{"id":2232418,"date":"2024-04-29T07:25:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-29T11:25:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/middle-class-americans-dont-care-what-paul-krugmans-charts-say-about-inflation\/"},"modified":"2024-04-29T07:31:18","modified_gmt":"2024-04-29T11:31:18","slug":"middle-class-americans-dont-care-what-paul-krugmans-charts-say-about-inflation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/middle-class-americans-dont-care-what-paul-krugmans-charts-say-about-inflation\/","title":{"rendered":"Middle-class Americans are indifferent to Paul Krugman&#8217;s inflation charts"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmiddle-class-americans-dont-care-what-paul-krugmans-charts-say-about-inflation%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2232418&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses the disconnect between economists and the public&#8217;s perception of inflation, particularly focusing on Paul Krugman&#8217;s analysis \u2062of grocery prices.\u2064 It highlights the disparity in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/75-of-800-billion-ppp-program-didnt-reach-employees\/\" title=\"75% of 0 Billion PPP Program Didn't Reach Employees\">economic perspectives<\/a> and the impact of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/5-financial-bubbles-that-made-gamestop-look-like-nothing\/\" title=\"5 Financial \u2018Bubbles\u2019 That Made Gamestop Look Like Nothing\">rising prices<\/a> on everyday life, contrasting the experiences of experts like \u200bKrugman with those of average families. The article delves into the disparity between economists and the public regarding inflation, \u2063with a key focus on Paul Krugman&#8217;s examination \u200bof\u2064 grocery prices. It underscores the differing economic viewpoints and\u2062 the implications of increasing costs on daily \u2064life, drawing comparisons between the experiences of experts such as Krugman and ordinary \u200cfamilies.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-content\">\n<p>When covering the political persistence of \u201cBidenflation,\u201d I\u2019ve noted that economists keep wondering why <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/faulconer-ready-to-face-newsom-in-race-for-calif-governorship\/\" title=\"Faulconer ready to face Newsom in race for Calif. governorship\">opinion polls<\/a> continue to show the American people are sour on an economy that continues to create jobs. Ultimately, the question in many ways comes down to one\u2019s economic perspective and the fact that the so-called \u201cexperts\u201d live far different lives than the people surveyed by most opinion polls.<\/p>\n<p>A column earlier this year by perhaps the paragon of liberal economic opinion shows the not-so-subtle snobbery behind the failure to take families\u2019 inflation concerns seriously. It also explains why Americans\u2019 economic insecurities could result in a political bloodbath for the left come November.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1980289657\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-012f4cf5cea106b013636efdd24fbe6b fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-012f4cf5cea106b013636efdd24fbe6b\"><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>New York Times Elitism<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>In late February, The New York Times\u2019 Paul Krugman dedicated a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/02\/27\/opinion\/grocery-prices-inflation-economy.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">newsletter commentary<\/a> to grocery prices. Citing Bureau of Labor Statistics data, he claimed that \u201cprices of groceries for home consumption rose 19.6 percent between January 2021 and January 2023, then another 1.2 percent over the following year. Yes, grocery prices are up a lot, but not nearly as much as some people claim, and the big surge is behind us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In a typically flippant manner, Krugman then went on to inveigh against \u201cthe vehemence \u2014 and sheer silliness \u2014 of the grocery truthers,\u201d analyzing the cost of goods at Walmart versus official Bureau of Labor Statistics data. His results, in graphical form:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><\/figure>\n<p>In trying to rebut what he describes as \u201c<em>ad hominem<\/em> attacks\u201d by commenters that claim \u201cgrocery prices have doubled under President Biden and are still soaring,\u201d Krugman totally missed the forest for the trees. Whether ordinary citizens know the specifics of whether grocery prices have gone up by 10 percent, 110 percent, or 1,000 percent, they recognize that prices have gone up by <em>more than they can afford<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Krugman tacitly admitted this with his column\u2019s self-owns. Start with the visual evidence he offered, in the form of a Federal Reserve chart of BLS data, to claim that grocery prices \u201care up a lot, but not nearly as much as some people claim, and the big surge is behind us:\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-38cb046cded98a52c9a86bf49b37af4a fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-38cb046cded98a52c9a86bf49b37af4a\"><\/div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><\/figure>\n<p>Yes, the increases have tailed off in the past few months. But the chart shows a <em>huge<\/em> increase from the middle of 2021 through early 2023. Not exactly a reason for most families to break out the Champagne and celebrate (not least because Champagne prices <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thedrinksbusiness.com\/2024\/01\/will-2024-see-a-return-to-growth-for-champagne\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">went up by double digits<\/a> last year alone).<\/p>\n<p>Again, remember Krugman has argued that because grocery prices \u201conly\u201d went up by 20 percent from 2019 through 2022, people should follow the message of \u201cObi-Wan Kenobi in reverse: Look, don\u2019t trust your feelings.\u201d But to most families, a 20-plus percent increase in grocery prices over three years is huge. My income certainly didn\u2019t go up 20 percent in three years, and I\u2019m guessing that holds true for most families as well.