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"15 Things That Became Priceless
For The Average American Families"
by Epic Economist
"Once upon a time the average U.S. household could afford more than the bare minimum. But as the inflation monster was unleashed, pushing the value of our dollars downhill, the sole goal of most of our society became surviving month by month as the things that made life a little more livable became way too expensive for us to have. It is actually insane to think how much the cost of living went up in just a few years - we went from "on the path to prosperity" to "on the verge of a cliff" alarmingly fast. Today, most people have little to no money left to spend after they pay all their bills. And no matter how much we work, it seems that it's never enough to achieve a comfortable living.
This year, if you were planning to take a road trip, you may have to reevaluate your plans because the average cost to rent a car in 2023 is 73.5% higher than a year ago. This massive surge was largely caused by the sudden drop in demand during the pandemic when no one was traveling. Rental car companies reported declining revenues and many of them were forced to sell off large chunks of their fleets to stay afloat. The stunning increase in car prices that followed over the next two years, made it difficult for them to purchase new vehicles to rebuild their inventories. So demand for rental cars continues to outstrip the available supply, making them a less viable alternative for those who are looking to save some money.
Meanwhile, computers, cameras, smartphones, TVs, video doorbells, and even electric toothbrushes need semiconductor chips to function. But the shortage of microchips is still plaguing the industry and driving the price of all products that depend on these tiny devices to soar, keeping these goods out of the reach of many Americans. Over the past two years, the electronics category has seen overall prices rise by 30%, with some large TVs more than doubling in price since 2021. Experts predict that the chip shortage will last for another year or two, especially because severe storms caused a slowdown in production in Taiwan, which produces 65% of the semiconductors we use. In other words, expensive prices for electronics are going to stay with us for quite some time.
At the end of the day, we're spending more and consuming way less - that's the reality of a population that is silently growing poorer. We are being financially eviscerated by all of these price hikes, and the worst part is - there's no end in sight for them. There's no perspective for real wage growth either, and the fight against inflation may be showing up results in government numbers, but it's definitely not making a difference in price tags on stores. Each week, we continue to see the cost of everything going up a bit more. Where is this all going to end? It was never supposed to be like this, but we're trapped in a broken system that is spiraling toward disaster. That’s why, in today's video, we decided to gather some goods and services whose prices are soaring well above most of us can pay."
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