Inflation.......... ?
- Thread starter Hobo Hilton
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The salary a family of 4 needs to get by in every U.S. state—it’s more than $150,000 in the most expensive one
I have a family of four (it was six, but two are now adults living on their own). I do not spend anywhere near $106k annually (the minimum to "get by" my state).
I spend in the 70s annually, and there is a lot of waste and luxury built into that.
Maybe I am not "getting by???" Oh, no. LOL. Nice house, smaller than most, but nice, a huge book collection, fancy firearms, even a long range 6GT, reloading setup, a couple nice cars, even if they are getting a little age on them. The wife and I even have fancy newish iPhones. I even have TWO not just one Sirius satellite radio subscriptions. We are not in poverty. We live well.
Maybe I should take a look at SmartAsset's "study" to see what is in a typical budget. Then again, nah. I'm doing fine not spending all that. No need to look at what they think I should spend.
I spend in the 70s annually, and there is a lot of waste and luxury built into that.
Maybe I am not "getting by???" Oh, no. LOL. Nice house, smaller than most, but nice, a huge book collection, fancy firearms, even a long range 6GT, reloading setup, a couple nice cars, even if they are getting a little age on them. The wife and I even have fancy newish iPhones. I even have TWO not just one Sirius satellite radio subscriptions. We are not in poverty. We live well.
Maybe I should take a look at SmartAsset's "study" to see what is in a typical budget. Then again, nah. I'm doing fine not spending all that. No need to look at what they think I should spend.
Oh, wait.
Sorry, Hobo Hilton. I did not mean to undermine your inflation narrative about how we are all drowning in rising expenses. Carry on.
I'll even help.
My groceries and gas are more expensive. They are still built into that 70 something thousand pushing up toward 80 thousand annual spend for my family of four.
Sorry, Hobo Hilton. I did not mean to undermine your inflation narrative about how we are all drowning in rising expenses. Carry on.
I'll even help.
My groceries and gas are more expensive. They are still built into that 70 something thousand pushing up toward 80 thousand annual spend for my family of four.
Kashkari said it would probably take “a year or two” to get inflation back to the Fed’s 2% target. That prediction is not far off the median Fed forecast.
Not in time for November.
And we know voters blame the White House, right or wrong. History tells us that every four years.
And we know voters blame the White House, right or wrong. History tells us that every four years.
Maybe we'll get lucky and they blame the Senate, too, and it will no longer be under Democrat control.
I can hope.
I can hope.
No harm, no foul.
And that is one of the issues of these studies. The Government numbers don't align with studies like this one. Keeping the COLA number low goes in the Government's favor.
To validate your number -
- Average household income: The average family household income was $74,755 in 2022. (Yes, a somewhat older study)
Average salary in the U.S. in 2024
The highest average earners are aged between 35 and 44.
www.usatoday.com
Ya whatever Neel says is bible. Do these people believe this BS. Cracks in the economy continue to grow, you can window dress it any way you want the buying power of the dollar continues to decline. Neel is propaganda.
The goal of the DC crowd is to build their wealth and retirement accounts / pension. Their plan is working.
IRS Abacus, inflation and its impact on household incomes; for all those believers that the credit cards are rewarding them for charging by giving them some kind of kickback. Probably someplace in that transaction a bank is skimming up to 3% of the transactions cost. Yes we understand you are paying that card off before incurring interest, that’s great. As the ability to track transactions electronically increases eventually it only seems feasible that the IRS will know how much dollar wealth a person has available, if you cross out of that range enough will this be cause a closer look from the authorities? Most of us at one time or another have probably received the form letter from the bank saying we have
discovered our computer system has been compromised by unknown hackers and we are providing you free credit monitoring for the next 100 years blah blah blah. Great not only did they not protect my information but now trying to look like good guys they are allowing a third party to monitor my finances, apparently I agreed to this when I opened the account but who says who these third party companies are sharing this information with? What if they are selling this information to the government, could never happen don’t be so sure about that. The more we embrace the convinces offered by electronic financial transactions the more we sink into financial quicksand. Occasionally I prefer to pay bills with money orders over checks from my bank, many reasons for doing this. Wmart has usually provided easy money orders cheaper than many competitors. It seems they have recently changed how they process and provide this service, they want to create a customer portal by using the customer's phone number. I’m all about a company providing excellent customer service but when it starts to collect my personal information like financial crumbs that are going to be stored in the cloud that is already providing credit monitoring that may or may not being shared with the government. Is it really about me or is it to better assist the IRS in monitoring my personal finances? Credit cards are banks, banks are not our friends.
