Tractor lots are full

[2manyrocks]

The best explanation of inflation is what the french economist Jean Baptiste Seay observed in the 1700's: when the prince runs out of money, he prints more and prices go up.

 

[Snobdds]

I have seen some wobbly dealers getting bought out by stronger dealers and mergers, too. If it goes that way, then we end up with less, but larger dealers.

Yep consolidation in the market will happen. Strong companies will swoop in and buy assets for half price.

We have a ways to go before the COVID hang over is over.

 

[lman]

The best explanation for inflation I've heard is this:
That a small amount of positive inflation is always built into goverment run economic systems to avoid the alternative direction from zero - which would be "deflation".

Inflation is something we may not like, and is a political headache - but at least it is familiar and economists have some idea of how to deal with it. Deflation is unknown territory.

rScotty

Inflation provides more taxable income. The gment needs inflation to feed their increasing budget deficit.
I would be happy to deflate to 2020.

 

[rScotty]

The best explanation of inflation is what the french economist Jean Baptiste Seay observed in the 1700's: when the prince runs out of money, he prints more and prices go up.

Inflation provides more taxable income. The gment needs inflation to feed their increasing budget deficit.
I would be happy to deflate to 2020.

I don't see inflation as being a conspiracy, just the result of a economic system that is still new and not well understood. Maybe it is part of transitioning from a system backed by precious metals and hard goods to one backed by manufacturing and GNP.
Apparently It's hard to know how to allow a little inflation without opening that door to a lot. Previous eras have had inflation problems too.

Anyway, it's us consumers - not the g'ment - who ultimately control prices for everything.
We can stop inflation whenever we want by not buyng. Otherwise, prices will keep going higher.
rScotty

 

[Torvy]

I don't see inflation as being a conspiracy, just the result of a economic system that is still new and not well understood. Maybe it is part of transitioning from a system backed by precious metals and hard goods to one backed by manufacturing and GNP.
Apparently It's hard to know how to allow a little inflation without opening that door to a lot. Previous eras have had inflation problems too.

Anyway, it's us consumers - not the g'ment - who ultimately control prices for everything.
We can stop inflation whenever we want by not buyng. Otherwise, prices will keep going higher.
rScotty

That is simply not how inflation works.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Inflation provides more taxable income. The gment needs inflation to feed their increasing budget deficit.
I would be happy to deflate to 2020.

Be careful what you wish for!

 

[Hay Dude]

I don't see inflation as being a conspiracy, just the result of a economic system that is still new and not well understood. Maybe it is part of transitioning from a system backed by precious metals and hard goods to one backed by manufacturing and GNP.
Apparently It's hard to know how to allow a little inflation without opening that door to a lot. Previous eras have had inflation problems too.

Anyway, it's us consumers - not the g'ment - who ultimately control prices for everything.
We can stop inflation whenever we want by not buyng. Otherwise, prices will keep going higher.
rScotty

Our economy is backed by DEBT.
Today’s inflation is from PRINTING money.

 

[rScotty]

Our economy is backed by DEBT.
Today’s inflation is from PRINTING money.

The debt at any moment is simply future earnings looked at from today's perspective.
Inflation is more complicated than simply printing money.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Our economy is backed by DEBT.
Today’s inflation is from PRINTING money.

Yes, the last couple years have been awful. The near future looks even worse.

 

[rScotty]

The debt at any moment is simply future earnings looked at from today's perspective.
Inflation is more complicated than simply printing money.

Let me change that last sentence a little. Just like in the work I do, there is lots of disagreement on causes. So thinking about economics makes a nice break from work.

Printing way too much unbacked money seems to be by agreement - as Hay Dude says - a sure fire way to make inflation happen. But sometimes it happens anyway. What causes that? And is that what we have going on right now?
rScotty

 

[airbiscuit]

Whatever it is, it's global.

 

[TimberFarm]

When businesses want more money for their products, that's inflation. When the labor force wants more money for their wages, that's inflation.
And it is always going to happen no matter what the gov't does or doesn't do. Does a new house still cost $15,000 like it did in 1960? Is the average salary $8,000 year? Is a McDonalds hamburger still 25 cents? Is gas still 18 cents a gallon? Can the gov't have an interstate highway system built across the country for $1billion?

