This is the end game for corporations in a capitalist economy. You start with a bunch of little companies. They eventually winnow themselves out until there's only a few companies. Those companies then form a monopoly or a cartel and then they dictate prices to the consumers. All the while they're decreasing their costs and providing the least amount of product for the highest price.
It's a race to the bottom. Unfortunately this system is all we've got.
No, they're not the same thing. "Inflation" refers to a tendency for all prices in an economy to rise, including the price of labor. In periods of high inflation you should be noticing your wages going up quickly along with the price of everything else. What we're seeing is that most things are staying about the same, including wages, but groceries in particular are going up faster than everything else. (Even if you set aside Fox News' bullshit factor, $50 is higher than standard inflation, which would make it about $46.)
It's so depressing when you remember that some of the stupidest voters in the country (of which there are a LOT) watch fox news as their only source of news. Has there ever been a larger propaganda outlet throughout history? I guess China and Russia probably have government controlled TV stations that rival it in terms of audience numbers.
To be considered: minimum wage in the US in 1990 was $3.80/h, and it's $7.25/h in 2023, so 1.91 times higher. If $1 of 1990 equals $2.42 of 2023 (because of inflation), minimum wage should be $9.20/h to have the same purchase power as 1990.
Not adjusting for inflation and differences in packaging sizes results in a higher total of $72.63.
So not adjusting the $1 coupon for inflation and not adjusting for things like the smallest TP package today being 6 rolls and the one in the movie being 4 rolls gets awfully close to (actually over) the number from the image.
Given you can't purchase partial container sizes at stores and coupons still tend to come in full dollar amount values including frequently $1 and don't have terms that adjust for inflation, I don't think one methodology here is inherently more correct than the other.
This is something I've been saying for years. People use Inflation Adjustments that show that, say $1 million in 1970 is $10 million today But the reality is that $1 million in 1960 was a vast fortune that would purchase a Manhattan townhouse, a few super cars, and a dozen small businesses. $10 million today will buy you a decent life, but not staggering wealth.
Not adjusting for inflation and differences in packaging sizes results in a higher total of $72.63.
So not adjusting the $1 coupon for inflation and not adjusting for things like the smallest TP package today being 6 rolls and the one in the movie being 4 rolls gets awfully close to (actually over) the number from the image.
Given you can't purchase partial container sizes at stores and coupons still tend to come in full dollar amount values including frequently $1 and don't have terms that adjust for inflation, I don't think one methodology here is inherently more correct than the other.
1990? Oh I remember it. In Brazil they wouldn't be listing the year though, but the month - hyperinflation was raging on, back then. (I remember the 100 cruzeiro coins. They were cute.)
Anyway. The number doesn't match any pair of prices:
from '90 to '22 (32y): 224%
from '22 to '23 (1y): 162%
from '90 to '23 (33y): 364%
And one detail that they didn't mention is that +100%~200% between the 90s and the 20s is not a big deal, but +60% in a single year is a big fucking deal. That smells artificial as fuck, reinforcing what people have been saying here about not being inflation but price gouging.
Sad thing is that a 364% increase from 1990 to 2023 didn't even feel that big to me. In my country the price probably increased between 1000% and 1500% in this period (considering our local currency). However in USD the same items are probably still cheaper here than they are in America.
So apparently the shop was: 2L milk, 2L orange juice, 2 ready meals, loaf of bread, dryer sheets, toilet paper, washing liquid, cling film, and some toy soldiers
I'm not sure what that would add up to in Brazil (going by your instance), but I'd guess that shop would cost me around £50 in today's money, which is roughly in line with the amount in the OP (and would have probably been close to half that a couple of years ago)
Looks like the amount in the OP concerts to about 350 Real, but I'm not sure what sort of spending power that has
248 %? Where is that number coming from?
1990 to 2022 is 224 % or 124 % increase.
1990 to 2023 is 364 % or 264 % increase.
Additionally, the 2023 spike is not because of inflation. Inflation was not 63 % in one year.