How Is Inflation Affecting Our Lives?

Inflation is a big part of our lives in many different ways. There are many disadvantages to inflation, however, there are some people who benefit from it. Inflation is the rise in prices, which is the decline of buying things over time. Overall, inflation is a big problem in this world.

Inflation is when the average prices in an area increase to keep up with the material shortage. This is a problem because the job salaries can usually not be on par with inflation. This can cause insufficient purchases. People with lower income had to spend 7% more in 2019-2020 on groceries. However, the companies that profit from these raw materials will succeed during inflation. This can relate to caring for the environment because we are running out of raw materials to sell. The loss of important supplies can view conflicts between large nations.

Inflation happens due to very high demand and due to the demand, companies have to increase the prices of the products. So, for example, if a loaf of bread costs $4, it would sell out because of demand.

If they raised the prices by $1, then the demand would theoretically go down. The problem is that salaries don’t go up as quickly. The current inflation rate is around 8.5% (as of August 2022) and the average pay raise is 2-4%. If you do some simple math, even with the highest average pay raise, we’re still burning 4.5% of our own money just for day-to-day needs. The government has proposed some laws against inflation, such as the Inflation Reduction Act, but they’re more long-term as the bill only decreases inflation by about 0.1%. Due to the recent virus – COVID 19, most production which is done in China came to a stop. Due to this, the demand grew, and so did prices and supplies.

We interviewed some teachers at Rio Norte to see what their opinions are on inflation. When interviewing 7th grade history teacher Mr. Sheridan, he said he thinks inflation is pretty high right now. Furthermore, he says corporations are trying to get money back, and that is a big part of it. When interviewing another 7th grade history teacher, Ms. Kratofil, she was also asked what she thought of inflation. She exclaimed, “It is a necessary evil and needs to end soon!” Lastly, 7th grade math teacher, Mr. Cooper said he thinks inflation is, “Not very fun.”

For the second question, we asked these teachers how inflation affects their life. Mr. Sheridan said that the cost of living goes up which leads to it being harder to make ends meet. Ms. Kratofil said that it “requires [her] to think more carefully about spending income and [saving] more money.” She claims this also affects her because she is “wondering if inflation is rising”.

On our last question: Can you give us one example of inflation? Mr. Sheridan told us that the cost of transportation of food increases. For the same question, Ms. Kratofil told us she’s seen “lots of news on higher rentals on houses and apartments.” Lastly, Mr. Cooper gave us “gas, groceries, and avocados” as examples of inflated products.

“AVOCADO TOAST IS OUTRAGEOUS!” – Mr. Cooper

In conclusion, inflation has some benefits but overall it has more disadvantages. Some benefits include a salary increase of 4.0%, minimum wage going to 16 dollars an hour, and more. But the price increase is at 9.0% so that’s a 5.0% percent difference. As the inflation rate increases, the average prices in the area go up and the pay goes up. Also, teachers think that inflation is way too high right now and should be a lot lower. Inflation is changing people’s lives; some for the better and some for the worse. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. This inflation is hurting low-income families and could put people on the streets.