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Comment by encryptluks2 | Hacker News Reader

It really is comical hearing the major news tell everyone, "Look at this number here, everything is okay. The economy is great. Biden is doing a great job," while gas prices are creeping back up to $5/gallon and people can barely afford housing, and there are constant layoffs.

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You're getting downvoted because people on this forum are mostly ivory tower types in the top 10% (i.e., insulated, with lots of runway and many options).

But we're absolutely getting gaslit on the energy & food inflation. Just talk to anyone outside of the valley. Costs have gone up and people are nervous.

I think they're getting downvoted for mentioning a politician on Hacker News. From the HN Guidelines [0]:

> Please don't use Hacker News for political or ideological battle. It tramples curiosity.

and

> Eschew flamebait. Avoid unrelated controversies, generic tangents, and internet tropes.

[0]: https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

They're being downvoted because it has almost nothing to do with the linked article, and is essentially a political rant.

None of that is new though. Housing, healthcare, education, childcare have been increasingly unaffordable for at least a generation now. The focus on specifically food prices and gas prices makes it seem like a recent phenomenon but outside of this 10% (are you not in that?) it has been brutal for a long time.

People are nervous. It isn't clear to me that there is much in the short-term that can be done about it. The invasion of Ukraine and bad weather (likely a result of climate change), as well as various consequences of the pandemic, are making life hard.

> Just talk to anyone outside of the valley

You mean, in the whole world, right? The situation isn't great in Canada or Europe too.

In (moderate) fairness to Biden himself, though, we'd almost definitely be in this same position regardless of who had won the election in 2020. We're dealing with the unwinding fallout of the Covid lockdowns - we knew this would happen even when they started, we just have to ride it out at this point.

Creeping back up? Don’t see it here. https://www.gasbuddy.com/charts

Good point. Tapping into our strategic oil reserves is helping a little bit. Of course that, in a way, is a long-term price hike (when/if we ever replenish them). It's like taking out a loan.

OP said prices were creeping up & I only shared a reputable source showing that’s not true. OP did not say “gas prices will start creeping up for <reason x>.”

Fair, but I would like to point out that not all states share the national average prices and that at least where I live on the West Coast, gas prices were previously around $4/gallon and have crept back up to around $4.60/gallon over the last month. It appears that in certain areas that may be swing states come election that prices have remained lower.

Alright, guess we can’t agree on factuality of general statements, unqualified by any location, like “gas prices are creeping back up” on this forum any longer.

Me saying gas prices are creeping back up is a factual statement based on my location. If I said it is raining because it was raining where I'm at then that is factual, even if it isn't raining where you're located. Maybe learn to accept people conceding to some degree instead of trying to get them to admit complete fault, even when they are not completely at fault. If you can do that, then great you made a valid point as did I. Else, my point is just as valid as gas prices are creeping back up here despite here not being the same as you.

Yep, if you change what you said to be qualified by a specific location it can become an accurate observation. If I say “people are at least 6 feet tall” that’s totally wrong. “All people on the basketball court I’m looking at right now are at least 6 feet tall” is a different matter entirely. That can easily be true.

It’s pretty obvious the reason gas prices went down was because of the enormous drawdown of the strategic petroleum reserve. Post-election that will stop and it will go back up.

That’s not relevant to the factuality of the claim that prices are creeping up presently, is it?

My claim is factual. Where I live gas prices are rising back closer to $5/gallon.

Not gonna comment after this, I posted more in the other thread. This is spin by you after being called on saying something misleading.

No need to spin anything. I tried being civil and compromising about it. You apparently prefer not to be after I explained that I don't live over the entire United States.

Thank god Twilio laid off those workers so gas prices will finally come down.

> people can barely afford housing

Your scheduling is off. Right now we're attacking Biden for falling housing prices. We'll have to wait until prices start rising again to attack Biden for rising housing prices.

For sure. Thank goodness the labor market has indicators pointing different directions (extremely low unemployment rate, more jobs than job seekers; but also more layoff headlines than usual). That way people can attack him for both the terrible lack of workers and the terrible lack of jobs.

Really? After they went up precipitously and now are returning to the previous (still unaffordable) level? Hardly a great benefit to the public. The lessening of another crushing blow I guess.

I keep hearing about falling housing prices but rent prices have only been increasing.

It's comical if you're the court jester, but to most of us peasants, this is horrible. Our worst fears are coming true. The system is failing, but it's too big to fail.

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