discovered our computer system has been compromised by unknown hackers and we are providing you free credit monitoring for the next 100 years blah blah blah. Great not only did they not protect my information but now trying to look like good guys they are allowing a third party to monitor my finances, apparently I agreed to this when I opened the account but who says who these third party companies are sharing this information with? What if they are selling this information to the government, could never happen don’t be so sure about that. The more we embrace the convinces offered by electronic financial transactions the more we sink into financial quicksand. Occasionally I prefer to pay bills with money orders over checks from my bank, many reasons for doing this. Wmart has usually provided easy money orders cheaper than many competitors. It seems they have recently changed how they process and provide this service, they want to create a customer portal by using the customer's phone number. I’m all about a company providing excellent customer service but when it starts to collect my personal information like financial crumbs that are going to be stored in the cloud that is already providing credit monitoring that may or may not being shared with the government. Is it really about me or is it to better assist the IRS in monitoring my personal finances? Credit cards are banks, banks are not our friends.
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Inflation target must be "ZERO". American's wages / pensions need to increase to simply break even. Anything less is a losing proposition.
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Consumers also anticipate that inflation will remain high in the coming years, projecting that it will hover around 2.9% three years from now – up from February's 2.7% and January's 2.4%. However, they expect that inflation will cool to 2.6% five years from now, according to the survey.
That remains above the Fed's 2% target, indicating that sticky inflation could be here to stay. By comparison, central bank policymakers projected in their latest economic forecasts that inflation will fall to 2.1% by 2025 and eventually settle at around 2% in 2026
www.foxbusiness.com
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Consumers also anticipate that inflation will remain high in the coming years, projecting that it will hover around 2.9% three years from now – up from February's 2.7% and January's 2.4%. However, they expect that inflation will cool to 2.6% five years from now, according to the survey.
That remains above the Fed's 2% target, indicating that sticky inflation could be here to stay. By comparison, central bank policymakers projected in their latest economic forecasts that inflation will fall to 2.1% by 2025 and eventually settle at around 2% in 2026
Americans see inflation rising again in the long term, key NY Fed survey shows
A New York Federal Reserve survey published on Monday found that many American consumers expect inflation to remain abnormally high in the coming years.
www.foxbusiness.com
By the time land is purchased, local building codes are met, materials purchased, qualified workers hired, services are brought in there is no way "affordable housing" can be built. It is just a fact.
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Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Monday unveiled a new slate of financing initiatives to support housing development, including a $100 million fund specifically for affordable housing.
The announcement came days before President Joe Biden faces off against former President Donald Trump in the first presidential debate, where inflation is likely to be a key point of contention.
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Yellen announces $100 million affordable housing fund as shelter costs weigh on Biden
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Monday unveiled a new slate of financing initiatives to support housing development, including a $100 million fund specifically for affordable housing.
The announcement came days before President Joe Biden faces off against former President Donald Trump in the first presidential debate, where inflation is likely to be a key point of contention.
What the heck, as the wheel turns, no this is more of a circus like plan, so it must be the merry-go-around.
Fed Governor Bowman says she’s still open to raising rates if inflation doesn’t improve
Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman said Tuesday the time is not right yet to start lowering interest rates, adding she would be open to raising if inflation doesn’t pull back.
“Should the incoming data indicate that inflation is moving sustainably toward our 2 percent goal, it will eventually become appropriate to gradually lower the federal funds rate to prevent monetary policy from becoming overly restrictive,” Bowman said in prepared remarks for a speech in London. “However, we are still not yet at the point where it is appropriate to lower the policy rate.”
Key Points
- Prices in April rose 6.3% compared with April 2023, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index.
- Home prices are now 47% higher than they were in early 2020, with the median sale price now five times the median household income.
- Half of all renter households — more than 22 million — spent more than 30% of their income on housing this year, which is considered “cost burdened.”
Here’s how bad housing affordability is now
At every turn, inflation is making life more difficult.
www.foxbusiness.com
80% of Americans are dealing with a cost of living creep
80% of Americans are dealing with a cost of living creep
Housing prices, grocery prices and other everyday expenses are rising, leaving a majority of Americans unable to deal with spikes in costs.
www.foxbusiness.com
Update
Overdue credit card debt is the highest its been in more than a decade. Here's what to do if you're at risk
Seriously overdue credit card debt is at the highest level in more than a decade, and people 35 and under are struggling more than other age groups to pay their bills.
www.pbs.org
$107k in MI? I can't see that.
Off the top of my head, we're at about $80-85k for 3. That's with 1 vehicle payment and without a house payment. Add in niceties and we're easily over $100k.
