Civic Register
| 11.15.21
Inflation Rate Reached 31-Year High in October as Prices Surged 6.2%
How do you feel about the rise in consumer prices?
What’s the story?
- The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported last week that the all items consumer price index rose by 6.2% over the last 12 months through October, which is the highest rate recorded since November 1990 and more than three times the Federal Reserve’s target rate of 2%.
- Month-to-month consumer prices rose by 0.9% in October on a seasonally adjusted basis. That’s notably faster than the 0.4% increase measured in September and equal to the 0.9% increase in June, which makes it tied for the largest monthly jump since a 1% spike in June 2008.
What goods did prices increase the most for?
- Here’s a rundown of the common items which have seen the largest increase in inflation year-over-year (notable monthly changes in parentheses):
- Fuel oil increased 59.1% over the last 12 months, including a 12.3% increase from September to October.
- Gasoline prices for all types of gas increased 49.6% over the last 12 months.
- Utility gas service (piped) increased 28.1%.
- Used cars and trucks increased 26.4%.
- Bacon increased 20.2%.
- Beef prices increased 20.1%.
- Eggs increased 11.6%.
- Fresh fish and seafood increased 11%.
- Televisions increased 10.4%.
- New vehicles increased 9.8%.
- Women’s dresses increased 9.2%.
- Computers increased 8.4%.
- Baby food increased 7.9%.
- Moving, storage, and freight expenses increased 7.9%.
- Apples increased 6.7%.
- Electricity increased 6.5%.
- Men’s pants and shorts increased 6.3%.
- Peanut butter increased 6%.
- Canned fruits and vegetables increased 5.3%.
- Milk increased 4.3%.
What is inflation and how is it measured?
- Inflation is a measure of the decline of purchasing power for a given currency over time, which in the U.S. means that a dollar effectively buys less than it did in prior periods because prices rise.
- The most common way inflation is measured is through the Consumer Price Index for Urban Consumers (CPI-U), which shows changes in prices paid for a “representative basket of goods and services” by an urban consumer group representing about 93% of the U.S. population.
- CPI-U includes food, energy, commodities like cars and clothes, plus services such as rent and healthcare; and the relative importance of each to the overall basket shifts according to its proportion of all spending in a given month. This overall number is known as “headline” CPI, although economists also track a metric called “core” CPI which excludes food and energy because those categories tend to have more volatility.
- The Federal Reserve aims to keep inflation at about 2% as part of its dual mandate of promoting stable prices and full employment, as a modest amount of inflation is viewed as an optimum policy in terms of encouraging consumer spending without penalizing savings and investment. When inflation starts to get out of control, the Fed raises interest rates to encourage more savings and less consumer spending.
— Eric Revell
(Photo Credit: iStock.com / sefa ozel)
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It is all such a manipulation and I am completely sick of it. All just continue to stay home, eat only small amounts of anything that will keep you alive, and wait for this all to end.
We have a idiot President
Biden know how to control spending. Dolt!
How do you think America feels, and what Joe Biden is doing to the middle class and under. It’s going to hurt is very bad what he’s doing to our country. In California it’s over six dollars a gallon for gas. Groceries to become outrageous. A gallon of milk five dollars or more. Eggs he is not making America better by he I mean Joe Biden. When he gets up there and talks to America on television he is giving you crap none of it is true. It’s impossible. He is putting us in deeper deeper debt. He wants to use up our reserve oil. That definitely is not the right thing to do. What does he do when that’s gone. Open up our pipeline the one you shut down the day you became president. And then you started buying oil from Russia. If Donald Trump had done that everybody would’ve accused him of having Illegal things with Russia. But if Joe Biden does it it’s OK no influence there.
Agree, move manufacturing home, pat pay workers more, shippers less. To put it simply think of the/some supply chains as the intestinal bowel/s and we have an obstruction in need of removal or an enema. Our individual gastrointestinal systems are healthier and work more efficient ly with a clean direct route. It will also add jobs along with new business opportunities for those willing put their bets on American ingenuity and products which have proven high standards. If you don't believe me ask yourself why there is so much theft or knockoffs of it. Time to bring that spirit back. Entering into the climate fix generation we need to be on top of our game of which we have fallen behind especially with the prior administration who gave away for their own greed any of our honest competitive gains. If you follow the supply chain of one product as leslie stated and with just one cited article you begin see the complete nonsensical obsurdity of it all. Of course people want things cheaper as we were told and sold but when you really break down the cost analysis of these supply chains your supposed frugality is gross profits for others often not our own country or its workers. I want to see an efficient well run American intestine then we are able to establish the trade deals or routes that are more equitable to our interests, it looks like a wasted maze deliberate neglect. Ask a family farmer how they fare. This also would mean not allowing so many foreign entities to buy up our own resources, some don't even have our best interests at heart. Pay a little more yes I would knowing its a clean supply chain. The pandemic alone showed us the need for this and where we are lacking or improve on. What we have in this county now is a hodgepodge of shared intestines without any real strategic goals. Of course global world global economy but not at the expense of our own, in fact that is a national security threat. Time to get rid of all the shit Americans never quit.
this is the greedy politicians fault !
