Figures Understate Inflation, By A Lot

Report confirms: “In the 1990s and early 2000s, the lifetimes of washing machines and ovens fell off a cliff.”

Yes, government inflation figures reflect increase in prices, but prices of what? We recently replaced a water heater so old that the attached instruction sheet was yellow. We recently replaced a washing machine that was so old we could not remember when we bought it. Do you really expect current appliances to last that long?

The steel in my car’s fender is so thin that I put a dent in it by pushing with the palm of my hand, and I’m hardly an MMA fighter. The speech quality of my new soundbar is worse than that of my old pocket radio. And don’t get me started on toilet paper, which now is difficult to distinguish from calculator paper.

Inflation is a lot worse that the figures indicate. We all know that. So let’s stop pretending and talk honestly.

Do household appliances really die sooner than they used to?