Uplifting News

Inflation never went negative, so prices haven’t gone down. Positive inflation ensures prices nearly always steadily rise. The article is saying the rate of inflation is the lowest it’s been for a while which means prices are rising at the slowest pace for a while.

Purchasing power is restored when inflation slows down and pay increases to compensate for the increased goods prices.

That would be deflation, which is almost always Very Bad™

Absolutely, prices have come down considerably in the last year. At my local grocery store, the cheapest eggs were about $4.50 for a dozen, now they are $1.99. The price of lumber has also fallen 40%-50% since its high in 2021. Finally, gas prices are about $1 less per gallon compared to a year ago.

Anecdotally, as a parent who grocery shops for my family, yes. A few key items that my family goes through have finally dropped to more regular prices. Not pre-pandemic sale prices, but much lower than they have been. Not everything, and some products seem to have changed or disappeared permanently, but I have noticed a difference in our grocery bill.

No, we're just being fucked slightly less than before.

No and that is unfortunately by design. The federal reserve targets 2% inflation as "the ideal." Prices dropping across the board ie negative inflation is called deflation. Deflation can lead to a deflationary spiral where prices drop reducing busines income resulting in layoffs which causes people to spend less causing a drop in income for businesses... The federal reserve attempts to control the money supply (and inflation along with it) through setting interest rates as the lender of last resort for banks. These rates indirectly control how much money is dumped into the banking system and eventually broader economy. The lower the rates the more money enters the system, the higher the rates the less money enters the system. (simplification but good enough for ELI5) However, because the federal reserve can only reduce rates to 0% there is a limit on how much money can be injected into the economy through cheaper lending (government spending is a potential work around for this limitation) so it is seen as being much more of a hazard than runaway inflation as in the latter case, rates can be raised to an arbitrary degree. ie rates are raised until inflation drops.

While reduced inflation is good on its own, there are several indicators that the economy is likely to enter a recession within ~1 year or so. eg. short to medium term givernment bond rates, the general trend of recessions following substantial monetary tightening (higher rates) by the federal reserve etc.

That's been the plan since the 80s.

There's a reason union membership is increasing, and strikes are happening more and more often. That will keep happening until purchasing power is balanced out, or the populace is suppressed.

The best way to get a raise is to change jobs.

Screw them and go (if you can). They don't care. Never have

Sure you can!

...Just not one that pays enough for you to afford basic necessities like food and shelter.

Libs: Owned. (/s)

The average person needs to apply to, on average, the average number applicants to the jobs they are applying for.

If you are applying to jobs that have 10 people on average apply, you need to apply to 10 jobs like that. The internet has made it so the number of average applicants are in the hundreds.

Got more info?

I was really hoping for inflated cats.

It’ll likely stay in the hole unless/until the fed lowers rates again.