Market Watch

[jyoutz]

87 octane is $3.76 here

Today’s prices locally to me.

 

[DK35vince]

Today’s prices locally to me.

And here is ours

Bing Maps

Map multiple locations, get transit/walking/driving directions, view live traffic conditions, plan trips, view satellite, aerial and street side imagery. Do more with Bing Maps.

www.bing.com

 

[DK35vince]

It‘s funny isn’t it??? listening to the remaining few who actually believe the economy doesn’t suck worse than ever try to convince us everything’s fine.
My wife is working a second job just to make an extra 5k the last 2years to make up for increasing costs of food, fuel, insurance.

”I see better than I hear”

Our electric company increased its prices 45% last June, and our water increased 25% last June.
We just got another notice from the water company that there is going to be another huge increase beginning in January.
The economy SUCKS.

 

[jyoutz]

And here is ours

Bing Maps

Map multiple locations, get transit/walking/driving directions, view live traffic conditions, plan trips, view satellite, aerial and street side imagery. Do more with Bing Maps.

www.bing.com

Wow. A big difference. We do have several in-state refineries, so maybe that’s the difference or local fuel taxes?

 

[jyoutz]

Our electric company increased its prices 45% last June, and our water increased 25% last June.
We just got another notice from the water company that there is going to be another huge increase beginning in January.
The economy SUCKS.

It’s obviously different in different regions of the country. Business is brisk near me. Contractors are booked up for months, stores are full, and new businesses and housing starts are everywhere. It appears that the rust belt isn’t doing as well as the south and west. I had about a 50% increase in natural gas prices last winter; this winter the price per therm is back down to near previous prices.

 

[ultrarunner]

A mix bag here in SF Bay Area… very high vacancy rates as business close or those that were doing well pre pandemic never came back…

We have refineries and oil production but $5 gas easy to find.

Utility rates up a lot for 2024.

 

[Yander]

Whoever reported that is using some pretty skewed math.

If inflation was all the way up to 10%, then that would mean that his "average American family" makes substantially over $100,000 per year. But inflation is not 10%, it is more like half that, and so are average wages.

Inflation is a problem, but getting the math wrong doesn't help anyone fix it.

rScotty

It's the cumulative effect of inflation over the past 3 years that you're seeing issues with. Here we are seeing everything from 10 to 40% higher then it was in 2019. It just depends on the product.

Ohio has historically been a good microcosm of the rest of the US. Which is why they often use it for a test market for things.

Anyone who was already struggling to make ends meet in 2019 is really struggling now. And the old statistic that I remember hearing was 95% of the public is generally living paycheck to paycheck.

This economy does suck for about 95% of the United States. The few on here that don't believe it is sucking perhaps belong in the 5%.

 

[Hay Dude]

It’s obviously different in different regions of the country. Business is brisk near me. Contractors are booked up for months, stores are full, and new businesses and housing starts are everywhere. It appears that the rust belt isn’t doing as well as the south and west. I had about a 50% increase in natural gas prices last winter; this winter the price per therm is back down to near previous prices.

I don’t think anyone’s saying business isn’t “brisk”. We’re saying inflation is out of control.

What is the most depressing is the last 2 years of runaway inflation is now built into the economy. Those high prices are not going away.

 

[rScotty]

It's the cumulative effect of inflation over the past 3 years that you're seeing issues with. Here we are seeing everything from 10 to 40% higher then it was in 2019. It just depends on the product.

Ohio has historically been a good microcosm of the rest of the US. Which is why they often use it for a test market for things.

Anyone who was already struggling to make ends meet in 2019 is really struggling now. And the old statistic that I remember hearing was 95% of the public is generally living paycheck to paycheck.

This economy does suck for about 95% of the United States. The few on here that don't believe it is sucking perhaps belong in the 5%.

Thanks, I agree. That's exactly what I've been trying to say. It's an accumulation. The gov't CPI calculator site below shows what you are saying in a simple way. Maybe in a way the gov't probably never intended.

Give it a try. The math works. I think you'll see that although some years are worse than others, the problem isn't any particular year or administration. It has been going on out of control for over 25 years.

Fixing the economy it is going to take some changes in how we work. That's what I've been saying. The gov't will never fix the economy. Fixing it is up to us to change how we work, buy, keep, and repair all the things we use everyday.
rScotty

CPI Inflation Calculator

www.bls.gov

 

[D&D]

I don’t think anyone’s saying business isn’t “brisk”. We’re saying inflation is out of control.

What is the most depressing is the last 2 years of runaway inflation is now built into the economy. Those high prices are not going away.

Free always has a price tag that often pops up in the oddest places. Notice how we quit hauling freight by train and all goes by truck? Diesel fuel at $4 / gal and truck gets 6 mpg. Now instead of $1/mile you need at least 3 to make it work, least until the insurance bill comes in.