Tag: Inflation
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Why the Inflation Reduction Act is a big deal
Yeah, prices have gone way up. I do notice inflation, but it’s mostly at the grocery store. I’m still getting my mind around paying $8.99 for a pound of premium ground beef. Perhaps it’s hitting us the most in our exploding cat food costs. Because one cat has lost most of her teeth, she needs…
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No good options for controlling inflation
Americans are pissed about inflation and who can blame them? It’s good news for Republicans, in a way, because voters tend to vent their economic anxieties at the polls. So no one will be surprised if they retake Congress in November, especially after all their recent gerrymandering and voter suppression efforts. To control inflation though…
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Digital currencies won’t save you from inflation
As Rod Serling might have put it: submitted for your consideration: the value of BitCoin and Ethereum (actually Ether), two prominent digital currencies, over time since 2016, compared to the U.S. dollar: The dollar of course hasn’t increased in value since 2016: inflation has eroded its value. Since 2016 though both BitCoin and Ether have…
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The causes of inflation are probably not what you think they are
Sick of 7.5% inflation? Most of us are. Who likes paying higher grocery and gasoline prices? Who likes to see their rents go up twenty percent or more? Well, some like it, but they tend to be corporations. One of the major causes of inflation is due to less competition in the marketplace. Before the…
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Dealing with and maybe profiting from inflation
Last July, I wrote about inflation as it seemed to be back. Six months later we can definitely say that it’s back, with prices up about seven percent compared to a year ago. Certain goods and services are a lot more expensive, generally the stuff you need every day like food, gasoline and shelter. What’s…
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Is inflation really a problem?
Prices are up, in some cases by a lot. These include food, gas, rent, rental cars, and airline tickets, to name a few. Why is this? Is it going to be a lasting thing? What does it all mean? I ask the latter question because most Americans have never had to deal with significant inflation.…
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Trade deficits don’t matter but tariffs sure do
A couple of posts ago I pointed out that trade deficits don’t really matter. This is because trade deficits merely report the difference of the value of goods exchanged between countries. A trade deficit with China demonstrates that in general we get better bargains trading with companies in China than from buying them internally or…
Occam's Razor 