Wars, genocide, reparations, religion, eggs, covid,etc (split from recruiting forum)

[jave36]

The government lie that the price of groceries went up 10% or whatever they made up was a huge insult to the public, and the fact that it wasn't called out for the most part by the "news" media was downright Soviet imo.

I'm not talking about politics. I'm taking about people's food bills increasing at least 50%. Maybe close to double that if they didn't change their buying habiits (lower their standard of living). Meanwhile all I heard the last two days from the same "news" sources was that x and y "are going to (get this) raise prices." It's disturbing. Yeah, eggs roughly doubled in price. Beef doubled. I've been paying double for "inexpensive" things like oatmeal and pasta. Bracketing politics per se as a topic -- which I'm trying to do -- it seems like false reporting on the regular (by commission and by omission) is a disaster for all people. Credibility is shot. That's not good.

Where do you see 10%? Everything I've read said 30-50% over last 5 years.

 

[Orange.]

You are probably smarter than me, but dairy prices are different than many other food prices. It's not all about inflation per se. While increases in production costs can raise prices, there are also government subsidies involved as well, which can control prices. I just know that I have seen dairy prices fluctuate when inflation wasn't an issue. USDA can control some of that.

tl;dr -- skip this!

I'm not claiming to be smarter than anybody, for sure. I do regret I proved that point by the way I dashed off the previous post and with retaining the distorting focus on the OP's comment about eggs. I just wrote a post focusing on the difficulties in reading news these days, but I think enough is enough: to the trash can with it.

Anyway, what I had in mind when I talked about food prices was that they are so fundamental and so within the ordinary experience of most people that it's a place where cognitive dissonance seems to have been widely triggered. "My $3.25 cardboard tube of oatmeal is now six bucks! I don't care what the television says." Basically sticker-shock, which was what prof's original post was expressing.

I think I understand you to be saying that a large increase in the money supply alone doesn't adequately explain all the different prices changes? At any rate, for sure, that shortages, government policies, production costs, etc., are price inputs. I can confidently agree.

But consider (this is my answer) that official inflation numbers don't take all of that into account. They just compare prices before and after, in principle.

Now they don't actually do that, since some of the ways that the numbers are manipulated include changing the products included in the consumer "basket," and also (I forget the official name of this) but in more recent years: assuming that people will "trade down" as a general practice with the result that the official numbers can reflect the supposition like people will replace beef protein with peanut butter protein when price go up. But without specific mention of the fact. I remember being astonished hearing that (with that particular example) praised on NPR one day about a decade ago as an innovation "giving consumers credit for being 'smart.'" Numbers can also be released with fanfare and then "corrected" "off-camera" some months later. And consider how big a distortion -- and divergence from the concerns of ordinary people -- occurs when the prices of houses or rent are excluded from inflation! Isn't that right? Professedly (I would guess) as being too "specialized" and thus needing their own "expert" report. But distortion is gigantic.

But to repeat, the general principle is that inflation figures just measure the cost of the "basket" today vs the cost last month or last year, or 4 or 10 or 20 years ago. And that ratio is indifferent to whether the price went up due to subsidies or shortages or higher production costs or whatever else. Isn't that right?

It's not a measure of what caused the prices to go up -- although that's what all the "news" wants to blame or praise or emphasize or explain away. But those manuevers are not the numbers.

I care much more about strategies for reading and deciphering news that @screenthis responded about. Grocery sticker shock, as I said, is just a common way that people realize that the statistics and real life aren't matching up. But I'm not touching that.

 

[Orange.]

Where do you see 10%? Everything I've read said 30-50% over last 5 years.

Heard it in a campaign speech and on the news about the campaign speech. It may have been that prices were up 10% and groceries 20%. Anyway, one thing typically dodged is that the increases are compounded each year. I hear year by year sometimes. My own experience over the past 5 years is higher than even you suggest. But I am happy with whatever grocery number you or anyone else look up or recall with confidence. I didn't look it up because I was really just interested in how sticker shock at the grocery often seems to have induced cognitive disorder when hearing the official numbers. Anyway, my bad.

 

[screenthis]

Heard it in a campaign speech and on the news about the campaign speech. It may have been that prices were up 10% and groceries 20%. Anyway, one thing typically dodged is that the increases are compounded each year. I hear year by year sometimes. My own experience over the past 5 years is higher than even you suggest. But I am happy with whatever grocery number you or anyone else look up or recall with confidence. I didn't look it up because I was really just interested in how sticker shock at the grocery induced cognitive disorder when listening to official numbers. Anyway, my bad.

