there's no inflation here

[unblock]

without having done any actual economic research, i've can't say i'm backing this up with well researched fact.
but my sense is that over the last 5 years, the following things have gone up markedly:

- energy
- food
- housing
- health care
- education
- transportation

my own personal experience is that all of these have gone up considerably. i'm not directly paying for education, although my real estate taxes have gone up, and are about to go up again, due to the local schools' needs -- which in turn, are largely due to more expensive health care and energy costs. nor have i heard about college tuition costs holding steady.

my guess is that the official inflation number has gone up a cumulative 10%, maybe 15% max, over the last 5 years. this doesn't jive with my own experience for these major items.

so what's going on? labor costs are the only thing i can think of that aren't going up much. even wal-mart's prices are creeping up!

savvy du'ers know that the published inflation numbers now make an "adjustment" to account for the notion that today's goods are "better" than yesterday's goods. e.g., if the cost of a new car might be more than the cost of a new car last year, but that's not ALL due to inflation if this year's model is "better" than last year's model. this would be an almost reasonable argument IF you still had the choice of buying last year's "inferior" model, but since you rarely do, it's a bogus argument. transportation costs have gone up; the fact that you're getting "better" transportation doesn't help your wallet any until it causes you to spend less on something else, such as health care or auto insurance -- and THAT is what should be captured in the inflation statistics.

is this substitution adjustment to blame for inflation being out of whack with my (and i'm guessing, most americans') experience? or are there many more sectors showing a price decline or holding steady to bring the inflation average to the low numbers that are being reported?

or, are they just plain lying... again?

[Warpy]

1. butbutbutbut plasma TV sets are getting CHEAPER

What are you complaining about, you ingrate? Don't kow know the plasma TV you buy today saves you THOUSANDS, and SURELY that offsets those few extra bucks you pay every week for food, gas, heat, insurance, property taxes, and all the other grubby necessities you're grumbling about.

Why, just buy a dozen plasma TV sets a year, and you'll be WAY ahead of any inflation in all that boring stuff you just griped about!

(for those few who don't know any better, :sarcasm: )

[MADem]

2. Their lips are moving, so of COURSE they are lying!

Yep, your impressions, I think, are accurate. And the other little number they lie about are the unemployment figures. I know more than a few "discouraged workers" whose benefits have run out, and they've dropped off the rolls--so let's not count them amongst the unproductive any more. They get by working under the table, dipping into savings, cadging off friends and relatives, and so forth, but the impact is not being recorded accurately at all. Hell, I, along with other compassionate family members, helped to support an out of work relative for a good chunk of last year....this economy is just PEACHY, eh???

[unblock]

3. the unemployment figures are supposedly still based on phone surveys

they ask what your situation is, and if you don't have a job and are actively seeking one, you're "unemployed".
if you've given up to the point that you've gone back to school, then you're not "unemployed", you're a "student".
if you have a job but want more hours, your "underemployed", not "unemployed".

at least, that's what they tell us. if they were lying about that, it wouldn't surprise me.

[MADem]

4. Well, if that isn't a fecking joke!!!

You're out of work. You apply for unemployment, and of course, it's weeks before it kicks in. You are trying to feed the rugrats beans and rice, you're trying to keep the house above freezing, pay enough on the electric so they don't shut it off, pay enough on the mortgage so they don't repo straight away, so what bill is likely to slide? Why, cable, sure, and phone, most definitely!

How incredibly foolish! What ever happened to going to the statistics! How many applied for benefits, how many stopped receiving them due to resumed employment, how many ran with them until they ran out...good grief, we are living in Thug Wonderland, aren't we?

[unblock]

5. actually, the samples, if done properly -- big if -- are more reliable

many unemployed people refuse to take benefits, partly out of pride, and partly because they're convinced it's not worth the bother (especially if they don't expect to be out long). unemployment benefits also max out, so if you're used to being highly compensated, then unemployment benefits are a joke.

moreover, if someone's still looking after their benefits have run out, they're still "unemployed", even if they're not getting the compensation.

on the other hand, these samples can be manipulated, not the OUR government would EVER do THAT!