They call it inflation.
Any thoughts ?
Below, find a little summary of the economic environment at this time, Dec. 12, 2022.
Parts mentioned below seem to belong to the US. Other parts (mostly here selected for place of residence) belong to Belgium.
One could find the data to support the idea that present trends are global, but we'll set those aside until further along on this page.
Here are a few clips ...
To permit comparisons between countries of the EU, these data get "harmonized":
"Harmonized" or not, that last peak could be a bit concerning.
Macro-trends for Belgium look like this ...
from year 2000 to 2021:
The monthly report from Bloomberg's sounds like this ... (click to view) "Just the detail of things..."
A presentation of the gritty details for Belgium can be found at this link. StatBel is the government's data center.
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Maybe this is all just Vladimir Putin's fault ?
His country in 2021 had an inflation rate estimated at 6.7% up from 3.4% in 2020. Of course, Russia has had as high as 874% inflation in the last 28 years !
An overview of Russia can be found here, if you feel so inclined.
Here's how Putin spends his week (says the Washington Post). No, not very exciting.
Or maybe there's another explanation that carries one back to basic economic laws of supply and demand.
Here's one opinion about current inflation trends:
How does a "pandemic effect" fit into this reality of "Personal Expenditure in Goods" ?
Were people so cooped up for so long that now, they regain their freedom by spending on anything and everything? And no one's going to make them stop ...
Maybe unrelated.
What is the current inflation rate in countries around the world?
"In 2021, the global inflation rate was 3.4 percent. In the European Union, it was 2.6 percent. For the United States, a year-over-year price increase of 4.7 percent was determined. Significantly higher values are expected worldwide for 2022."
That's in quotes since it comes from WorldData.info. Clicking the link lets one see inflation rates country by country...
Even has an interactive map component to play with.
They feel that an inflation rate of "3.4%" for the world is in the "moderate" range.
And as some might expect, countries that are "inflation leaders" are also countries that seem to have other problems going on as well.
Country 2020 2021
Zimbabwe seems to have calmed down a bit since the previous year ...
"The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe blamed the hyperinflation on economic sanctions imposed by the United States of America, the IMF, and the European Union. These sanctions affected the government of Zimbabwe, asset freezes and visa denials targeted at 200 specific Zimbabweans closely tied to the Mugabe regime."
Always nice to have someone else to blame. Sort of like recent events with cryptocurrency.
Belgium on their list came in at 0.7% in 2020, and 2.4% in 2021.
So, ...
What's a smart consumer going to do? Stop consuming ?
Bob Dylan: "When you ain't got nothin', you' got nothin' to lose."
(Or to spend).
Thanks Bob.
Other artists have of course been attracted to inflation as a subject for a song.
Have a listen and sing along with Sugar Daddy & the Gumbo Roux.
Ernest Jackson wrote the song in 1975 when that other period of inflation was putting on the big squeeze.
"...inflation is in the nation and it's about to put us all away."
Personally, I prefer B.B. King's "Inflation Blues" for its musical qualities.