Stuff is cheap. Really.
Yes, a gallon of gasoline is far more expensive than it was last year, but adjusted for inflation it costs about what it did in 1981. In fact, lots of things, such as clothing, electronics and restaurant meals, are, by historical standards, inexpensive.
...
So why do we feel so squeezed?
It's the reality of our new world order: Stuff is cheap, but the things that truly sustain us are not.
Globalization and efficiencies in distribution and retailing have cut production costs and consumer prices widely. Americans now spend about 10 percent of their income on food, down from 18 percent in 1958. But
while prices have dropped, so have real wages.
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Along with falling wages, we are paying more for benefits. Health insurance premiums rose 78 percent from 2002 to 2007, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
And we're spending a lot more on education. Yearly total costs at some private colleges now exceed the U.S. median household income.
...
Because it costs less to produce things, and often costs less to buy them, many of us can easily afford items once considered luxurious. But things we once took for granted as affordable cost us dearly, and for many are out of reach.
Chicago TribuneSo ... the author's reasoning, the economy is fine, globalization is working because it provides luxuries that costs less? This works, I suppose, if you are living in the economic strata where buying luxuries is your primary concern.
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