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Paul Krugman Is Different<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>And to most families, it\u2019s not a question of their <em>feelings<\/em> about how much prices have gone up, it\u2019s about <em>outcomes<\/em> \u2014 not being able to afford a vacation, pay for car repairs, or find a first home now that mortgage rates have <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/11\/03\/theres-no-soft-landing-waiting-for-the-millions-of-families-suffering-from-bidenomics\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">gone through the roof<\/a>. Krugman admits he doesn\u2019t have these problems:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>I also sometimes think about what I paid for roughly the same stuff three years ago, and the truth is that I have no idea. I know that it was less, but off the top of my head I can\u2019t tell you by what percentage. And if you say you can, forgive me for having doubts.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>First of all, this shopper pays careful attention to prices at the grocery store. I noticed (as did <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-us\/money\/companies\/trader-joe-s-just-increased-the-price-of-a-banana-for-the-first-time-in-more-than-20-years\/ar-BB1kw6kN\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">media<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-us\/money\/companies\/trader-joe-s-upped-the-price-of-its-bananas-for-the-first-time-in-decades-here-s-why\/ar-BB1kE9gY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">outlets<\/a>) when Trader Joe\u2019s raised the price of its bananas from 19 cents to 23 cents. I notice when stores go from having \u201cbuy two, get three free\u201d sales (a 60 percent discount) to \u201cbuy one, get one free\u201d sales (a 50 percent discount). And I know which items to buy at which grocery stores, such that I can save money by buying milk at Harris Teeter and not Safeway.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-3c9d46f559de51776d7de39cebee65b7 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-3c9d46f559de51776d7de39cebee65b7\"><\/div>\n<p>Paul Krugman cares little about these price variations, making him an economist seemingly unconcerned about the details of his own finances. It brings to mind the famous F. Scott Fitzgerald quote about the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/quotes\/10367-let-me-tell-you-about-the-very-rich-they-are\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">rich being different<\/a>: \u201cThey possess and enjoy early, and it does something to them, makes them soft where we are hard. \u2026 They think, deep in their hearts, that they are better than we are because we had to discover the compensations and refuges of life for ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Out of  Touch<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Although Fitzgerald applied his quote to the \u201cvery rich,\u201d the disconnect between the merely affluent and more working-class families appears to have become more acute in recent years. Of all places, The Atlantic recently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-us\/money\/markets\/what-the-upper-middle-class-left-doesn-t-get-about-inflation\/ar-BB1lAKXG?ocid=msedgdhp&#038;pc=DCTS&#038;cvid=54feb484f0d84455ba8b2a8a21da7da2&#038;ei=15\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">called out<\/a> the \u201cbastion of college-educated, upper-middle-class professionals\u201d for not understanding the struggles of Americans in the heartland.<\/p>\n<p>That article noted that the percentage of disposable income spent on food has grown to the highest share in three decades, and the poorest 20 percent of Americans (i.e., not Paul Krugman) spent nearly a third of their income on food in 2022. As economist Isabella Weber observed, \u201cIf you are spending 25 to 30 percent of your income on food and prices have jumped 25 percent, you are in real pain.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Couple rising grocery bills with soaring energy costs, rent prices, and mortgage rates that make Americans feel like home ownership is <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/11\/03\/theres-no-soft-landing-waiting-for-the-millions-of-families-suffering-from-bidenomics\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">out of reach for them<\/a>, and you get a deep-seated sense of unease, frustration, and even resignation that the American Dream is slipping away from them. As Weber told The Atlantic: \u201cMany Americans worked throughout COVID; they saw friends die; they think, <em>I did all the things I\u2019m supposed to do, and I still can\u2019t afford this life<\/em>.\u201d (Emphasis original.)<\/p>\n<p>To paraphrase Lyndon Johnson on Vietnam, if Paul Krugman has lost The Atlantic, he\u2019s lost the argument, even among the liberal intelligentsia. Perhaps Krugman, Gavin Newsom (\u201cI <a href=\"https:\/\/www.realclearpolitics.com\/video\/2024\/02\/25\/gov_gavin_newsom_all_in_on_four_more_years_biden_presidency_is_a_masterclass.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">revere [Biden\u2019s] record<\/a> \u2026 what he\u2019s done in three years has been a master class\u201d), and the others trying to gaslight voters should climb down out of their well-heeled ivory towers and start understanding the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/michael-barone-fundamentals-from-covid-to-crime-favor-republicans\/\" title=\"Michael Barone: Fundamentals, from COVID to Crime, Favor Republicans\">real-life concerns<\/a> of the American middle class.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1f7a9767c391e65573d3f0563e7df1b7 fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1f7a9767c391e65573d3f0563e7df1b7\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">    \t\t\t\t\t   \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In discussing the ongoing &#8220;Bidenflation&#8221; narrative, the mystery lies in economists&#8217; perplexity over public dissatisfaction with a job-generating economy. The divergence in economic viewpoints between experts and the public reflects differing lifestyles and perspectives<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":521,"featured_media":2232419,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/40708390001_937f352d2c_k.jpeg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2232418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/40708390001_937f352d2c_k.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2232418","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/521"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2232418"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2232418\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2232419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2232418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2232418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2232418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}