That is not “illusion of success”. How many hours you need to work to afford X is the real price of X. Here’s GasBuddy’s state average gas price:
So CA average right now is 4.639, TN 2.772. Convert it into hours of work at min wage, CA is 0.3 hours of work vs TN at 0.38 hours. TN is 27% more expensive by this measure.
Also, I have no idea where you get your CA poverty rate from.
CA’s poverty rate is 12.2%. Versus Tennessee 13.3%, Texas 14.0% and Florida 12.7%. All these states the right idolizes have higher poverty rates than CA.
I didn’t feel like explaining the difference of what PPP is. Using a national income number to determine poverty when the cost of living varies so much isn’t accurate.
Along with the decision to stay on hold, committee members penciled in at least three rate cuts in 2024, assuming quarter percentage point increments. That’s less than market pricing of four, but more aggressive than what officials had previously indicated.
This rate hike cycle is over. The “higher” part in “Higher for longer” is done. The only question is how long will the “longer” part be.
Market is expecting more cuts:
Markets, though, followed up the meeting and Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference by pricing in an even more aggressive rate-cut path, anticipating 1.5 percentage points in reductions next year, double the FOMC’s indicated pace.
Much of the increase came do to rising shelter costs. The category rose 0.5% for the month and accounted for more than half the core CPI increase. On annual basis, shelter costs increased 6.2%, or about two-thirds of the rise in inflation.
It’s up in Europe too.
And the latest budget “deal” here has spending at eye watering levels.
I don’t think this will be inflation’s last hurrah for the cycle.
House prices have been climbing slowly in 2023 and likely to continue so as rates decline. Unless other prices decline sharply, CPI may hovering around here for longer
Yup. The issue is the fed surveys what people are paying on existing leases not rates for new leases. That’s why there’s so much lag in their number. It’s why they missed inflation early on, and they keep thinking it’s higher than reality now.
