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What is the real inflation rate?

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  1. cowboy301 cowboy301 is offline

    Spartanburg, SC
    United States

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    Joined: Jan 07

    Nov 7th, 2009 (11/7/2009 12:39pm)

    Anyone got numbers on the real rate of inflation in the US now. I went to the grocery store with my wife last week, and it seemed like prices were up big time and if the price was the same, the quantity in the package was about 70% of what it was a year or 18 months ago.

    Every time I see the government quote inflation near zero, I just think that everything they say is pure BS.
  2. Seykota Seykota is offline

    TX
    United States

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    Nov 7th, 2009 (11/7/2009 12:44pm) in reply to cowboy301

    It's not just consumers. I know when I've been interviewing and ask about product prices, I'm hearing rising price complaints too. Certain products are seeing it worse than others right now, though which is standard.
  3. ccm ccm is offline

    Vancouver
    Canada

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    Nov 7th, 2009 (11/7/2009 2:52pm) in reply to cowboy301

    Inflation is a tricky one to measure. You can use the CPI, which measures a bundle of consumer goods' prices, and adjust the bundle in extraneous circumstances. It's probably most applicable to your question - but there are other measures (i.e. the CCI, measuring cost of construction-related prices).



    supposedly the inflation rate right now is negative, but you will notice that 1 year ago there was very high inflation. Price of consumer goods may have increased during that period, and have not been adjusted since (with the decline in inflation being due to the drop in oil&gas prices).
  4. Seykota Seykota is offline

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    Nov 7th, 2009 (11/7/2009 2:54pm) in reply to ccm

    Um, I don't think it's negative anymore. Last number I saw for real was barely over 1%, but things have changed since then even.
  5. scgolfer scgolfer is offline honey let's go

    Peoria, AZ
    United States

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    Nov 7th, 2009 (11/7/2009 3:06pm) in reply to Seykota

    Wouldn't it stand to reason that since the dollar is so weak, thus has less buying power. Prices may not have risen or seen in CPI, but your dollar buys less thus "inflation" is still going on. When commodity prices go up when dollar goes down, there is going to be inflation. Things will cost more because your dollar buys less essentially. TY Fed Reserve.
     
  6. saxman saxman is online now

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    Nov 7th, 2009 (11/7/2009 3:08pm) in reply to cowboy301

    found a nifty inflation calculator .... you can plug in the numbers going back as far as 1914 to see the value of a dollar today. According to the calculator, the Canadian inflation rate is down 0.86% since last year. This could vary for Americans because of currency fluctuations.

    http://www.bankofcanada.ca/en/rates/inflation_calc.html
  7. gamaitec gamaitec is offline

    Arlington, VA
    United States

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    Nov 7th, 2009 (11/7/2009 3:49pm) in reply to cowboy301

    They shift the basket in CPI now which I think is completely

     
  8. saxman saxman is online now

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    Nov 7th, 2009 (11/7/2009 4:16pm) in reply to cowboy301

    Marc Faber made an interesting comment yesterday about currency valuations. Rather than implementing protectionist trade barriers, countries are now manipulating their currency valuations as a protectionist measure.
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