> Inflation is actually really high, but its mostly hidden in rising prices for stocks and real estate.
Sort of. There's inflationary forces (fiscal / stimulatory policy) battling deflationary forces (mainly technological innovation), mainly netting out to a low inflation rate at the moment, as defined by the CPI.
Assets that are not affected by the deflationary forces (such as land, and some types of housing), do tend to increase in value, though some of that is increase is just due to interest rates being so low (since for most consumers the house payment is more important than the absolute price; when interest goes down, prices normally go up).
It would be interesting to do a graph of interest-normalized house/asset prices over time.
Sort of. There's inflationary forces (fiscal / stimulatory policy) battling deflationary forces (mainly technological innovation), mainly netting out to a low inflation rate at the moment, as defined by the CPI.
Assets that are not affected by the deflationary forces (such as land, and some types of housing), do tend to increase in value, though some of that is increase is just due to interest rates being so low (since for most consumers the house payment is more important than the absolute price; when interest goes down, prices normally go up).
It would be interesting to do a graph of interest-normalized house/asset prices over time.