1. For what it's worth, I reject the 2% Fed inflation target. Who gave them that leeway to define "stable monetary" policy. I would think 0% would qualify as stable.
2. The "hedonic adjustments" the BLS (or whoever) uses to determine the value of a basket of goods is outrageous. Who sez tech improvements "belong to the Fed?" I remember about 15 years ago when gasoline prices were skyrocketing at the pump, the smart BLS people determined that more people were swiping credit cards at the pump and saving 10 minutes by avoiding paying inside, and, at a standard average manufacturing wage of $44 per hour, were saving $7.50 in imputed labor per average fill-up, so instead of gasoline prices going up 40 or 50% on a per gallon price basis, the price to the consumer was actually going down because of the total cost of a fillup, taking convenience into account. Multiply these hedonic adjustments across everything, plus the fact that rising Asset Prices are not taken into account (real estate, automobiles, etc.), while falling prices are a disaster to be avoided at all costs, and you have an asymmetric disaster.
The Fed,Congress and the Administration are all messengers.They are representatives of the people.If Americans wanted a sane government,they would vote for it.Instead,they vote from ignorance,envy and greed. So,with no limits on government growth and power,this is what we get.I estimate,government takes 2-3 Dollars out of the economy,to spend 1 Dollar.Big government is like a massive wealth destruction machine.That's why the situation is hopeless.All these fools,thinking that if their guy was elected,things would get better.Sorry,not going to happen,with low quality voting and unlimited government.I expect,when the Titanic finally sinks,due to growth of government,the fools will ask government to fix it.
We never had a real productivity improvement revolution in America. What we had was Globalization led by lower cost producers and massive outsourcing to capture that lower cost and pass it on in the form of lower prices(while also keeping an outsized share in profits). Having run a small US manufacturing company during the tail end of this transformation, I had a front row seat to how it actually worked. There were many US producers that did not want to go overseas, or even over the southern border. They actually fought to keep sourcing inside the US. It was a losing battle. The stakes were keeping the doors open, simply remaining in business. Most gave up the fight in the early going and began purchasing components from Mexico and China and other low cost centers of manufacturing like Vietnam or Taiwan or Morocco. After trying to defend their end products with lower component costs as best they could for as long as they could, it came time to defend the finished product. The relentless pricing pressure and competition of “Mr. Market” didn’t stop just because 90% of the component parts were now sourced overseas. The End Item must succumb, and in industry after industry, from automobiles to electronics to aerospace(my industry) succumb it did. That is the Big Story of the Productivity Revolution in America. It was more chimerical than real, a few industries excepted. Now it is all unwinding, and guess what is happening to prices?
@ 75 y.o. I grew up where daddy went to work and mommy stayed home and it worked ! How has the economy so debased that now it takes 2 people working full time to reach the same status ? Is this all inflation !?!?!?
Went to Wegmans yesterday to buy some of their beautiful sea scallops, which were $16 a pound last year, and paid $40 yesterday. Absolutely delicious, but in my mind, not worth it. All of their meats and seafood have doubled and tripled in this past year. Last night we were watching the food network, and a few chefs had to make a dish with grasshoppers, a very fine delicacy in China…and considering they now control our world, bugs will be the only “food” we will be allowed or afforded in the coming future. It’s so kind of the Chinese to share their affordable delicacy’s with us. Golden Retriever anyone 🤔
Thank you Joel. I would add to the causes of inflation, restrictions and regulations that add to the producers' costs. Heavy control of healthcare has prices skyrocketing. Restrictions on employers. And they can get sued or fined at any time by the federal or state agencies. All those add to costs. And make it more difficult for them to hire. And what about minimum wages? Limits the supply of labor while the demand stays the same. Price for labor goes up.
Hi Joel. Pardon the criticism but I humbly think you could make these essays shorter. I understand you want to be crystal clear. I’ve been reading only your first sentence in each paragraph.... seems like the point can be sharpened by alot. Sorry. Don’t mean to be rude.
"We have no idea who’s in the match, what the pitch conditions are like, or which team is favored to score the most runs, but we wish everyone a fair contest all the same. " Joel in Sunday Session
I can't be the only one that noticed how Joel brilliantly conflated five different sports into one sentence to spoof the actual sport that played yesterday.
As it turned out "the pitch conditions" were terrible because they played on a natural turf surface that goes dormant in the winter (even in Arizona) so every blade of grass had to be painted (or the green areas would have been an ugly brown). It looked like they were playing on an old "slip and slide". It's going to be similar next year because they're playing the Superbowl here in Las Vegas where they have exactly the same "roll out" natural turf field surface.
The Fed goes part and parcel with fiat money. When the Fed was created the Republic was lost, the Founders knew this to be so. Aaron Burr is portrayed as a villain when in fact he was a patriot fighting the establishment of a central bank. It was Hamilton who was the villain. Proof of fact the gold in a man's pocket as stolen and replaced with a worthless promise of paper value. If not for the Fed war would not be an industry, millions of lives would have been saved, and elites would not exist.
Wonderful historical input ! Thanks
1. For what it's worth, I reject the 2% Fed inflation target. Who gave them that leeway to define "stable monetary" policy. I would think 0% would qualify as stable.
