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missedthecue

What's less expensive right now than it was a year ago?

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https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.t01.htm

Apparel, down -2.5%

Medical care commodities, down 2.4%

Motor vehicle insurance, down 2.5%

Airline fares, down 15.1%

I would reckon that airline fares are down because of the pandemic -- people don't want to fly because they are afraid of getting infected, and that's causing a "deflation" in ticket prices.

But by that measure, everything is up or down because of the pandemic. A lot of the inflation we are seeing is because of supply chain issues specifically caused by the pandemic. For example, lumber is only because they closed down mills, and chips are short because companies cancelled a ton of orders, etc. I myself went on a trip because plane tickets are so damn cheap right now.

But I do agree that we are in a period of very high inflation.

For anyone else out there thinking of traveling, the flights are cheap until you start having to do all the associated covid testing to even enter other countries. After that, it’s actually a very expensive time to fly. (Especially if the location only allows certain test facilities - $400+ per test adds up) Tests to get on the plane, tests after you land, tests some days after you land, tests before you leave... The flights are “cheaper” but the total cost definitely isn’t.

I went to Hawaii recently. We got first class tickets for around $600. A single test for $150 was required to go to Hawaii, but no test was required after that. And we didn't need to test before returning back to California.

The most expensive part actualy is car rentals. Car rentals in Maui are insanely expensive, if you can even get a rental. One of my friends was quoted $900/day. In other islands like Big Island and Oahu, they are cheaper ($50-80/day) if you can find a deal.

Comically, everything on this list can be attributed to people not leaving their houses as often as before the pandemic.

Why do we care if those things are cheaper if no one needs them?

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