Baazill's Blog

I understand your intentions but I respectively disagree.

Prices are rising. The true definition of increase is "to become greater in size or amount, to grow" - therefore the value of the dollar has no relevance to the meaning of price increase. Does it cause prices to increase/decrease - sure.

Increases in product prices are because the cost of making (labor, R&D) and delivering (fuel) these products. Have you noticed that a home service call for an appliance (HVAC) went from $45 to $80 and more in 24 months?

The increase in car prices is due to the labor costs and benefits associated with each automobile. Greed has also been a huge factor in higher prices.

I am a firm believer that this economy is so bad that we can have a 30 year fixed rate mortgage at 5% nad buyers will still, "beware". This year (2008) will be the worst you've seen in 30 plus so sit back, expect the worse, and stay home!

I hear ya CB. Just doesn't pay anymore to actually hold a job and try and do things the right way, no matter how hard it gets.

Bubba - agree partially with you, but I think there's more.

My thought is that the rates were kept artificially low to stimulate housing construction (read jobs) since we as a country had worked long and hard at reducing the amount of manufacturing in this country through allowing OSHA and EPA to run through manufacturing businesses unchecked.

When homebuilding started to go south due to too many properties available, the low interest rates and regulation of lending practices was put in place to give loans to people who were not otherwise creditworthy.

We are now reaping the results of this over-regulation.

Soooo prices are rising is what I am gathering from the comments? Labor has a huge impact on pricing. With the minimum wage increased to $7.50 (almost $2 increase in 24 months) our every day items go up and up.

Those combo meals (I know - not healthy but quick) at McDonalds have gone up from $1.99 to nearly $3.29 for the same sandwich combo in 3 years.

I say we pay Congress (any lawmakers) the average household salary and give them the bare minimal healthcare (as they have done now) and see what they say.

PSylvester20: Agree. It's nice to know we can borrow money on a home at 5.75% for a 30 yr FRM but with the unstable economy and fear of job loss - no one is buying!

Even the long term CD's are low. Who can we blame?

Prices are not rising? Wow, that's another good one.

It proves that some people don't need drugs to completely live in a void removed from any sense of reality.

I have to admit, not ALL prices are going up equally. That means, of course, that some people are just getting screwed - the workers and small business people who buy all the things going up but can't charge a higher price because of market rates are really losing right now.

Gasoline, home insurance, food, milk, lettuce (?), heck just about anything made, grown, or based in America is going up. The only thing remaining cheap are the cheap junk being made in China, most electronics (TVs, computers, etc.), plastic toys, etc. And we all know why those things aren't going up - yet.

I do agree our dollar sinking isn't helping our trade right now, but it's mostly the American pig taking more and more to pad their already fat overweight pocketbooks that's causing our problem. And the Republicans stand there and let them while diverting the public's attention with gun and religious issues. Of course, that works for about 40% of the population.