I saw this illustration of 21st Century inflation. I think back to my youth – I was 8 years old before we got a black and white television, and in 2025 televisions show the largest price drop – down 98%. The largest price increases – hospital services and college tuition and fees – reflect government involvement in health insurance and Pell grants.
Computers, cell phones and televisions – mature technology, mostly made off-shore and imported in. Clothing – again, a mature technology, off-shored and imported. Perry’s graph does a nice job of showing where some dropping costs keep inflation from looking so bad.
I live on a place my grandfather bought back in 1917. At the time, among other things, he grew wheat in the middle of North Dakota. Woodrow Wilson had set the price of wheat at $2.26 per bushel (at the time gold was almost $20 per ounce. Today I see wheat futures at $5.40 per bushel and gold at $5145.92 per ounce. The inflation chart tells me that inflation has been 3,152 percent since 1913 – since wheat hasn’t quite made 250%, it’s a product that has done more than its share of keeping the dollar viable – but remember, Woody didn’t set the price of wheat at $2.26 to help the American farmer.
In 1940, gas averaged 18 cents per gallon (US). In 1971 the average was up to 36 cents. You’ll be filling up soon -see how the price of gasoline hasn’t kept up with the cost of housing.
It’s easy to look at the prices of gold and silver and see how the dollar has less purchasing power. I think the only reason it stays as the world’s top currency is that the leaders of other countries have done a poorer job than our leaders. And that is a hell of a statement to close this article.
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