I’ll triple that
Just like the Biden administration and the Democrats, the GOP and Trump seem to believe the economic angst folks are feeling is a messaging problem
The angst is real enough. No doubt. Money is worth 20% less in buying power than it was just 5 years ago.
But Trump didn't do that. Prices rose before he got into office.
What he did do was slow the rate they were increasing, down from the peak rate of 8% during the Biden era. Housing is a supply/demand situation, and adding 20,000,000 people to that equation (and subsidizing many, if not all of them) skewed that market toward the high end as demand outstripped supply, much like the influx of people in a boom town meant rents quadrupled (or more) in a year or two. Yes, Biden did that, or at least the people running policy in the Oval Office.
The rate of increase is inflation, and that's down.
The prices are the result of the years of inflation, as well as supply/demand issues, some of which (like beef prices) will not be resolved for a couple of years, which is how long it will take to rebuild the herds. Many commodities out there are sold on bid.
Note Gold and silver prices, and while some of the increase is due to speculation or industrial uses, consider that a dollar is worth 1/4233 of an ounce of gold today. In 1970, it was worth 1/39 of an ounce at its peak. In 1964, you could get an dollar in silver (90% coins) which was about .715 ounces of silver. Today, that dollar's worth of silver (.715 oz) would bring about $44.
That's the effect of inflation on the value of currency, using gold and silver as benchmarks for the currency's purchasing power.
I recall new cars (Pintos and Vegas) selling for roughly $2000, when a few years earlier that much would have bought a mid sized sedan. Now, a 'starter' vehicle runs $20,000 to $30,000 for base models, another indicator of value shift in the currency, although not a fair one because of the relative complexity of the newer vehicles.
Prices reflect the damage done to the currency by inflation. Slowing inflation reduces the damage, but what is done is done for most durable goods.
As for me, I've been driving for over a half century and never owned a new vehicle. I looked at the loss in value over the first three years, and the extra expense of needing full coverage insurance (not to mention financing) and just said "No.".
All the vehicles I drive currently (the newest is a 2000), are worth more than I paid for them, and I paid cash.