More than just groceries and gas..
good for you on buying a house , before Biden fk'd it over for everyone. Go buy a house right now.. pay that 6.5% apr
If you 'spending' 70k a year, you are not w2'ing 70k a year.
EVERYTHING is more expensive.
I've talked to a few milliionaires, they could careless about gas and food. Why, because .99 for a dozen eggs vs 4.99 doesn't bother them.
Now, take a poor person, yup, it matters.
HOBO never said 'we'; inflation hits everyone; it just doesn't matter to some or the ignorant.
Biden does not really have anything to do with the housing shortage. It was not even created while he was in office as President.
There are not enough houses for sale and for rent for all the persons trying to buy or rent them.
What do you think that does to the price?
There have not been more houses than buyers for more than a decade and a half.
The shortage is in the millions. That is, millions more buyers and renters than housing units.
I am no fan of Biden, but you cannot lay this one at his feet. Sorry. It is supply and demand.
When a majority of those buyers are investors, foreign and domestic, it makes sense.
I track housing like a hawk b/c I invest in it from agency mortgage REITs to low cost housing manufacturers. In the 1st quarter of 2024 depending on where you look from Redfin, to NAHB or HUD ~ 20% of residential home purchases were from the investor side for the entire country. 'Majority' are definitely not investors.
That changes nothing. The housing shortage is in rentals, too.
If you and I invest in a house for a rental, or ten of them, those houses are all counted. If you buy one to live in, and I do, too, those houses are also counted.
What we would discover is lots of buyers competing with us for both, however, and lots of renters putting in applications once we closed on the sale and advertised the units for rent.
3.2 million short - whether rentals or buying to own. Investors are included. There is still a shortage of housing. Have you looked at the cost of rent lately?
All of this has been covered already in this thread.
I think he was just using hyperbole to make a point, not trying to lie to us.
The point does not change the situation, however. Investors buying housing units does not create a shortage. Those houses are being rented. That is the main reason investors buy them.
The housing shortage is for residential real estate, not only purchases or only rentals. It is both.
Not enough housing is being built.
Shortage in housing, lots of demand from home buyers, renters, and investors, and the price goes up.
Biden did not do that.
Lots of your neighbors did, though, bitching to the city council or the county commission every time a new development is proposed, especially if it is high density or "affordable." Not in my backyard everywhere results in less housing units being constructed. This means a shortage.
That is good news! And from a credible source as well...
You must be very young and inexperienced. I had a mortgage at 9.5% and that was market at the time. 6.5% is not high by any historical measure. It is only high compared to recent 0% interest rate stimulus for the economy that helped drive inflation. Spend more than a decade with artificially low interest rates, then shut down the economy and have Trump hand out free money to everybody, and then Biden do the same, and you get what is 100% predictable. Inflation.
Nobody wants inflation, but everybody bitches about normalizing interest rates.
6.5% for a mortgage is normal to low, not high.
You can't have it both ways. Inflation or normal interest rates. Take your pick.
The figures below come from Freddie Mac, which began tracking 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rates in April 1971:
| Decade | Mortgage rate near the beginning of the decade | Mortgage rate at the end of the decade |
| 1970s | 7.33% | 12.9% |
| 1980s | 12.9% | 9.78% |
| 1990s | 9.83% | 8.06% |
| 2000s | 8.15% | 5.14% |
| 2010s | 5.09% | 3.74% |
| 2020s | 3.72% | Today’s mortgage rate |
6.5% is barely above the artificially low stimulus rates from 2010 and later.
You know what they say about stats. 
But yeah, from the stories I heard I assumed it was worse.
But yeah, from the stories I heard I assumed it was worse.
How Real Estate Investors Affect The Housing Shortage | Bankrate
Institutional investors can eat up inventory in growing markets, exacerbating the supply shortage and making homebuying harder.
www.bankrate.com
You know what they say about stats.
But yeah, from the stories I heard I assumed it was worse.
How Real Estate Investors Affect The Housing Shortage | Bankrate
Institutional investors can eat up inventory in growing markets, exacerbating the supply shortage and making homebuying harder.www.bankrate.com
"Interestingly, according to a new Redfin report, the phenomenon of investors buying up residential homes may have peaked. The company found that investor home purchases fell drastically over the course of 2022, declining by 45.8 percent from the fourth quarter of 2021 to the fourth quarter of 2022."
Wow, that's huge. They do not even venture a guess as to why there was such a large decline.
