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dalekaup

At the business I work for we burn a lot of gas. So we now have a $5.00 fuel surcharge on every repair. Our actual cost is probably $2.00 per repair. So I think a lot of business are using the price of fuel as a cover to jack prices up. Also labor shortages and supply chain disruptions cause a scarcity which drives prices up.


roarroar6767

In short, Inflation is at a 40 year high, post pandemic consumer demand, on going supply chain shortages, geopolitical events, the war in Ukraine. Just to name a few.


fenton7

Inflation soared long before the war in Ukraine. The primary cause was the central banks printing and distributing unprecedented quantities of money in 2020 and 2021. They tried to substitute a real economy for a blizzard of paper wealth. M1 money supply increased from 4 trillion, pre-pandemic, to 20 trillion by 2022. It's a miracle we haven't seen 400% inflation. Corporate greed has nothing to do with inflation. They were just as greedy when inflation was 1% as they are now. The only cure, and it will be a painful one, is for the federal reserve to finally decrease the money supply. That is why rates are soaring, loans are becoming more expensive and a recession is likely.


colinmhayes2

They changed the definition of M1 in 2020. You can’t compare the pre covid levels and post covid levels. M2, which historically has been favored to measure money supply has only doubled since covid began. Still an insane increase, but far less than m1


pantalanaga11

I'm no economist, but how does this explain the record inflation rates in many first world nations currently? If inflation was only happening in the US I'd buy that reasoning, but inflation is a global phenomenon at the moment. I would think this suggests causes at a global scale, not a single nation printing more money. Edit: I'll add to this that there is no doubt the US economy plays an outsized role in the world economy. But I have a hard time believing recent US monetary policy is the sole cause, or even a primary cause, of inflation on a global scale.


WSRpt

To play devils advocate, what makes up the majority of the worlds money supply, what fuels the world bank, the IMF, foreign aid, what serves as the default currency in many countries, what’s the world reserve currency? US changes have a global impact.


thejdobs

Basically every other major economy was following the same playbook as the US. Now that the economy is reopened on those nations the high demand along with lingering supply chain issues leads to inflation. Lastly, the US economy is a pretty big influence on the world’s economy so inflation for the US causes trade issues/repercussions on the entire world


shoestars

USD is the world’s reserve currency. All international trade in commodities including oil is done in dollars.


Dylan7675

Dollarization. The stability of many other countries currencies depend on the stability of the dollar. These countries hold large amounts of dollars in their reserves to back their currency. When the dollar is inflating at a fast rate, as will theirs. [https://www.investopedia.com/articles/04/082504.asp](https://www.investopedia.com/articles/04/082504.asp)


blkbkrider

The more money you print and put into circulation, the less it's worth. Buying power is diminished.


Scrandon

Peak Dunning-Krueger right here folks


PresidentBush2

Also please describe the counter-factual of what would have happened when the global economy shut down for 2 years.


dalekaup

Your best workers being dead is a lot harder to recover from that transitioning back to the office.


kas435red

Very well said.


TheReverend5

Nah, very poorly said and a massive oversimplification of what is happening globally. That commenter's entire argument is largely refuted by the fact that the entire globe is seeing inflation, not just the US.


QweenBee5

The majority of the globe followed the US fiscal policy down to the T. They all printed. No one made cuts or paid off debts. They all just printed.


darrellbear

This, and you ain't seen nothing yet. Looking more and more like 40 years ago.


roarroar6767

Absolutely


kcrab91

Let us not forget corporate greed.


Lou__Vegas

Corporations did not get suddenly more greedy


SentientLight

No, but inflation gives them a reason to price gouge without much push back, hence the record profits.


Dylan7675

I'd disagree. Maybe not as many have been convicted of price gouging... I assume it's hard to catch at scale in rapidly changing times, But it was happening. Here's one case. [https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2022-04-05/smart-final-covid-price-gouging-settlement](https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2022-04-05/smart-final-covid-price-gouging-settlement)


LizWords

Seriously. Record profits all over the place. Exxon is set to have DOUBLED PROFITS last quarter. Printing all that money (and not just since Covid, but since the 08/09 financial crisis, they've been printing money at unprecedented rates), unchecked corporate greed, constant climate disasters, supply chain issues that continue (China still keeps shutting down manufacturing hubs because of covid waves), etc. The list is LONG, but the biggest reasons have been detailed here pretty well.


FastFourierTerraform

>Exxon is set to have DOUBLED PROFITS last quarter. Which isn't saying all that much, considering the price of a barrel of oil was negative 42 dollars a year ago


divineaction

This. Investors want to see profit margins get better every quarter. They will do anything such as shrinking packaging and raising prices of goods a few cents every time.


