Sure, hope the paper is cleaner than all that stuff !

 

As much as we don't want to admit it we are a global economy. The Pandemic did a number on the world economy. Every nation had to deal it.

Our Inflation rate in the US isn't bad compared to most other countries
276% Argentina
64.9% Venezuela
31.4% Cuba
28.1% Egypt
8.3% Russia
4.75% India
4.69% Mexico
3.7% Sweden
3.3% US

 

That's an extremely misleading figure though. There is NOTHING, no good or service, that hasn't increased in cost 75 to 125% over the last 36 months. Hell, a wooden handle broom at the hardware store was $52 when I looked this spring. There is no conceivable way that the true inflation figure is 3%. Clothes, tires for your truck, fast food combos, houses, labor rates, groceries, any tools made of steel, on and on and on.....it all doubled in price over the last 36 months.

 

I agree that inflation over the last 3 years has been outrageous. BUT compared to other countries the US has not experienced inflation at the same rate as most but not all other countries. We have come out of the pandemic better off that most other countries. The pandemic caused unprecedented financial stress on most economies. I'm glad I live in the US

What we feel is the "core consumer prices" have risen at ta rate than exceeded the rate prior to the pandemic.

While average hourly earnings have increased keeping up with consumer prices recently they haven't kept up with core consumer prices during the pandemic.


"Average hourly earnings have increased by 4.1% from the previous year in May 2024, following an upwardly revised 4% rise in April and surpassing market estimates of a 3.9% advance. Average Hourly Earnings YoY in the United States averaged 3.08 percent from 2007 until 2024, reaching an all time high of 8.00 percent in April of 2020 and a record low of 0.70 percent in April of 2021"

 

Remember that the pandemic did not cause the financial stress, the government reactions and mandates for covid caused the financial stress.

 

As it is well known, that average /= median. Like all those articles on retirement savings always point out, the wealthier earners skew the average statistics. This economy has been tremendously profitable for those of us who have investments, I made more in the market in the last six months than my annual income, and many people have done far better.

But anyone with friends and relatives in a more....pay check to pay check income bracket would know this is a story of two economies. The ones working jobs that rely more on labor are seeing extreme pressure on wages due to...well reasons that don't need to be mentioned here. Watching so many middle aged people driving their seemingly nice cars to deliver meals in the suburbs to my neighbors for around minimum wage after expenses brings that point home. If you get let go from a job in your 40s and 50s you are most likely done in your field. When I visit my family in Michigan and Ohio I see how things are going.

Otherwise there wouldn't be the relentless drive for multiple hundreds of billions in Student Loan Forgiveness. If those who are ostensibly the most educated and have the most earning power in this country can't even pay back their school loans, are they happy to be in the US? Probably not.

 

Many young couple are working 2 jobs each just trying to meet ends. Those with a child, one is working 7 days a week. Child care running over $1000 a month. Almost the same as the rent. Some of the costs just keep spiraling with little hope of a let up.

1. … It points to the high costs of just the daily stuff. $75 today in three lil plastic bags. No Beef or Bacon. Just Cheese, uncooked shrimp, salads, salad dressing. I am sure the high costs of Diesel Fuel has a lot to do with that. Thankfully Diesel was cheaper than 87 gasoline today. But taxpayers will pay for the giveaway.

2. …. Look to the value of housing, some going up $15,000 a year as a predictor of the future. My 2016 XLT F150 list $43,000
replacement lists $63,000 Call it 10 years up $20,000. You know it seems easy to say 4% - 5% inflation only a year.

3. …. Does that mean you have to have approximately $1 a hour yearly raise to stay ahead of inflation slightly. Wait add $.04 and hour to the yearly raise each year. so after 10 years your’e now making approximately $11an hour more. But the Service shop will want $300. so will the AC guy.

4. …. Get an estimate to take down a term full grown Oak. $3000 + $400 stump grind. So now you need a 3rd Job.

 

Not just young people. A couple of my older cousins in their late 50s have been having trouble to find work after their employers shuttered or moved south of the border, so one retired early and living extremely frugally now on his savings and trying to make it to when he can draw social security, the other is working 2 part time jobs, one gig job driving app taxi and one stocking stores, to make rent and food. They are too proud to apply for welfare, unlike a lot of newly arrived people who often work and apply for public assistance with stolen SSNs as soon as they arrive in Little _____.

Today there was a rather tone deaf article on "immigrants help with labor shortage while inflation cools" on CNBC. Anyone with half a brain can see it indicates wages at the low end are not growing enough due to an influx of 5-9 million people in the past 3.5 years.

I personally am benefiting from this economy but I am also not blind to see the flip side of the coin.

 

The 3.3% for the US is a figment of your imagination.

 

Got any reputable links for other figures?