 

[scootr]

When businesses want more money for their products, that's inflation. When the labor force wants more money for their wages, that's inflation.
And it is always going to happen no matter what the gov't does or doesn't do. Does a new house still cost $15,000 like it did in 1960? Is the average salary $8,000 year? Is a McDonalds hamburger still 25 cents? Is gas still 18 cents a gallon? Can the gov't have an interstate highway system built across the country for $1billion?

I'm not buying that. Gasoline was about 18 cents in 1931. 90 years ago! How is that relevant to today? Well, given the earning power of the people and the value of the dollar gas stayed nearly the same for the next 40 years. Our Govt caused the 1973 oil embargo with their support in foreign wars. And since then we have seen the price of gasoline used to leverage one situation or another.
In the last 2 years we have seen the price of gasoline double or triple depending upon where you buy it.

 

[TimberFarm]

The gov't didn't raise the price of gas. The oil companies did.

 

[2manyrocks]

Milestones: 1969–1976 - Office of the Historian

history.state.gov 3.0 shell

history.state.gov

 

[Hay Dude]

When businesses want more money for their products, that's inflation. When the labor force wants more money for their wages, that's inflation.

When G________ts print more money, that causes inflation, too.

And it is always going to happen no matter what the gov't does or doesn't do. Does a new house still cost $15,000 like it did in 1960? Is the average salary $8,000 year? Is a McDonalds hamburger still 25 cents? Is gas still 18 cents a gallon? Can the gov't have an interstate highway system built across the country for $1billion?

What you just illustrated is the average salaries aren’t keeping up with the inflation on the houses, gas and hamburgers (or food). That is causing the middle class to shrink. That is a big problem that must be addressed because with the costs of energy and food going up so much in the last 2 years, it forces more people to be dependent on handouts. That makes society less stable. It raises taxes on an ever shrinking group of taxpayers. Over 50% of this countrys population pays no income tax. Thats a big problem and it’s going to get worse.

 

[tradosaurus]

I had to find the definition of what is and what causes inflation:

Inflation is the rate of increase in prices over a given period of time. Inflation is typically a broad measure, such as the overall increase in prices or the increase in the cost of living in a country.

What causes inflation?

More jobs and higher wages increase household incomes and lead to a rise in consumer spending, further increasing aggregate demand and the scope for firms to increase the prices of their goods and services. When this happens across a large number of businesses and sectors, this leads to an increase in inflation.

 

[scootr]

The gov't didn't raise the price of gas. The oil companies did.

I'm not saying govt. raised the price. But take a look at the big picture...
The govt has done things that have caused the price of gasoline to rise. Limiting production of domestic oil has caused us to import more foreign oil at a higher cost. Limiting refineries and drilling has caused the price of oil to rise. Fueling inflation with $5T in spending has caused the price of everything to rise. That's just economics 101.
The only thing Govt has done to lower the price of Gas was to release national reserves - resulting in a temporary lowering of the price just before the midterm elections... which had no lasting effect except to deplete the national reserve.
I'm not saying the oil companies are blameless either. They have record profits in the midst of our collective suffering at the pumps.

 

[scootr]

I think we can all agree we are in a significantly inflationary period beginning just 2-3 years ago. The figures we see reported are incorrectly low because they do not include items like gasoline and food because they are deemed to be too volatile. These items effect everybody the most. Gas has doubled and food is nearly double.
Inflation is like a run away train. Unfortunately it goes until we all stop fueling the engine. When consumers stop buying prices turn back down.

 

[jyoutz]

I'm not saying govt. raised the price. But take a look at the big picture...
The govt has done things that have caused the price of gasoline to rise. Limiting production of domestic oil has caused us to import more foreign oil at a higher cost. Limiting refineries and drilling has caused the price of oil to rise. Fueling inflation with $5T in spending has caused the price of everything to rise. That's just economics 101.
The only thing Govt has done to lower the price of Gas was to release national reserves - resulting in a temporary lowering of the price just before the midterm elections... which had no lasting effect except to deplete the national reserve.
I'm not saying the oil companies are blameless either. They have record profits in the midst of our collective suffering at the pumps.

If government was limiting domestic drilling, why has production remained near record levels? Crude oil and natural gas production hasn’t fallen off. US production has remained on a high plateau. The US also exports a good portion of production to take advantage of high worldwide prices. These products sell for higher prices on the world market than they do domestically. That has some effect on prices. Congress authorized the export of fuel around 2015, causing worldwide supply to have a greater effect on U.S. prices.