Spencer, Over the years, I noticed this site requires judicious and consistent policing, otherwise trolls who know not of what they speak, gather confidence, and overwhelm the forums with their kool-aid drinking pap. The chart you posted above is a great example. The GDP numbers are bogus because the GDP deflater (do you know what that is?), is complete horseshit. The CPI is heavily underestimated to get the kool-aid drinkers (like you), who don't read past the byline, onboard the new recovery. Food and fuel don't count. Nobody eats or drives to work. Price substitution is now rampant. A "fixed basket of goods" now means a variable basket of goods that can be altered on BLS whim. Consumers no longer experience inflation if their favorite brand of clothing, food, car, or home appliance is too expensive. They settle for the cheapest (and lesser quality) substitute. And presto, inflation doesn't exist. Even though, their standard of living measured by the quantity and quality of the products afforded just went down (which is exactly what inflation is supposed to measure!).
Hopeless, does FRED have a female labor participation rate historical chart? That would be interesting to pull, as it should theoretically show the "highwater mark" for both male and female employment. That would yield a reference point as to where we are now
Thats exactly it. Another great point. Portion size has gone down. Chocolate bars used to be ~80 grams? Now they're around 65. A bag of chips used to be 75-80 grams? Now they're around 60 grams. Same price! No inflation! Even a burger at McDonalds or Burgerking, the patties are smaller. A whopper used to be the size of my palm and now it's almost the size of an old junior whopper. Check out the steak menu at the local steak house. Instead of 16 ounce, 20 ounce and 24 ounce, they usually offer 16 ounce and 12 for the price of a 20. Again, this is not inflation because the BLS says so. Another one - quality has gone down. Thirty years ago, 20 and 30 year warranties were the norm on electronics and home appliances. Vehicles would have 10-15 year warranties. Now? Electronics are warrantied for 1 year. Cars, maybe 5 years? Washer and dryer? Maybe a couple years, if you're lucky. Quality has gone down, making the cost of ownership higher over a fixed period (say, 30 years), but does the BLS consider that? No! They just use the ticket price and ignore the details when it's politically advantageous to do so. What's cheaper? A 50,000$ dollar car that lasts 30 years. Or buying a 15,000$ car 5 times, over the span of 30 years? There is no consideration of quality!