

It's the inability to give credit where credit is due in some community forums that makes me question their general judgement.

[Wild Style]

Re: Whatever happened to all that inflation conspiracy talk?

I am curious whether iTulipers are actually seeing any real decreases in their cost of living? Gasoline is down on the back of crude, but what about other stuff?

Anybody's property taxes go down this year? How about your family food bill? Power utility? Clothing or tuition for your kids?

Maybe the stronger US$ is helping south of the 49th, but up here in Canada I'm not seeing anything, other than gasoline, that has declined. In fact the City of Calgary just announced property tax increases of between 21% and 25% over the next 3 years in their budget [good thing the bunker isn't inside the city limits].

Property tax: nope
clothing: double nope
tuition: no there too

Utility company here in Florida claims they are going to lower the amount charged. We shall see how that one pans out.

[zoog]

Re: Whatever happened to all that inflation conspiracy talk?

People were always complaining that core-cpi missed increasing housing prices and fuel prices.

Now that housing and fuel prices have dropped hard and core-cpi hasn't (reflecting the fact that prices aren't going down for most people), it doesn't seem so dumb.


I'm sorry but I don't think core-cpi is 'bogus' at all. In fact, I think it's the only sane indicator out there.

Not everything is a government conspiracy to keep the people down.

It's the inability to give credit where credit is due in some community forums that makes me question their general judgement.

So you really think that CPI-U "All items less food and energy" (aka core-CPI) is only 2.2% YOY as of October 2008? Really? And that including food and gas only takes CPI-U up to 3.7%?