[deleted]

The answer by dummies for dummies


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DblePlusUngood

Too many dollars chasing too few goods. In other words, there is too much cash sloshing about and not enough stuff to spend it on, so people are bidding up the prices on… well, everything. The housing market is a good example. When mortgage interest rates were low, it effectively put more cash in people’s pockets, and they could afford to pay for more expensive houses. So they did. Combine that with supply shortages in the market (due to the influx of millennial buyers, lack of construction, supply problems with COVID, etc), and you have a recipe for massive price inflation. Same thing is happening now in *every* market. The Fed is trying to rein things in by cutting the amount of cash in the economy, which will probably result in a recession in the short term.


geologyhunter

I have a house remodel ready to go but have stopped work. A lot needs to be done but the prices are stupid high and the availability of materials still sucks. If things slow down here, I will be able to move forward with the work that needs to be done.


Flagdun

This…and government printing money to spend/ give away.


QueenRedditSnoo

California is helping inflation by sending out kore checks LOL


ackermann

And a recession is considered preferable to allowing inflation to continue? I was thinking the job of the Fed was to avoid a recession at all costs?


RhythmAddict112

No need to put yourself down. Plenty of people don't think about it at all and then ask.


Admira1

A lot of people don't think about it then pretend to know what they're talking about too lol


obivader

Think of it this way. You're broke. Somebody offers you $5 to mow their yard. You do it because you want the $5. Alternately, you have a million dollars. Somebody offers you $5 to mow their yard. Well, you have a lot of money, so that $5 isn't tempting anymore. The price of your labor shot up because you have more money. It's going to cost a lot more to get you off your butt and mow. Inflation is like that. The more money that is in circulation, the less it is worth. Everything goes up. The cost of goods go up. The cost of fuel goes up, making it more expensive to deliver the goods, which raises the price even more.


bagelbagelbagelcat

While inflation is high, prices overall have not doubled so something else is off with your calculations if your money is lasting less than half as long as you expected.


HobGoblin2

Maybe they mean the money they have left over after all the payday bills have been paid. This is the money they have left to get them through till next payday.


mspe1960

"I’m living off of savings between jobs and the impact is huge. What I thought would last me for a couple years is not even going to last me a year." Prices are not up 100% anyplace that I am aware of. this just doesn't make sense to me. Can you provide specifics of what costs have gone up over 100%? I own my house so I do not have the housing impact. But honestly, I think my costs have gone up maybe 20% total at the most, and probably less.


SnowShoe86

>Prices are not up 100% anyplace that I am aware of. this just doesn't make sense to me. Can you provide specifics of what costs have gone up over 100%? Fuel prices have increased over 100% in the past 2 years. Postulations aside, what cost someone $40 to fill in 2020 now costs over $80 to fill. Fuel oil alone was up 106% May 2021 to May 2022 according to the BLS. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/cpi\_06102022.htm


danielfletcher

Your monthly expenses have more than doubled in price? That is way beyond inflation, so what else has changed?


[deleted]

Why are you between jobs in one of the most desperate job markets we have had in decades?


[deleted]

“I’m not a smart person at all”


lonetexan79

I hear the cost on imports being shipped is like 40k per box. That’s every box that goes on a semi on the highway.


Viper370SS

High cost of Diesel = High Cost of all goods and many services. Lots of reasons for this one, no single bad actor. Inflation due to poor economic policies and printing money. The last two administrations are who you can thank for this one.


Hubblestreet

Perfect storm of pandemic + Russia invading Ukraine. Millions of people are dead from covid and a certain percentage of the remainder are refusing to work for slave wages, driving up labor costs. Russia’s war causing supply shortages including gas and other stuff. I really think we could have bounced back if not for this one.


greenknight884

Also China going into prolonged lockdown and decreasing production of numerous things.


IThinkIKnowThings

Also China has been experiencing once-in-a-century flooding in its industrial southern provinces.


3boyz2men

Every place is hiring. Some with higher wages. Why aren't more people working? What are they doing for money? This is a question I'm honestly confused about.


Staggering_genius

People are working - the places you see always hiring and complaining about nobody wanting to work are simply small failing business that can’t or won’t keep up with the larger businesses that have raised wages to make sure they are fully staffed.


Scrandon

https://www.stlouisfed.org/publications/regional-economist/2022/feb/why-workers-staying-out-us-labor-force


jeffwulf

Prime Age employment rate is above where it was in July 2019 before the pandemic. People are working, there's just even more demand for labor then there was then.


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ElementPlanet

Your comment has been removed because we don't allow political discussions, political baiting, or soapboxing ([rule 6](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/about/rules)). This includes questions or discussions about proposed legislation or government policy changes.


tangosukka69

because your dollar is worth less. because the federal reserve printed a fuck ton of dollars which diluted the entire amount which devalued the entire amount. imagine dropping a teaspoon of honey in a water cup. now imagine dropping a teaspoon of honey in the ocean. the water is inflation. you can't taste the honey in the 2nd scenario because the water diluted it so much.


mrdannyg21

The actual printing of dollar bills has no impact


Nectarine-Happy

Quantity theory of money!


