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Is the Cost of Living Really Rising?
February 1st, 2012 | 
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According to Prof. Steve Horwitz, one contemporary economic myth is that the cost of living has consistently risen for Americans over the past century. In fact, prices are higher today than they were 100 years ago. However, prices today have been heavily influenced by inflation. One way of avoiding inflationary distortions is to look at amount of labor hours required to make a purchase. Using this analysis, Prof. Horwitz finds that most goods and services have never been cheaper.
Video Rating: 4 / 5
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Comparing today with 1940 isn’t the argument. How much has our purchasing power diminished in the last 2 years? Last Four? That is the true question with inflation and the status of the dollar in question there are a lot more factors in play than just pointing out technology in our TV has advanced. Our economy has a massive trade deficit, that along with the National debt and private debt, the cost of living could go up dramatically if we lose the status of being the WORLDS RESERVE CURRENCY.
why does he only focus on goods? how about housing costs? health care costs? insurance costs? the outrageous cost of gasoline? yeah, food is cheaper and ipods are pretty neat, so what? where you gonna put all that stuff when you can’t afford rent? how are you gonna fare when you get sick and have tens of thousands of dollars in hospital bills to pay off and have to choose between eating or paying off debt? he’s articulate, but sees the cost of living through a very narrow scope
im not sure how my ability to buy a dishwasher (which was likely just included in my apartment and not me buying my dishwasher) equates to me being less poor
@prschuster He did start off with chickens, so he talked about more than electronics. As far as healthcare, it is far far better today that in decades past, so it will cost more. He addressed food with the chickens. In my experience, I recall seldomly having orange juice as a kid. Now, its always in my fridge. Because it got cheaper. As far as housing, the square foot per person has dramatically increased. So even though you are wrong, the experience of 1 of 300 million doesn’t debunk a trend.
Too bad inflation wiped out the purchasing power of your wages way more than the costs went down. You should have addressed that in the video
@MillionthUsername Do you know that Christianity is correct? The world around us reveals that G-d DOES exist, and the historical evidence reveals that Jesus Christ really did come to this earth and there is overwhelming evidence that Jesus Christ really did physically rise from the dead. Jesus is coming again and the signs of the end times that were foretold in the Bible are coming to pass.
I gave thumbs down because this sounds to me exactly like the gov’t when it argues that there is no inflation. They just substitute goods on the list whenever one of them gets too expensive to throw off their “averages.” It’s just manipulation.
If our cheap electronics come from MONOPOLY credit and EXLPOITED (and I’m a capitalist!) Chinese workers, then what the hell are we really saying when we say costs are down??? How much does the average Chinese worker make? Jack squat, right?
It’s pretty obvious to me that his only argument is that technological advances have made electronic & some mechanical devices more affordable. I’d like to see him argue that it’s easier to find affordable health care, food or shelter. I remember when I didn’t have to work very many hours to afford groceries & a one bedroom apartment. My real life experiences don’t confirm his arguments, other than the fact that technology has made a lot of advances.
notice how they always go straight to electronics to make their case that the price of living isnt going up? boy i bet that has nothing to do with the rapid turnover in that industry, the constant advancement in technique, the massive subsidies provided by the chinese government to MANUFACTURE THESE THINGS
steve horrowitz is a maverick. he defies popular belief, he defies statistics, he defies evidence he defies plain sight
@Deltron14
Yes, not so good! … Yes, a liberal argument made in the modern twisted liberal way. … Do you believe govt must control liberty to insure equality and justice?
@mallardhead Are you saying that this video is a liberal argument or that all of these videos are liberal. This channel is pretty neutral (in that it has opinions that are both ‘conservative and liberal’. It’s whatever though. I’m pretty liberal and I thought this video was one of the not so good ones.
Its funny how he talks about the cost of things you by with disposable income getting cheaper but people have less disposable income.
@yyttr4 Yea its funny how he talks about the cost of things you by with disposable income. But people have less and less disposable income.
@nubyfan101
Yes! Usually when new technology gets older or updates the cost of things like Walkmans goes down. … BUT that’s NOT the point. The point was a deceptive and wrong comparison used in the Liberal argument that everything is okay when its not.
@mallardhead
Walkmans are cheaper now than in the 90s….
@mallardhead Very good point. And exact fallacy these bastards are using is misdirection. Comparing apples and oranges. Compare things that exist today that existed back than like the items I mentioned: homes, heating, electricity, etc.
Socialists hate this video. It looks like life is getting better without their “helpful” planning.
@jmitterii2
LearnLiberty has one entitled “What is classical liberalism?” I think it is key to why these jokers are doing the crazy stuff they’re doing! … This guy compares home stereo systems to ipods … shouldn’t ipods be compared to walkmans? Its a sample of the misdirection (The LIE).
@fritoman182 Its misinformation. We may have it nicer due to technology, but costs have not come down. Wealth creation to actually have things paid off and have the asset is less likely due to these costs. We might be able to take our magical radios with us to listen to music, but that doesn’t mean my light bill is cheaper in wage hours same with a mortgage. This guy is misleading.
@mallardhead You hit in on the head. The poorer will experience fewer holidays, fewer vacations from work, more time working with over time, and less wealth to show for it ( ie savings, paid off items like homes, cars, other vehicles), and regressing working conditions with little to no breaks and very short lunch periods. Not to mention worsening healthcare due to lack of funds and poor insurance offerings from employers.
@yyttr4 Through in housing, transportation, utilities, etc. as well. The wealth people could actually save and generate was much more than today. They’re homes in terms of labor costs were cheap and so were their utilities (electric bill and water bill, etc), transportation was also cheaper then including the car that he points out. Most now rent and have no equity built in their home to where they aren’t paying on their property. I personally think he’s off in kookoo land.
As with the Hi-Fi, you can only play one thing at a time with your ipod (with the two ipods you can listen to two at a time, but only one headphone per ipod). The difference is that the Hi-Fi has greater quality of sound and could even be considered as furniture.
@fritoman182
Oh, I agree technology has greatly progressed and raised the standard of living, but the title is about the COST of living. Poor in the USA is royal living in other nations. Overall the COST will keep many from realizing the same standards their parents enjoyed with poorer tech. That’s the deception of this video.
this is why we need to get rid of Medicare and Social Security, If people are stupid enough to not know to save for their future that is their problem not our’s and our wallet’s