Monday, July 1, 2013

Where is Inflation.....Here is the Inflation

You have no doubt seen the debate between the Keynesians and other similar thinking commentators stating there is not inflation, citing a low CPI, versus the Austrian and other like minded folks who argue the costs of everyday purchases are up significantly and/or (more correctly I might add) money supply has been increasing. Where ever you fall on the argument, Intuit was out with an infographic succinctly showing that the costs of many reoccurring purchases are in fact increasing at a much faster rate than CPI. 

Family Matters Final

Over the same time period described in the chart above, CPI-related inflation has increased by 3.9%. And just to be plainly evident, that is not an annual rate, but just 3.9% since first quarter 2011. This3.9% rate compares to utility expenses, which unless you are sitting in the dark with no water or sewer those costs have increased 35%. Additionally, tuition costs have gained 70%. This is as more people have become unemployed and have gone back to school to expand their skill set. Have you looked at the rise of student loan debt recently?

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