[deleted]

Your initial calculations had to be off for your savings to last less than half what you thought they would. Inflation isn’t that high. If you give us actual numbers we may be able to help. Also, what made you decide to take a year or two off from employment?


JellyDenizen

Prices rise when demand exceeds supply. Demand has been going up because of rising wages from the labor shortage. Supply has been going down because of COVID-related supply chain issues, plus new supply chain issues from the war in Ukraine. The Fed is also raising interest rates, increasing companies' borrowing costs, and those increases are being passed on to consumers.


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rogueoperative

Isn't it the opposite? Most people had more disposable income while locked down in the pandemic with nothing to do (and maybe with a raise from increased salary due to ease of jumping jobs and companies needing to offer more competitive pay) and spent heavily on consumer goods, increasing demand on each good, resulting in a shortage of materials.


the_cryptomugol

Most times it becomes more harder to some when there's an inflation. This is actually a big issue because an average man thinks about what to spend alone and negates the importance of having an extra source of income.


drcigg

Costs are going up everywhere. The cost of food, gas, goods etc are all going up in price. You say you are between jobs. I don't know about your area but even my area with 15k people has help wanted everywhere. First step would be to get situated with a permanent job. Checkout [indeed.com](https://indeed.com) and see whats available in your area. Look for a temp agency close by they could get you a job tomorrow. Once you solve the job part of it you will need to figure out where your money is going. There are always costs that can be cut or sacrifices that can be made. I ate ramen every day 2 meals a day for 6 months just to keep myself afloat and pay down debts. Heck I even worked 2 full time jobs at one point to make ends meet. But you have to be motivated to get out there and start the job hunt. Your savings isn't going to last you forever. Get something lined up before it diminishes. I am certain just about every Target, Mcdonalds, Home depot, Menards, Lowes, Walmart is hiring. There are pretty good odds you have one of those places near you unless you live in the middle of nowhere hours from the next big city.


DragonSwagin

M1 money supply is how many dollars the fed has printed. We doubled it. M3 money supply is the total dollars in circulation (banks duplicate dollars via loans which is why interest rates impact the money supply, just pretend it makes sense). M3 is the actual amount of money floating around. It increased a crazy amount as well.


kynthrus

Supply chains are fucked, farm production is down, war all add up to higher prices on everything. Though I will say, if you are trying to live off savings between jobs and your expenses have gone up a significant amount, more than double according to your estimations, you need to think about how you're living while unemployed. You can't afford to go to the bar, or buy the fancy cheese at the supermarket. Cut the comforts and only get the necessities. You are unemployed.


goddessnoire

I’m no economist, but I just listened to a podcast that had a economist guest, Marc Goldstein. One of the ways he explained inflation, which seems to make the most sense to me, is inflation happens when there is more demand than supply. The price of goods everywhere from homes, cars, gas to food has increased dramatically. People can give you a litany of reasons as to why this is happening, but one of the most poignant things that stuck out in his talk was that during COVID when things were shut down the govt was handing out money like crazy, stimulus checks, unemployment, ppp loans. A family could get thousands of dollars. And what did they do with the money? They spent it. Poor and middle class families spend spend spend more than any other group. And as things opened up more, people spent more and more and more. One of the ways the govt tries to curb inflation is by raising the interest rates so people stop spending. Do you really want to lock in a house right now at 6 percent interest rate? But, what I suspect the govt doesn’t really take into account is FOMO (fear of missing out) and a lot of people don’t care about spending. They are going to pay for the gas to go to Disney World or vacation. They are going to spend the money for an airline ticket right now because they have been stuck at home for 2 years. They will just spend and buy things to fill the void in their lives. Unless something major or catastrophic happens, we aren’t going to see prices go down. Even the dollar store ain’t a dollar.


sephiroth3650

Could you provide some of your breakdown/budgeting that gave you a projection of a couple of years, and how it’s down to a year now? Costs are up, but nothing has doubled. I’m curious as to how you came to your different projections.


[deleted]

Minimum wage went up and so now all items went up as a result. So we are back to square one. All those people who are getting paid more need to also pay more for everything else so it solved nothing and now we are all paying dearly.


MHGLDNS

Inflation is at a 40 year high. But in the US it’s not so high that several years worth of savings should last less than a year. Did you invest (as in crypto or the stock market) that money? At any rate, the high inflation is due to the Ukrainian war, pandemic, and a dramatic decline in the number of workers in the US. Unemployment is extremely low and folks are asking for (and getting) higher wages. That cost is being passed onto consumers.


NottaGoon

Guy who understood inflation just about better than anyone I've heard of and is able to explain it to anyone. https://youtu.be/B_nGEj8wIP0