And shockingly, when inflation slows or reverses, those grocery prices will be very resistant to price reductions.

 

[jave36]

Heard it in a campaign speech and on the news about the campaign speech. It may have been that prices were up 10% and groceries 20%. Anyway, one thing typically dodged is that the increases are compounded each year. I hear year by year sometimes. My own experience over the past 5 years is higher than even you suggest. But I am happy with whatever grocery number you or anyone else look up or recall with confidence. I didn't look it up because I was really just interested in how sticker shock at the grocery often seems to have induced cognitive disorder when hearing the official numbers. Anyway, my bad.

FRED / BLS is public, anyone can look it up. It's somewhat isolated from politics, though nothing is entirely.

I 100% believe you that some politician said that and that no media bothered to contradict them.

 

[Devo182]

I just picked up eggs for my mom and was shocked they were 6 dollars for a dozen. wtf?

Bird flu...compounded on top of covid era inflation...next will come general produce inflation with immigration moves.

Rice and staple proteins! The bro diet is still cheap

 

[jave36]

Bird flu...compounded on top of covid era inflation...next will come general produce inflation with immigration moves.

Rice and staple proteins! The bro diet is still cheap

Not an Elon fan, but I hope he wins that immigration battle. There are hundreds of thousands of laborer immigrants waiting to come in legally. Fast track them.

 

[Enki_Amenra]

Bird flu...compounded on top of covid era inflation...next will come general produce inflation with immigration moves.

Rice and staple proteins! The bro diet is still cheap

Covid era inflation?

 

[Devo182]

And shockingly, when inflation slows or reverses, those grocery prices will be very resistant to price reductions.

Consumers have anchoring bias to recent prices.

As long as they're willing to pay "normal prices" no smart business will lower theirs.

There's a lot of blame to go around, but willing and non-discerning consumership is a part of it too.

 

[Devo182]

Covid era inflation?

"Supply chain disaster era?" aka the inflation seen around the world from 2020 and on.

Fortunately we came out of it better than many countries. More diverse economy helps.

 

[UTProf]

"Supply chain disaster era?" aka the inflation seen around the world from 2020 and on.

Fortunately we came out of it better than many countries. More diverse economy helps.

A lot of evidence points to 99 percent of it being straight up price gouging. Manufacturers and businesses just used the initial shock of COVID on a select few products as cover to raise prices on everything. Consumers assumed everything was effected and the pandemic lasted long enough for a begrudging acceptance but that is really starting to wear thin as a lot of people are paying as much or more for groceries as they are rent. Something has to give in this situation.

 

[knoxvol52]

Went to grocery store earlier today and purchased a few things. One of the items was a dozen of eggs $6.32. good times..

 

[butchna]

Went to grocery store earlier today and purchased a few things. One of the items was a dozen of eggs $6.32. good times..

Because of avian flu concerns, 100 million chickens were euthanized. Gotta let the roosters and hens do their thing…over and over again.

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

Went to grocery store earlier today and purchased a few things. One of the items was a dozen of eggs $6.32. good times..

Irrational fear over “bird flu” causing egg shortages. Do you know anyone who has some chickens that may sell you some eggs? The wife is friends with a couple who own a farm. We are getting eggs for $3 a dozen. I just bought 6 dozen last week.

 

[peaygolf]

Went to grocery store earlier today and purchased a few things. One of the items was a dozen of eggs $6.32. good times..

 

[DD4ME]

Because of avian flu concerns, 100 million chickens were euthanized. Gotta let the roosters and hens do their thing…over and over again.

 

[Lloyd_Christmas]

Because of avian flu concerns, 100 million chickens were euthanized. Gotta let the roosters and hens do their thing…over and over again.

Ehh...just sounds like inflation to me. This is 'Merica...we don't care about the causes.

 

[sutro]

6'1"-6'2"

Arnold is very bright. Very detailed recollection, maybe even possesses a photographic memory.

An enigmatic figure with a gravitational personality. How often do successful people have THAT story? Many often said he was NEVER the biggest, strongest, or even most well liked. No one worked harder, smiled bigger, and sold himself like Arnold.

As a result...View attachment 718544
Lou Ferigno was larger than life. 6'5" 250-290.

