Community Forums

Kid Gloves · 03-12-2022, 01:51 PM

Darn. I was hoping this would be about tire inflation.

ShelbyM · 03-12-2022, 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kid Gloves

Darn. I was hoping this would be about tire inflation.

Nope just another try at an end run around the politics prohibition.

TandW · 03-12-2022, 02:10 PM

Well, all kidding aside, just this morning I paid Goodyear 981.60 for 36# of air in 4 brand new Wranglers on my aging Escalade. The way I figure it, that's about 4 more # than it used to take.

Old-Biscuit · 03-13-2022, 11:20 AM

A little Housekeeping goes a long way

Persistent · 03-13-2022, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Homeby5

Just saw on the news that in reality, our current inflation is the highest in our nation's history.
Why? They said if we use the CPI measurements used back in the 70s...our inflation would be about 21%.
I feel really bad for those on fixed incomes and/or retirees.

Current high inflation rate is not the highest in US history. It is the highest since (enter date here). If your source says "highest in history" then it is an unreliable source.

Old-Biscuit · 03-13-2022, 11:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Persistent

Current high inflation rate is not the highest in US history. It is the highest since (enter date here). If your source says "highest in history" then it is an unreliable source.

It was 29.78% in 1778. YIKES!

CRV2 · 03-13-2022, 12:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Persistent

Current high inflation rate is not the highest in US history. It is the highest since (enter date here). If your source says "highest in history" then it is an unreliable source.

It is really hard for the gov to calculate the inflation rate in a manner that is consistent with previous years inflation. The reason is that the inflation rate is based off of the CPI (consumer price index) and "improvements" to the CPI calculations have occurred over and over for more than 100 years (similar to how changes to the unemployment rate calculations have changed over the years).

In any case, and disregarding how the CPI calculation has changed over and over, what most of the market analysts that I listen to claim is not that the current inflation rate is the highest in history, but that the "rate of change" for the inflation rate (month over month) is the highest in history. In other words inflation is climbing to higher rates faster than ever, not that they have climbed to their all time high (yet).

I have also read (many times), that certain market and economic analyst claim that "if" CPI was calculated more closely to how it used to be calculated that the current inflation rate would be the highest ever. I have also read something similar to the unemployment rate in that "if" it was calculated the same way it was calculated years back, then the true current unemployment rate would be much higher. These are all claims by others, not be me, are they correct? I don't really know...

In any case, while I sympathize for those who are long dead that lived through the highest inflation rate periods of all times one or two hundred years ago, I am way less concerned about that time period than I am with the current time period. ~CA

**CountryFit** · 03-13-2022, 01:11 PM

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**Camp CA** · 03-13-2022, 03:10 PM

What is the inflation data source? The annual inflation rate for the United States is 7.9% for the 12 months ended February 2022. I recall 1980 was the highest in the last 40 years per the first link and was even higher before that per the second link.

https://www.macrotrends.net/countrie...ation-rate-cpi

https://advisor.visualcapitalist.com...ast-100-years/

Ldubs · 03-13-2022, 06:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by craigav

I have also read (many times), that certain market and economic analyst claim that "if" CPI was calculated more closely to how it used to be calculated that the current inflation rate would be the highest ever. I have also read something similar to the unemployment rate in that "if" it was calculated the same way it was calculated years back, then the true current unemployment rate would be much higher. These are all claims by others, not be me, are they correct? I don't really know...

~CA

I guess whether it would be the "true" number assumes the old way of calculating it was somehow better or more accurate.

Marine359 · 03-13-2022, 07:06 PM

My grandkids are now asking for more money from us because of inflation.

Winemaker2 · 03-13-2022, 07:14 PM

My benchmark is when we assumed a mortgage on a purchased house and the bank "only" charged us 11% interest vs the then going rate of 14%. This was in 1981 and is fact... not hearsay.

Winemaker2 · 03-13-2022, 07:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marine359

My grandkids are now asking for more money from us because of inflation.

Could be a learning opportunity. Maybe review with them the government inflation rate applied to SSA payments for those on fixed incomes and up theirs the same %?¿

CRV2 · 03-13-2022, 07:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ldubs

I guess whether it would be the "true" number assumes the old way of calculating it was somehow better or more accurate.

Interesting thoughts for sure. I don't think that the old way was any better or worse, or even more or less accurate, likely just what was considered the best way to determine the CPI at that time. According to the BLS (bureau of labor statistics) they don't even use the word "changes" on their webpage and instead they use the word "improvements" and there have certainly been many.

In the link below you will find a bullet point style list of all of the improvements and each one I suspect could take a lot of research to know exactly what went into it. So I take their word on it that these are all what they believe to be improvements.

https://www.bls.gov/cpi/additional-r...al-changes.htm

However, the problem I have is that if someone shows me 100 years of date perhaps a graph that represents anything at all and they tell me that the data graphed here clearly indicates that the trend has been going up and up for 100 years and at an ever increasing rate and then they tell me that each point on the graph was determined and calculated differently, then I wouldn't put a lot of faith in that graph.

So I don't put a lot of weight into the CPI or inflation rate numbers and instead I look at how the current inflation affects me along with my friends and family, and the current inflation rate is pretty high for sure. Perhaps it is because I like to purchases steaks and other beef products more than other meats, and I like to burn my share of gasoline and diesel, and I like to keep my heat on in the winter.... I know that for my usual purchases that I am paying a lot more now than compared to a year ago and a lot more than 7.04% which is the current inflation rate. I don't complain as I also know it is a lot worse for many others than it is for me. ~CA