Real loss of purchasing power

[LibForestPaul]

What do you believe is the true loss of purchasing power every year over the last 5 years?

[Bastiat's The Law]

5 years?

[Zippyjuan]

Depends on what has happened with your income.

[Bastiat's The Law]

I know from 1960 its about 65%. You'd have to make about 135k/year to be on par with the purchasing power of the average full-time worker in 1960. That's why you have two spouses both working today and they're still losing ground and up to their eyeballs in debt.

Two average full-time workers today make around 42k/year x 2 = 84k, so you can see they're still losing out on 50k purchasing power. And a lot of people are lucky to be pulling 42k/year in this economy; hell you're lucky to even have a job period.

[Bastiat's The Law]

The Fed and government mischief in the economy has us all scurrying for bread crumbs and pitted us against each other. If this country got its head out of its ass, our economy would be immensely robust and churning out well-paying jobs left and right. The entire country could be one huge North Dakota if the idiots got out of our way.

[Zippyjuan]

I know from 1960 its about 65%. You'd have to make about 135k/year to be on par with the purchasing power of the average full-time worker in 1960. That's why you have two spouses both working today and they're still losing ground and up to their eyeballs in debt.

Two average full-time workers today make around 42k/year x 2 = 84k, so you can see they're still losing out on 50k purchasing power. And a lot of people are lucky to be pulling 42k/year in this economy; hell you're lucky to even have a job period.

Real (adjusted for inflation) Median Household Incomes:


http://politicalcalculations.blogspo...l#.U8XxvZRdVos

[Zippyjuan]

nm- found better chart.

[acptulsa]

nm- found better chart.

You found a laughable chart. 'Author's calculations'. Seriously? What did he base it on--phone bills and computer prices? That's not a chart at all. But it is a better joke.

I think what the newcomer to this discussion has the most trouble understanding is the dollar is not a dollar--it's a nickel.

What do I mean? Well, my old man got out of the Army Air Corps after WWII and got himself a good job paying a dollar an hour. How is that a good job? Easy--it was 1946 and the dollar was still a dollar. As in, when he wanted a Pepsi he paid a nickel for it--now it costs a dollar. When he wanted to ride a bus, he put seven cents in the meter, or a nickel and a half--now it costs a buck and a half. When he wanted to sit down and have a cup of regular old coffee, he paid a dime, or two nickels--now it costs two bucks. When he put gas in the car (it was always cheap in Oklahoma), he paid 14.9 cents per gallon, or three nickles--now it costs three bucks. When he was hungry for lunch, he bought a deluxe double hamburger with all the trimmings for a silver quarter, or five nickles--now it costs five bucks. When he wanted to go to a movie, he paid thirty-five cents or seven nickles--now it costs seven bucks. And when he shopped for a new top of the line Dodge Custom with heater and radio and other options, it would set him back two grand, or forty thousand nickles--now it costs forty thousand dollars.

The Pepsi isn't any wetter, the gas doesn't burn any brighter, the double burger isn't any more filling, and the movie doesn't last any longer today (with no newsreel, serial and cartoon, it actually doesn't last as long). So, there's only one explanation. The dollar is no longer worth a dollar. The dollar is worth a nickel. Period.

Why do you think all the five and ten cent stores have been replaced with dollar stores?

[Zippyjuan]

This is the part they calculated- the rest is from US Census data:

Using the math we demonstrated above with this data, we can extract the median incomes for two categories of people for whom the U.S. Census has never reported median incomes: men and women with incomes who do not earn wages or salaries, or as we'll describe them from now on, Non-Working Men and Non-Working Women! Today, we're putting what we found for all U.S. individual income earners together for the first time:

[Tod]

Shadow stats has it at about 10%

http://www.shadowstats.com/alternate...flation-charts

[Zippyjuan]

Keep in mind that they think people are still buying all the same things they used to buy in 1980.

Please note: Our Data Download is currently only providing the 1980-Based numbers, but 1990-Based numbers will be introduced shortly.

Their rates will likely change when they move to 1990 data. The CPI is currently based on 2010 information.

Update- see they have moved to 1990 numbers now but that is still 20 years out of date. Interesting to see how the update changed their estimate for inflation though. Based on 1980 figures, they say it is running about ten percent. Using 1990 data that is down to less than six percent- cutting the gap between their estimate and the CPI by more than half. As they move their basis closer to what the CPI uses, the inflation figures get closer to each other. Maybe the CPI really isn't that far from reality afterall.





http://www.shadowstats.com/alternate...flation-charts

[oyarde]

What do you believe is the true loss of purchasing power every year over the last 5 years?

Here is my basket of goods .Gasoline , bacon , 22 LR ammo , property tax , OK , 50 % increase in five yrs would be too low .

[Bastiat's The Law]

You can't just use the CPI. That doesn't tell the whole story because Americans used to be paid in silver coins and redeemable silver/gold backed paper.

[HOLLYWOOD]

Here is my basket of goods .Gasoline , bacon , 22 LR ammo , property tax , OK , 50 % increase in five yrs would be too low .

There yah go... I'd say to, it's even higher. frigin motor oil has double in the past 5-7 years, Utilities, Wine, pork, beef, milk...

Don't even get me started by the racketeering and corruption going on between the; Banks, Realtors, and government in the housing industry.


I still think of that JackAss Gov. Chris Christie flaunting that he raised property taxes less than previous years... what a joke for an American.