Re:Americans are spending less on clothing
by prostoalex on Wednesday February 07, 2018 @01:02PM
(#16326546)
Why did the "experiences" (travel, dining out) and "digital media" (software, media purchases, data plans) grow substantially, as the article mentions?
Re:Americans are spending less on clothing
by coliveira on Wednesday February 07, 2018 @02:09PM
(#16327115)
This is more a question of replacing some expenses than a real expansion in wages. For example, dining out is a necessity in the modern family because women are required to work in order to survive. This was not the case up to the 70s and even into the 80s. And online purchases are just replacing previous purchases like CDs, DVDs, movie theaters, cable, fixed phone line, etc., that have been eliminated by technology or made expensive for current budgets.
Re:Americans are spending less on clothing
by vonmoltke on Wednesday February 07, 2018 @12:39PM
(#16326331)
> Not only wages are stagnant, but the population is under high increases in housing and health care costs, which are not accounted in official inflation.
The US CPI does account for those, and the CPI changes are the "official" inflation rate.
Re:Americans are spending less on clothing
by freejulian on Wednesday February 07, 2018 @12:53PM
(#16326456)
Yes, rents are certainly included in CPI. For me, it's more a question of weighting. When it's not uncommon to find people spending 50% of their income on rent, are rents being appropriately weighted in the CPI?
Not only wages are stagnant, but the population is under high increases in housing and health care costs, which are not accounted in official inflation. Add this to the reduced welfare state, and you have the perfect recipe for this situation.