 

I know it seems like it's more than what has been reported but here are some facts,
https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/

Let's look at some real numbers

• In May, the average price for a gallon of gasoline was $3.885, down 0.6% from April's price of $3.907.
• Food prices increased 2.1% in the 12 months ended May, after posting an annual increase of 2.2% in April.
• Health care prices increased by 3.1% in the 12 months ending May 2024, after a previous increase of 2.6%
• Prices for college tuition and fees rose by 1.3% in the 12 months ended May, and the rise was 1.2% previously.
• Prices for airline tickets fell by 5.9% over the year ending in May, following a 5.8% drop previously.

https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/
In 3 years inflation has been a cumulative 15.9%.
In 4 years inflation has been a cumulative 21.4%

Gas prices have always been all over the place.
And the shocker, In July 2008 the average price for a gallon of gas was $4.06. In 2024 inflation adjusted prices that would be $31.72 per gallon.

 

Thanks for the break down sir. The 15.9% and 21.4% are the figures that people are still reeling from. Some things have gone up and down and with that stated, you don't have to fly unless you're going to Europe, bulk food items at the grocery are off the chain as well as housing, especially rent. Insurance policies are up, tires, lumber and building materials, etc. If you own a home, now is the time to go see your agent and make sure your policy is adjusted for the price of a full replacement in the horrid event that one experiences a total loss.

My daughter just transferred from Ft Stewart, GA where she owned a home in Richmond Hill which is a small area just outside Savannah. She bought her house in 2020 for $187xxx at 3.5%. She sold in March for $295,000! No way that house is worth that though it's a great smaller home.

She bought a brand new duplex in Moline, Illinois as she got orders to the Army post in Rock Island. This area is just along the Mississippi River and this tiny 1200sqft home sold for $199,900 at 6.65% locked in back in March. I certainly hope things cool off a bit.

 

I’m gonna try to bring this one back on-topic. I watched the video yesterday and thought he had some good thoughts, but some of it is wrong.

Battery Life - He’s right about how well batteries hold up, but it’s not about the BMS. The power electronics that manage the cells are individually serviced in every EV I’ve ever heard of. Tesla locates them in the “penthouse” on top of the battery pack, and Ford locates them in front of the cells. He only focused on Tesla and Rivian and never mentioned how Ford, Hyundai, Kia, GM, and others are making serviceable batteries that only require the replacement of a bad module. Battery failures are relatively rare, but more common on the Lightning than any vehicle I’ve seen before. They seem less common on later builds, so hopefully Ford/SK got their act together on cell reliability.

Maintenance - One of my favorite points he raised was how easy they are to maintain. Tires and wiper blades are the biggest items, but dealership service departments still do their thing. I keep getting emails from my dealer to schedule my wallet cleaning, but I tend to ignore them. My mom gets the same from her Kia dealer, so that’s not a Ford thing.

Repairability​​​​​​​ - He’s just wrong here. He laments long repair times and high bills for niche EV automakers that don’t design their cars like everyone else. My Lightning uses many of the same body parts, paint, and repair techniques as the ICE trucks do. The same can be said for EVs from other conventional automakers. Tesla has come a long way improving their parts distribution, but I can’t speak for Rivian or Lucid. You can’t pick out two niche automakers and complain their issues are a problem with all others.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Charging - ​​​​​​​​​​​​​he had a bad experience with a rental car and condemns them all. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Yah, CCS charging was bad for a long time, but it’s gotten measurably better in recent months. Ford and Rivian can already use most Superchargers, and others will be able to in the coming months. ​​​​​​​This is already a nonissue for many of us.

I’m not getting into his political or financial discussion, but I appreciate how he included chapter marks so I could skip through to the relevant parts. I skipped his discussion of privacy, kill switches, and other crazy conspiracy stuff that doesn’t really matter to the EV discussion or how it applies to the Lightning.
​​​​​​​

 

Sure do... <Common Sense>

 

Tim ( @tseekins ), I seem to recall you saying your daughter was in logistics, which would make sense about her new assignment. My father was stationed there as an active duty USAF E-8 and my mother worked there as a civil service (USAF veteran) for more than 20 years. She was in logistics as well and my father was a USAF liaison between the Army and Air Force concerning munitions and other assets.

I went to high school in a small town on the IA side and your daughter is smart to have bought on the IL side. As I understand it, the bridge to the island on the IA side has been closed for a long time and will be closed for a long time. My parents are both buried in the National Cemetery there on Rock Island Arsenal which is on the left side after entering the northern gate on the IL side. We get up there to visit them every couple of years or so when we are headed out west to visit family in ID/OR and AZ.

That will be a great assignment or miserable for her based on her idea of what a good assignment is. It is a ghost town of a post now compared to what it was a couple of decades ago, but sometimes a slower pace is nice to enjoy when the opportunity presents itself. If she likes BBQ, there was a place called "Jim's RIbs" in East Moline. I would recommend it to friends and family, if it is still around that is.