dagblog - Comments for "Hyperstagflation"

...and glanced at without any

DF — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 23:10:03 +0000

In reply to Offered without any attempt

...and glanced at without any attempt at the same! ;)

Hm. Sounds like someone's

Obey — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 23:06:39 +0000

In reply to So, we've just accepted a new

Hm. Sounds like someone's definition of insanity...

I get the case for cynicism and frustration, and this is faaaar from being a 'solution' to much. But if it gets the real money supply back to something like normal, and it brings down the dollar and helps fix the trade imbalances, that is a - small - part of the solution. But it is a part of it, imo.

Offered without any attempt

kgb999 — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 23:01:24 +0000

In reply to I didn't say I don't care

Offered without any attempt at interpretation.

http://www.ers.usda.gov/Briefing/CPIFoodAndExpenditures/Data/cpiforecast...

So, we've just accepted a new

kgb999 — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 22:49:28 +0000

In reply to I don't have the numbers to

So, we've just accepted a new "normal" and are going right back to applying the same old math and methodology to the situation in crafting solutions?

I didn't say I don't care

DF — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 22:40:07 +0000

In reply to If you don't care what I

I didn't say I don't care what you think. I said that anecdotes are not data.

If you don't care what I

Donal — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 22:36:17 +0000

In reply to I don't care about anecdotal

If you don't care what I think, don't read it.

I don't care about anecdotal

DF — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 22:34:42 +0000

In reply to From the comments:In the

I don't care about anecdotal trips to the supermarket. I care about data. Why? Because I can turn around and tell you that my grocery bill is essentially unchanged. Where does that leave us?

From the comments:In the

Donal — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 22:31:22 +0000

In reply to An assessment that is correct

From the comments:

In the grocery stores that are close to me,

-the price of beef has doubled in the last five years. I believe this is mostly because of food recalls due to industrial agriculture, not due to inflation. Chicken and pork have not risen much at all. Unfortunately, I prefer beef. Chicken is not a true substitute for beef.

-the price of juice, salad vegetables, and fruit (with the exception of bananas) has doubled in the last five years as well.

-coffee and tea has not quite doubled, but almost. Same with potatoes,onions, and carrots.

-cream of wheat and oatmeal prices have increased in price by a factor of about four.

These are almost every food I care about. Heavily processed foods and heavily subsidized foods, with the exception of beef, have remained about the same.
Statistics may show a modest rise relative to inflation for food, but my grocery bill has doubled in the last five years.

That's about where we stand, except we eat much more chicken than beef. We could save a lot by buying the processed and HFCS-sweetened stuff in the center aisles, but it gives us digestion problems.

An assessment that is correct

DF — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 22:20:19 +0000

In reply to Why would I believe

An assessment that is correct not just based on anecdote, but on data.

I don't have the numbers to

Obey — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 22:10:27 +0000

In reply to I'm obviously missing

I don't have the numbers to hand, but I'd guess that consumption fell off a cliff in the beginning of '09, and then has stayed flat at that lower rate ever since. That said, consumption stabilized in good part due to the Stimulus which is now phasing out, so unless exports and import-substititution industries ramp up quickly, it's set for another drop.