Gareth on Dec 17, next [—]. The problem with inflation is that its calculation is fraught with all kinds of selective weighting, bias, and politics. Okay, so TVs and cellphones are cheaper, but necessities like college, childcare, and healthcare are up significantly. And when you drill in more, there are other issues. For example, the housing metric appears relatively flat in real terms, right? Except, that doesn't tell the story for the majority of Americans. Housing costs are WAY up in cities as Americans migrate to where the jobs are, while housing costs are down in all the areas where jobs are disappearing.
In practise, housing costs are actually significantly up for most Americans, but because the CPI is calculated across the entire nation, the government can claim inflation is low. This allow them to keep the fed rate low, which keeps stock valuations high.
This LOOKS great and generates great headlines, but the reality is that most Americans are significantly worse off since the s. And then we come to the other elephant in the room: why are real wages flat? Given the incredible performance of the American economy since , shouldn't real wages be significantly UP?
This is yet another reminder that wealth is being squeezed from the bottom and funnelled straight up. As a non-American, it's heartbreaking to see efforts to unify the underclass completely derailed by this ridiculous race war. Poor people in America have FAR more in common with each other than the rich, no matter race.
I really hope you all manage to set aside the obvious red herring of race and unite in tackling your staggering wealth inequality. Glad this was the top comment. Wages have not kept up with cost of living for 50 years in the US.
