last updated 19 Sep 2026
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Buying Power:
Buying power is basically the ratio of wages to prices.
In 1980-81 the Federal Reserve tightened monetary policy.
| Year | Inflation
(CPI) | 30-year
mortgage | 3-month
T-bill | 30-year
Treasury |
| 1979 | 11.3% | ~10-13% | 9.1-12.0% | ~8.9-10.3% |
| 1980 | 13.5% | ~12-15% | 7-15.7% | ~9.8-12.4% |
| 1981 | 10.3% | ~15-18% | ~11-16% | ~12-14.7% |
| 1982 | 6.1% | ~16% | ~13–14% | /td> ~12.8% |
Gas Price:
Price Increases:
2022 COVID.
March 2026 - U.S. - Iran War
July 2026 - Uncertainty surrounding U.S. Iran deal and Strait of Hormuz volatility.
August 2026: California $5.5 US $4.06
Current California | US AAA
1949 - 2007
Inflation was high during the COVID pandemic period due to a combination of supply shocks, strong consumer demand, labor market tightness, and global factors.
Biden's American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which paid taxpayers with incomes of $75,000 or less., to help those who lost their jobs because of COVID and provided temporary expansions of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC), has been estimated to have lifted more than 2 million children above the poverty line.
However, it increased consumer spending and with the other problems mentioned above it contributed to inflation.