Over the last couple of weeks my weekly groceries are up approximately 10%. Coke Pepsi Kraft Budweiser Pepperidge Farm Frito Lay etc. Not sure if it the retailer or combination of all of the above. Good thing the illegals are getting plenty of EBT, we sure as hell don’t want the working class citizens to feel any relief.
Correct. If sales are up, why are retail stores closing all over the US, wages aren't keeping up with inflation, unemployment is up and days on unemployment benefits increasing? Dollars used per transaction is not equal to units sold.
agree
and with issues in China, I do some deflationary push ahead as China is slowing down
the narrative, now that Trump is in office, will be that the economy is softening
we will finally get an accurate job numbers count and unemployment rate around Jan 20th. (It' going to be horrible)
I'm sure it's all bad news and the economy is tanking starting Jan 20th. last 4 years GREAT, next 4 years HORRIBLE.
rinse and repeat everytime a R president takes office.
no doubt and the revisions to unemployment and the like are going to be epic
The main question I have is what % of people’s budget has grown due to grocery and essentials inflation, and what markets have diminished as people prioritize food, energy, and insurance over nice-to-haves.
I’m in such a unique market segment that my personal anecdotes aren’t valid when trying to understand most of the US.
The headline articles seem to be packed full of fluff from my initial searches, and no legacy media can be trusted to tell what time of dat it is, let alone consumer data.
A lot of the business class is done with the leftist tripe on pretty much every issue.
Auto makers got screwed over wasting billions on RDT&E for stupid EVs, that could have been spent on making better IC engines, affordable, mass-producible automobiles for working/middle class.
Tech giants see in real-time the backlash against the woke faggotry, degenerate corrosion of society, and how they are associated with censorship.
Mid and small companies feel the pinch with dumbed-down kids from public schools as the employee pool, and government regulations halting every aspect of their business activities, except importing more H-1B visas. Government efficiency is world-class in that space for some reason.
Most of the population doesn’t trust any legacy media institutions, so they can hire retarded simps to write op-ed pieces that nobody will ever read, and it won’t matter what numbers they spew.
It feels like a major departure from D vs R politics where we’re at in the US. Platform pillars people used to associate with the other party have flipped or were ejected from the room like musical chairs.
Dems love the CIA and FBI, CDC, and censorship.
Republicans are the party of the working class, very critical of large corporations, uninterested in more wars.
This is a sea of change for the US.
"Dems love the CIA and FBI, CDC, and censorship." - yup, that's why O overturned Smith-Mundt Act.
Bring back the Smith-Mundt Act.. censorship is a part of disinformation and propaganda.
I was almost shocked when I saw Russia Today/RT News being broadcast in the US, but wasn’t aware Obama overturned Smith-Mundt Act. Very interesting.
If you study the back story on Smith-Mundt, the conversations they were having in Congress were that the State Dept is packed full of communists and can’t be trusted with any messaging or propaganda efforts.
This is also very interesting because right after the CIA was created in 1947, they asked Frank Wisner with Project Mockingbird to counter the Soviet IOJ propaganda program. The problem was the CIA and OSS prior to it were packed full of Soviet doubles, so they took Mockingbird and turned it against us anyway.
This is how we got Walter Cronkite, Life Magazine going full commie, ABC, CBS, and NBC packed full of pinkos preaching Marxist agitprop for generations. They commandeered the journalism programs in universities, making it cool and edgy to go after the US fundamental principles and our superior industries, while giving the Soviets wide berth.
Chalk that down for another Obama-Russia collusion in the matrix. The Russians understand the value of propaganda and turning a people against themselves better than most, especially since they don’t have any other levers against the US.
disclaimer - some left news sources say bill wasn't eliminated. It was 'refined' by O; but if you read the fine print.. replacing one with another, is getting rid of a bill.
Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012.
per leftist fact checkers "The Smith-Mundt Act was not repealed, but was amended by President Obama in 2012"
FACT CHECK: Was The Smith-Mundt Act Repealed By Barack Obama in 2012?
The Smith-Mundt Act was not repealed, but was amended by President Obama in 2012
checkyourfact.com
President Obama signed the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act, which amended the 1948 bill. 'They' are laying cover by saying the new bill replaced the old bill which really isn't getting rid of a bill but amending it.
U.S. Repeals Propaganda Ban, Spreads Government-Made News to Americans
U.S. Repeals Propaganda Ban, Spreads Government-Made News to Americans
For decades, a so-called anti-propaganda law prevented the U.S. government's mammoth broadcasting arm from delivering programming to American audiences.
foreignpolicy.com
Summary: H.R.5736 — 112th Congress (2011-2012)All Information (Except Text)
Amends the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1986 and 1987 to prohibit funds for the Department of State or the Board from being used to influence public opinion or propagandizing in the United States. (Under current law such provision applies to the United States Information Agency [USIA].)sorry for the derailment on the inflation thread.
back to our normal program.