"Should consider moving manufacturing back to US, pay workers more and shippers less."* This is a statement worth mulling over. Who should do the considering and to what end? It seems to be mainly in the domain of The Real Capitalists, Entrepreneurs & Economists of America. At an elementary level, will new factories be built before all the pandemic-related issues get resolved? Offhand, I think that is unlikely, but then what? Probably back to the original problem: the same quality goods will be more expensively made in the USA and more cheaply in Asia. Guess what will happen? As before, Americans are by far more budget-minded consumers than they are loyal, patriotic consumers. Add to that, many Americans will resist any government intervention. As we delve deeper into building new factories in America : Do Americans really want to work factory jobs? Will such jobs go unfilled? Then what? Do Americans want to invite immigrants to do those jobs? Will these folks become second class residents, never-to-become citizens? That will certainly spin off into civil rights issues. If new factories are built in America, won't they'll be highly automated, perhaps controlled by artificial intelligence? How will that impact things? Right now that is beyond my skillset to predict. My inner Sci-Fi fan says "Great design, high quality, low price!!!" but my inner cynic says "yeah, right. Ha!" It might be interesting, fun even, to research building a modern factory somewhere in America. Perhaps some students of a university with an Entrepreneurship Program can take this on as a series of projects. Would love learn more about this. * @Leslie's comment: "UPDATE: Very interesting article tracing 4 products whose shipping time has doubled adding to price increases. ...” Based on "The Cost of Delay: How global supply chain issues affect four items in your holiday shopping cart - Washington Post" https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/interactive/2021/global-supply-chain-issues-holiday-shopping/ See @Leslie's full comment: https://www.causes.com/comments/1509232 Note: The Washington Post has a few more articles on this issue. One says this might not be the best year to get an artificial Christmas Tree. ###
And that’s not even factoring in the cost of housing proportionately. Go Brandon!!
Inflation the result of uncontrolled and unregulated capitalism. But I’m sure it’s the fault of those wanting a living wage …..
Let’s go Liberals and destroy the country. Better idea let’s send all the socialist to Greece or Venezuela on a one way none returnable fare. What a better country we would have
Unregulated infectious addictive greed will kill this country if the government doesn’t govern. A similar situation in the 60’s caused LBJ to put a wage and price freeze on everything. A 2 year price freeze right now would teach the country a lot and 10 year freeze on salaries for people earning over $150,000 is a no brainer. Once a person has smiled and laughed, there is no amount of money that will cause a person to feel better then that and the joy of buying something new is temporary. Socialism is not communism. Socialism is governments, any government, working to improve the lives of it’s population. Freedom without responsibility is not democracy, it’s stupidity, which is not a constitutionally protected right.
Overdue if a “one time” correction, given how much basic services are provided by so many overlooked & unappreciated low paid workers. Does Congress truly understand that even at $15K/hour, that’s only ~$30K/year? Can they contemplate how they might survive their entire life at such impoverished wage? On the other side, there is no doubt about opportunistic supply chain price gouging. Maersk profits up 60%+, while containers pile up everywhere, clogging our ports. Where’s the united outcry over that?
Living in a low income Senior community we are all feeling the inflation bite. We had planned for our retirement but with low interest rates on our savings and new costs that have risen every time we leave home to go to a store or to get gas. One neighbor suggested we start car pooling to the grocery store shopping. Another guy said his car can't be repaired because the computer chips aren't available. We are all voters and many long time Democrats are looking at Republicans!
I swear inflation is being fueled by gop to help win next election.
Put those gas and oil people on trial. Find out who's gouging. No one has been traveling anywhere near what it used to be due to Covid and all know it! Push those electric cars make them affordable so we can just dump the filthy fossil fuels.
I oppose nation-building in the guise of anti-anything, including terrorism. We had our chance in Afghanistan and did not have the political will to win. We spent billions and got 2500 of our people killed and 20k plus wounded. We allowed them to continue to grow and sell their number one crop, opium. We delivered tens of millions of dollars by the skid load to help them grow their opium. When we ran away, we left them with some 85 billion worth of military equipment. And now the Biden fiasco wants to spend billions more spying on them from the sky. Who knows what other indiscriminate missile shots that will bring about, killing more innocents?
Why? We have oil in our country which could solve our gas problems, our heating our home problems. This is just off the top of my head…bacon and egg shortage? What? With all the farms we have in our country! TVs and computers are gonna go up in price because the demand is higher which is normal with the extreme exaggeration of COVID-19 with athe deadly injections, etc. people are home! That’s natural. N crease in baby food? Time to starve the children? even though there is plenty of food produced in this Country! Biden’s (Plutocracy’s) Build Back Better plan won’t cost a penny to and/or from the citizens of the United States, so don’t use that excuse, Make him stick to it or Vote No.! Real simple!!
There is absolutely no reason for any of this! Socialism agenda is to hinder all production and shipments of supplies to the people! W need to step up and make the delivery of our food and supplies easier!
Ask a Dem what will they do to lower energy prices? Donald Trump did it in 6 months after authorizing XT Pipeline and eliminating regulatory road blocks to oil and gas development. Biden raised costs since he got there, Energy Secretary Whitmer just laughed when asked what her plans were for fixing, she only feels it is within the Administration's power to increase costs not lower them.
I truly believe a majority of the issue is greedy corporations raising prices because they feel emboldened. Corporations have long endorsed anti regulatory terrorists and this is a way to attempt to move the electorate in that direction.