Why is there no inflation?

Discussion in 'Economics' started by bonds, May 8, 2013.

  1. Lucrum

    Lucrum

    I read recently the true inflation rate here in the US is around 8% at the moment.
     
    #11     May 8, 2013
  2. Bob111

    Bob111

    it could be 10% or 1%. all depends how and based on what it's been calculated
     
    #12     May 8, 2013
  3. Once the velocity of all this money picks up there should be some nice price inflation. This won't happen until there is a Republican president who frees up the system. Then He'll get blamed for 8 dollar/milk even though he was just the guy that ripped the band aid off.

    If the Fed wanted to sell bonds to decrease the money supply who is going to buy them? Well maybe the question isn't who but at what yield? How big of a loss can the fed take on the bonds it holds? How about this... Medicare can start paying hospitals in bonds.
     
    #13     May 8, 2013
  4. silk

    silk

    Inflation is like a market. There are bears and bulls. We are in a bear market for inflation right now. Though the fundamentals could be there for a bull, the price action just hasn't materialized yet. Inflation could be similar to BBY at $12. The buisness wasn't that bad, but the market just hated it, until the price action turned.

    Inflation is like a Genie. Once it is out of the bottle, you can't put it back in. People will just start raising prices because prices are going up. It is self supporting. Once it starts, the only way to stop it will be to raise interest rates. Which would then put the soverign nations into insolvency, because the only way we can service the debt is because short term rates are 1% or less.

    In 4 or 5 years, there could be so much debt racked up, that overnight we could find ourselves in a situation where when rates jump a few %, we can easily see that the debt can't be supported. Faith in the gvt will be deminished, which will further feed inflationary expectations. And it could be a total meltdown. The economy would freeze up right away, tax receipts would fall 20% overnight, or more, and we can barely even service the debt. Game over.

    Scarry thing is this could really happen, and is almost likely too in next 5-15 years. Seems obvious. Unlike the 2008 crisis, there will be nobody to step in this time to save us.
     
    #14     May 8, 2013
  5. maybe so, but there isn't going to be a republican president for another 10 years. Hillary isn't as bad as you think, she was one hell of a cattle trader
     
    #15     May 8, 2013
  6. no kidding, I lived through the last one, and nobody, no matter how smart you were could figure out a way to beat it. The rich, the poor, everybody got screwed. Maybe it is the great equalizer. But the statistics don't back that up. All I can say is inflation is really a bitch.
     
    #16     May 8, 2013
  7. #17     May 9, 2013
  8. ddecker

    ddecker

    Exactly. The BLS in the US has changed their methodology numerous times. Using the prior method, it's around 9.5%. You can see the official vs prior methods here:

    http://www.shadowstats.com/alternate_data/inflation-charts

    The government has a strong incentive to keep the number low, since numerous benefits are linked to the rate.
     
    #18     May 9, 2013
  9. Catoosa

    Catoosa

    Oldtime,
    When was "the last one"? I can remember in the late 70's early 80's buying CD's that peaked at somewhere around 18% to 20%. My savings and salary increases could not keep up with the price inflation. I had a 7.75% home mortgage loan for which my bank was offering me a larger and larger cash back payment if I would pay off the entire remaining balance of my house loan. I did not pay off the 7.75% house loan early when I was getting much higher interest rates on the CD's I was holding..
     
    #19     May 9, 2013
  10. Butterball

    Butterball

    Which is of course a bunch of baloney.

    A good upper barrier to inflation to look at is nominal GDP growth, which has been stalling around 3-4% recently and may yet be revised sharply downward over coming quarters.
     
    #20     May 9, 2013