Deflating the no inflation theorists

I like Michael W. Perry on KSSK, despite his obvious muscular problem which causes him to lean to the right more frequently these days.

Michael is under the mistaken impression that “there is no inflation,” a view espoused often on KSSK’s morning Perry on the left and Price on the right Program. For the most part, both are on the right.

Inflation, in the economic sense, is defined as a general increase in prices and corresponding fall in the purchasing value of money. Despite Perry on the Left’s insistence that “there is no inflation,” I’m here to tell you that Michael is just plain wrong.

Not only is inflation here, now, alive and well, and growing, but that same insidiously reproductive inflation has been around awhile. The issue is how inflation is defined. For example, how can the government reduce the number of people in poverty? By changing the definition of what constitutes “poverty.” Change what it takes to be classified as poor, and a reduction in poverty is easy.

So it is with inflation. The problem is when reality clashes with whatever definition government economists foist on the public. The reality is this– things cost more today than yesterday. Things cost more yesterday than they did the day before.

The purchasing power of my dollar is less today than it was last year, or a few years ago, ergo, inflation.

Rent is higher, gasoline is higher, food is higher, clothing is higher, and, conversely, my income has not kept up with my outgo, ergo, inflation.

Perhaps those who make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year telling the public that there is no inflation, don’t really see the effects of inflation. A similar issue, though on a smaller scale, may exist with government economists who make more money than you or me, and receive cost of living allowances each year. They’re somewhat immune to the real, day-to-day cumulative effects of inflation.

Inflation is very real for too many people. If you still have month left over at the end of your money, inflation might be one of the reasons. Or, it could be that inflation isn’t the cause of your monetary discomfort. You’re just not making as much money as those who tell us there is no inflation.