2. The "hedonic adjustments" the BLS (or whoever) uses to determine the value of a basket of goods is outrageous. Who sez tech improvements "belong to the Fed?" I remember about 15 years ago when gasoline prices were skyrocketing at the pump, the smart BLS people determined that more people were swiping credit cards at the pump and saving 10 minutes by avoiding paying inside, and, at a standard average manufacturing wage of $44 per hour, were saving $7.50 in imputed labor per average fill-up, so instead of gasoline prices going up 40 or 50% on a per gallon price basis, the price to the consumer was actually going down because of the total cost of a fillup, taking convenience into account. Multiply these hedonic adjustments across everything, plus the fact that rising Asset Prices are not taken into account (real estate, automobiles, etc.), while falling prices are a disaster to be avoided at all costs, and you have an asymmetric disaster.
The Fed,Congress and the Administration are all messengers.They are representatives of the people.If Americans wanted a sane government,they would vote for it.Instead,they vote from ignorance,envy and greed. So,with no limits on government growth and power,this is what we get.I estimate,government takes 2-3 Dollars out of the economy,to spend 1 Dollar.Big government is like a massive wealth destruction machine.That's why the situation is hopeless.All these fools,thinking that if their guy was elected,things would get better.Sorry,not going to happen,with low quality voting and unlimited government.I expect,when the Titanic finally sinks,due to growth of government,the fools will ask government to fix it.
Thanks, Joel. “We must create inflation!”, cried the Fed, for years. It couldn’t have been explained more simply than that.
We never had a real productivity improvement revolution in America. What we had was Globalization led by lower cost producers and massive outsourcing to capture that lower cost and pass it on in the form of lower prices(while also keeping an outsized share in profits). Having run a small US manufacturing company during the tail end of this transformation, I had a front row seat to how it actually worked. There were many US producers that did not want to go overseas, or even over the southern border. They actually fought to keep sourcing inside the US. It was a losing battle. The stakes were keeping the doors open, simply remaining in business. Most gave up the fight in the early going and began purchasing components from Mexico and China and other low cost centers of manufacturing like Vietnam or Taiwan or Morocco. After trying to defend their end products with lower component costs as best they could for as long as they could, it came time to defend the finished product. The relentless pricing pressure and competition of “Mr. Market” didn’t stop just because 90% of the component parts were now sourced overseas. The End Item must succumb, and in industry after industry, from automobiles to electronics to aerospace(my industry) succumb it did. That is the Big Story of the Productivity Revolution in America. It was more chimerical than real, a few industries excepted. Now it is all unwinding, and guess what is happening to prices?
@ 75 y.o. I grew up where daddy went to work and mommy stayed home and it worked ! How has the economy so debased that now it takes 2 people working full time to reach the same status ? Is this all inflation !?!?!?
Went to Wegmans yesterday to buy some of their beautiful sea scallops, which were $16 a pound last year, and paid $40 yesterday. Absolutely delicious, but in my mind, not worth it. All of their meats and seafood have doubled and tripled in this past year. Last night we were watching the food network, and a few chefs had to make a dish with grasshoppers, a very fine delicacy in China…and considering they now control our world, bugs will be the only “food” we will be allowed or afforded in the coming future. It’s so kind of the Chinese to share their affordable delicacy’s with us. Golden Retriever anyone 🤔
Thank you Joel. I would add to the causes of inflation, restrictions and regulations that add to the producers' costs. Heavy control of healthcare has prices skyrocketing. Restrictions on employers. And they can get sued or fined at any time by the federal or state agencies. All those add to costs. And make it more difficult for them to hire. And what about minimum wages? Limits the supply of labor while the demand stays the same. Price for labor goes up.
I live in Clown World, how about you?
Hi Joel. Pardon the criticism but I humbly think you could make these essays shorter. I understand you want to be crystal clear. I’ve been reading only your first sentence in each paragraph.... seems like the point can be sharpened by alot. Sorry. Don’t mean to be rude.
It was so beautiful seeing ball players crying at our national anthem instead of kneeling! May still be hope for our wonderful country 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
"We have no idea who’s in the match, what the pitch conditions are like, or which team is favored to score the most runs, but we wish everyone a fair contest all the same. " Joel in Sunday Session
I can't be the only one that noticed how Joel brilliantly conflated five different sports into one sentence to spoof the actual sport that played yesterday.
As it turned out "the pitch conditions" were terrible because they played on a natural turf surface that goes dormant in the winter (even in Arizona) so every blade of grass had to be painted (or the green areas would have been an ugly brown). It looked like they were playing on an old "slip and slide". It's going to be similar next year because they're playing the Superbowl here in Las Vegas where they have exactly the same "roll out" natural turf field surface.
The Fed goes part and parcel with fiat money. When the Fed was created the Republic was lost, the Founders knew this to be so. Aaron Burr is portrayed as a villain when in fact he was a patriot fighting the establishment of a central bank. It was Hamilton who was the villain. Proof of fact the gold in a man's pocket as stolen and replaced with a worthless promise of paper value. If not for the Fed war would not be an industry, millions of lives would have been saved, and elites would not exist.