Eggs are still fk'n expensive
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My whole concern with inflation is not about eggs or things we easily buy if we sacrifice other budget priorities.
It’s about long-term housing market, auto market, and big ticket items that I’m thinking about that my kids and grandkids will be faced with, in ways I never worried about.
When my parents talked about my future, there wasn’t any conversation about inflation. It was all about my choices with education and work. The assumption was that housing, auto, appliance, and related pricing would be relatively stable, even with obvious market growth and normal inflation.
We’re not having those conversations with my kids. We’re talking about how they need to earn way more than ever expected to have less of a qualify of life than we currently have.
No jobs other than high-end professionals will be able to finance the home size, vehicles, appliances, and daily expenses we currently have. We’ve talked about entrepreneurship as one of the only real solutions to being in the market for housing and normal expenses enjoyed by the post-WWII US middle class.
It’s about long-term housing market, auto market, and big ticket items that I’m thinking about that my kids and grandkids will be faced with, in ways I never worried about.
When my parents talked about my future, there wasn’t any conversation about inflation. It was all about my choices with education and work. The assumption was that housing, auto, appliance, and related pricing would be relatively stable, even with obvious market growth and normal inflation.
We’re not having those conversations with my kids. We’re talking about how they need to earn way more than ever expected to have less of a qualify of life than we currently have.
No jobs other than high-end professionals will be able to finance the home size, vehicles, appliances, and daily expenses we currently have. We’ve talked about entrepreneurship as one of the only real solutions to being in the market for housing and normal expenses enjoyed by the post-WWII US middle class.
Speak for yourself. Food is top priority for me, especially eggs and the destruction of our food supply by destroying chickens, beef and pork.
I’m talking about budget. Most Americans can shift their budget priorities to afford food at inflated prices.
Most new workers and job-holders who would normally be able to afford a home, can’t now.
The conversation about food supply being threatened is valid and I share concerns, but isn't the focus of inflation.
It's all of it.
People can barely afford to feed themselves (if at all) and are losing/lost the dream of buying a house.
The last 4 years the housing market went from *affordable* 200's to out of reach 450's and 500K. What average 25 year will be able to afford a 500k dollar house (let alone save for the down payment) if they are getting screwed in every sector, from gas to food.
very disheartening. No way to save.
Hearing about 700k local chickens getting destroyed because of a 'bird flu' that will give you a cold. Hype it up, telling people it will kill you like the 65 year old person who suffered from cancer and had a low ability to fight infection .. sound familiar?
700k chickens is a lot of potential eggs. (using food as an example)
I hear everybody in this thread. I've had this convo with my kids. Inflation doesn't just happen, it's planned.
As soon as trump takes office, the Gov will release more accurate numbers of inflation to blame on Trump. We know it's double digit, let's see if 'they' admit it.
I doubt 'they' will admit it, because then COLA would kick in.
People can barely afford to feed themselves (if at all) and are losing/lost the dream of buying a house.
The last 4 years the housing market went from *affordable* 200's to out of reach 450's and 500K. What average 25 year will be able to afford a 500k dollar house (let alone save for the down payment) if they are getting screwed in every sector, from gas to food.
very disheartening. No way to save.
Hearing about 700k local chickens getting destroyed because of a 'bird flu' that will give you a cold. Hype it up, telling people it will kill you like the 65 year old person who suffered from cancer and had a low ability to fight infection .. sound familiar?
700k chickens is a lot of potential eggs. (using food as an example)
I hear everybody in this thread. I've had this convo with my kids. Inflation doesn't just happen, it's planned.
As soon as trump takes office, the Gov will release more accurate numbers of inflation to blame on Trump. We know it's double digit, let's see if 'they' admit it.
I doubt 'they' will admit it, because then COLA would kick in.
Median home price in the nation is $420,400
The last time it was $200k was 2003
After rising very quickly past that (because the government was pushing banks to loan to everybody) the housing situation crashed, and then housing finally passed $300k in 2015.
There has never been a time in history when an average 25 year old could afford a larger than 2500 square foot home (since you asked about 25 year olds and $500k houses). If you want to give some example from 1950, you have to remember that the average square footage back then was about 1100 square feet.
The solution is to build more houses, and smaller ones, but the moment you try to do that everybody in your town is down at the town council meeting opposing it.
Price is supply and demand.
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