Will The Real Inflation Please Stand Up?

Six months ago, I began tracking the cost of weekly, regular purchases (stuff we buy every week) at the two supermarkets we usually frequent.  My expectations were realized, prices of those products purchased weekly have been edging up weekly.  The percentage of increase every week is small but over a long period of time it will be significant.  This is especially true, when you consider the fact that our wages are stagnating and there are other expenses increasing as well.

Every week my chosen purchases have increased by a few cents and have not gone down any in the last few months.  There have been some small exceptions when one of my stores over-stocks an item and marks it as on sale. Our weekly total at the cash register reflects the same story, although there may be some weeks where we purchase more or less total goods.  However, the individual items definitely show increases on a weekly basis.

Recent reports claim that our Federal Reserve Board of Brain Trust does not see much inflation in the current economic climate.  Really?  Isn’t food one of things measured by the CPI (Consumer Price Index) basket?  According to everything I have researched, the answer is yes.  Gasoline continues its wild roller coaster ride depending on the mythical barrel price of oil, which also fluctuates wildly.  But food has steadily increased in prices (in the Midwest) by small increments for as long as I have been measuring it.

The increases in customer costs are not limited to food, in a recent conversation with a friend, I discovered that a medical procedure that this person needs on a regular basis has increased in cost.  My friend showed me two separate bills for the same procedure, and I determined that the increase was about 15% over the last bill for the same procedure.

It is bad enough that people without good healthcare insurance live in constant fear of their appendix bursting or gall bladder going south, and the $30,000 dollars that it will cost them to treat it.  Now, you can add the increase in cost of simpler, necessary procedures that people need every day.  For instance, people with diabetes must have insulin in one form or the other, if the percentage of cost is outpacing the increase in their income then something else suffers, usually food or gas.

We are constantly reassured by our ass-wipe politicians (especially since 2016), that our economy is on the mend and that inflation is under control and has met the preferred target set by the Federal Reserve Bank.  I am not sure what the hell that means, but in real terms costs are going up and it seems to be a trend not just a “one off event”.  So, what this means is, our costs are now going up on the shitty customer service and experience that is becoming more prevalent in our society.

We have been convinced that discount stores were offering lower prices and that we should expect less service to get these lower costs.  But if costs of products and services are going up, then shouldn’t we be getting improved customer service as well?  Sure, and money really does grow on trees and there is a pot of gold at the end of every rainbow!   But seriously, if inflation continues to grow and the Federal Reserve Bank precedes with QE 4 (more free money to banks), the costs of goods could skyrocket to the point where we the average citizens and customers cannot afford them.  I’m no expert here, but I believe that this situation will not end well.

Talk To Ya Later

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