06 March 2012

25 years of price changes in the U.S.


From the Economix column at the New York Times, where the focus is on why higher education costs have risen so much. 

Eyeballing the graph, the "all consumer items" curve shows a doubling in about 24 years, and if you divide that number into 72, you get an approximate annual increase of 3%.  Not particularly surprising or out of line with historical norms, I suspect.

The college tuition and medical care costs lend support to the "no children/early retirement" principle.

5 comments:

  1. What is the "no children/early retirement" principle?

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  2. You mean price changes in USD, I assume. Since tied to things like yuan, gold, or GBP the prices have fallen, flattened, or risen and fallen.

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  3. Amen Ryan...they should also have 'minimum wage' in there.

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  4. Notice the gas price spikes in election years.

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  5. Needs the flat/sinking line for wages.

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