I guess I still don't buy this being very serious inflation. Food finally costing as much as it did in 2011 just doesn't sound very inflation-y, in context.<p>The price index from 2009 to 2011 was a similarly substantial jump (actually a slightly larger one) than 2019 to 2021, and didn't even require global supply chain and labor madness. But many narratives seem to be "this is world changing inflation", and not "we're seeing food increases that are just as bad as they were in 2009-2011" or something a little less hyperbolic.<p>For that matter, it seems like prices are doing considerably <i>better</i> than that increase, given extenuating factors that will eventually be normalized. Yet I don't recall nearly as much doomsaying back then, with the exception of some geopolitical concerns that it may have kickstarted (the Arab Spring).<p>(And dairy, cereals, and sugar are still at <i>lower</i> prices than they were in 2011)<p>Generally I find it very funny that people are using the exact same graphs (though often with different starting points) to show that "inflation is definitely happening" (eg, lots of bitcoiners) and "here is proof that prices have been flat for a decade, and are only finally starting to surpass the prices of 10 years ago" (eg, taleb).
Inflation aside, I'm more concerned with civil unrest. This correlates <i>very closely</i> with food prices.<p>Last time was the Arab spring (Jan 2011 basically)
I see a lot of people commenting about inflation and printing money but if you actually read the FAO's analysis, they say a lot of this is due to supply reduction. Maybe the cause is actually more related to climate than monetary policy?
Like everything, this effectively becomes a new tax on the middle class. I did not consent to this, did you?
As time goes by more people will start noticing their total lack of power when it comes to politics, and will start to look for alternate avenues to exert their influence on their living conditions.
The actual high food prices are still to come. The spike in the price of natural gas in Europe and Asia caused shutdowns in a few types industry, one of which is fertilizer production [1]. It will take some time for the effect of that to appear in food prices.<p>Some countries are already putting restrictions on fertilizer exports[2].<p>[1] <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/sep/16/fears-for-uk-recovery-as-record-energy-prices-shut-fertiliser-plants" rel="nofollow">https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/sep/16/fears-for-u...</a><p>[2] <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/nitrogen-fertilizer-shortage-threatens-cut-global-crop-yields-cf-industries-2021-11-04/" rel="nofollow">https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/nitrogen-fertilizer-...</a>
I'm very price conscious when it comes to grocery shopping and I'm starting to just buy less of everything. Cookies, meat, everything is either getting shrunk, or the price is making me walk away. I'm going to have to start taking a real hard look at my spending habits when it comes to food now more than ever. Steak was once a week or two is now lucky to be once a month if that.
There's no inflation when you account for how cheap money is. Banks can borrow for nothing, and you have to pay double for your food, so it all evens out. No inflation. You just have to think like an economist and it all makes sense. Brrrrr!
and yet we are to believe the official propaganda numbers of "5% inflation".<p>If even remotely true this will cause way more death than 10 COVIDs combined.