If ever there were a life lesson and testament that power of positivity and belief in one's self (confidence), and appreciation of. Its Arnold.

Many said its these attributes that made him larger than life on stage:

great read

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www.amazon.com

The Governator's well-muscled signature is on my medical school diploma. He started out as kind of a joke, but ended up being a pretty civic-minded and practical governor. I was relatively impressed at the transition.

 

[Jackcrevol]

The Governator's well-muscled signature is on my medical school diploma. He started out as kind of a joke, but ended up being a pretty civic-minded and practical governor. I was relatively impressed at the transition.

I thought he would have made a much bettah President than any of the last two schmoes.

 

[Orange.]

Ehh...just sounds like inflation to me. This is 'Merica...we don't care about the causes.

You really should be better than mimicking intentionally deceitful talking points. Just suspend judgement, step back from the matter, and look into it for yourself. What case could be made for each side of the claim? Eggs comprise 0.119% of the CPI. A change in this 0.119% as the "cause" of the inflation measured by the CPI as a whole is ludicrous.

The game depends on people repeating what they are told to say without thinking because it "scores a point." It's also wise to keep in mind all of the sources for the "comeback" that eggs are the cause of the inflation, going forward. You now know these sources to be unreliable. That will help a lot with suspending judgement. No one likes to be duped.

 

[Lloyd_Christmas]

You really should be better than mimicking intentionally deceitful talking points. Just suspend judgement, step back from the matter, and look into it for yourself. What case could be made for each side of the claim? Eggs comprise 0.119% of the CPI. A change in this 0.119% as the "cause" of the inflation measured by the CPI as a whole is ludicrous.

The game depends on people repeating what they are told to say without thinking because it "scores a point." It's also wise to keep in mind all of the sources for the "comeback" that eggs are the cause of the inflation, going forward. You now know these sources to be unreliable. That will help a lot with suspending judgement. No one likes to be duped.

My post was obvious sarcasm because I find it highly ironic that the folks who happily put "I did that" stickers on everything the last several years suddenly care about the actual reasons that prices go up instead of just automatically blaming the POTUS.

 

[Jackcrevol]

My post was obvious sarcasm because I find it highly ironic that the folks who happily put "I did that" stickers on everything the last several years suddenly care about the actual reasons that prices go up instead of just automatically blaming the POTUS.

Larry David Faint gif

 

[Devo182]

My post was obvious sarcasm because I find it highly ironic that the folks who happily put "I did that" stickers on everything the last several years suddenly care about the actual reasons that prices go up instead of just automatically blaming the POTUS.

Yeah, the idea the POTUS has a magic wand over a free(ish) market style economy of trillions is kind of silly. They can make small, direct influences, but it's not like they can tell the fed what to do regarding inflation either (in theory...).

But I've heard this both ways in my lifetime. I remember when folks would talk about the great Clinton economy as if he invented the internet. We all know that was Al Gore.

 

[SSVol]

My post was obvious sarcasm because I find it highly ironic that the folks who happily put "I did that" stickers on everything the last several years suddenly care about the actual reasons that prices go up instead of just automatically blaming the POTUS.

Inflation was worldwide, with myriad causes, not least of which was the insane amount of stmulus money pumped into the economy during COVID. :checks notes: Both Trump and Biden were responsible for trillions each in free money, but of course the whole thing gets politicked and nobody really wants to know why prices go up, they just want to blame the other guy.

And then there are the non-POTUS reasons as well. Like dead chickens. Lots of dead chickens.

Sarcasm is warranted.

 

[Lloyd_Christmas]

Inflation was worldwide, with myriad causes, not least of which was the insane amount of stmulus money pumped into the economy during COVID. :checks notes: Both Trump and Biden were responsible for trillions each in free money, but of course the whole thing gets politicked and nobody really wants to know why prices go up, they just want to blame the other guy.

And then there are the non-POTUS reasons as well. Like dead chickens. Lots of dead chickens.

Sarcasm is warranted.

Exactly. It also didn't help that China kept chasing a zero COVID strategy with repeated shutdowns while the US and many other countries were wide open and pushing up demand. There were some crazy extenuating circumstances that can't be ignored. I think those blaming inflation on the POTUS are no different than those that tried to pin 2020 COVID unemployment rates on Trump. I miss the days of only mild-tribalism and very little social media.