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It is often said by the government, media, and others that there isn't much inflation of prices in the U.S. economy. Nonetheless, let's take a look at some examples of how inflation has increased prices during the past twenty years... In 1987, according to wikipedia.org, mailing a one-ounce envelope cost 22 cents, and it had risen to 33 cents by 1999. The Energy Information Administration indicates that regular gasoline cost $0.95/gallon in 1987, and $1.23 in 1997, while home heating oil cost an average of $1.15/gallon in 1987 and about $1.30 in 1998. Diesel cost $1.11 in 1995 and $1.81 in 2004, on average. A Hyundai advertisement from 1987 shows the Excel hatchback priced at $4995, while a 1989 Mitsubishi ad prices the Eclipse sports car at just under $10,400. A Radio Shack catalog from 1988 lists the price of a TRS-80 Color Computer II at $99; this computer had a built-in keyboard and could use a regular television as a monitor. Foodtimeline.org indicates that a Hershey bar cost only $0.40 in 1986, and $0.45 in 1991. A press release (2005) from maketextbooksaffordable.com stated that college textbooks had risen in price about six percent each year since 1987. The Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that the avg. cost of a loaf of bread increased by inflation from $0.86 in 1997 to $1.21 in 2007 (it was $0.55 in 1986, according to 1980sflashback.com). At present, it costs 41 cents to mail the same one-ounce envelope. Regular gasoline prices are around $3/gallon and diesel at about $3.30. The least expensive Hyundai model now costs almost $10,800 and the Mitsubishi Eclipse is priced at a dollar under twenty-thousand. The least expensive new computer costs $199 and requires a separate keyboard & monitor to be purchased. The Providence Journal reported today that home heating oil has risen to an average of nearly $3.13/gallon. Increasing corn prices due to the demand for ethanol have caused inflation of many food costs. In contrast (according to 1980sflashback.com), it only cost $0.78 to buy twelve eggs or (thepeoplehistory.com) $1.80 for a pound of bacon (now around $4), and the average cost of monthly rent was only $395, twenty years ago. These are only a few examples of the food price inflation in recent years and months. Meanwhile, the weakening value of the U.S. dollar is increasing costs for Americans to visit or import products from Canada and other foreign countries. In most of these examples, inflation has multiplied prices 2-3 times in the past twenty years. If the federal minimum wage had increased at the same rate, it would now be about nine dollars per hour, not $5.85.
Sources: Wikipedia USPS Rate History The People History
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