[dragonwriter]

> Yes - we do and are seeing rapid inflation.

No, we aren’t.

> We see rapid asset inflation across the board.

“Inflation”, without modifiers, refers to consumer price inflation (final goods and services). Asset inflation is a different thing, as is monetary inflation. Monetary inflation can contribute to both asset inflation and consumer price inflation, but those two outcomes are somewhat in tension; asset inflation isn’t pent up potential for consumer price inflation, but an explanation for why consumer price inflation isn’t happening and isn’t likely to happen without change in the fundamental economic processes.

Specifically, monetary inflation driving asset inflation but not consumer price inflation is a sign that the money is going to people is marginal use of additional access to money is to invest rather than spend, absent changing the distribution, the outcomes aren’t going to change.

[totalZero]

Consumer price inflation measurement lags because the basket composition changes. True inflation is likely far higher than CPI inflation because of this market basket recomposition problem. BLS doesn't update the market basket instantaneously; it lags by about two or three years. Thus, when discontinuous shifts in consumer behavior aggressively drive spending out of certain areas (eg airfare, tuition, elective surgery, rent) and into other areas (eg autos, fuel, new construction, computers), those shifts are underrepresented because deflation of the former is weighted more heavily than inflation of the latter.

Any time there is price dispersion within the goods and services of the market basket, it's likely that the basket composition itself is changing too. CPI has no way of responding quickly to this change.

[RhodoGSA]

Well, yes - You're right. Consumer price inflation does lag behind raw material prices by a couple years since most companies have pricing agreements in place. Just because this lag isn't happening yet, doesn't meant it's not happening and will continue to happen in the future.

[rllearneratwork]

have you seen the prices of housing, healthcare, childcare, education and retirement for over the last 5 years?

[dragonwriter]

> have you seen the prices of housing, healthcare, childcare, education and retirement for over the last 5 years?

“retirement” isn’t a good or service.

Childcare has inflated slightly faster than general inflation over the last 5 yeara (2.22%/yr vs. 1.86%/yr).

Healthcare has inflated a bit faster (medical care @ 2.46%/yr, hospital and related services @ 3.89%); health insurance, has been notably higher (in large parts due to the federal government failure to follow the law on the ACA) @ 5.98%/yr.

Education has inflated much more rapidly than general inflation, @ 29.15%/yr.

So, what? That’s how aggregates work. Obviously, we could just as easily find a list of consumer goods and services where inflation is lower than general inflation. That wouldn’t prove that inflation is even lower than reported, and neither does higher inflation in some sectors prove that inflation is higher than reported.