came in at 0.4% lower than expected.

SCE tells me I did a great job ' cause my usage is 44% lower than my efficient neighbors.
SCE sends me an $87 bill when I'm expecting $50.

$100 would feed me well for ten days, now six (and the vegetables are lousy).

holiday spending, and other distortions that usually come into play at the end of the year during the holiday period.

I couldn’t believe the sale prices on appliances lately. Retail is afraid of not clearing the warehouses before new models arrive, i think.

have decreased, that is offset by food prices, both of which aren't included in the numbers.

The consumer confidence numbers are low, and wall street can push whatever bullshit they want, but the disconnect between wall street and main street has never been greater.

People know what they are paying for insurance, food, sundries, healthcare, and other consumer items, and it is significantly more than before trump took office, all while significantly increasing the deficit, which is at historically record levels, adding to our national debt.

The bullshit that his tariffs will pay for everything, ignores the fact that it is THE CONSUMER will be paying for those tariffs, and that has NOT fully worked into the system, and those supposed gains from the tariff revenues are going to be offset by the tax breaks, and other smoke and mirror policies, that are almost never talked about.

When the shit hits the fan, it will make the 2008 and COVID pandemic recessions look like child's play.

The speculation going on with crypto currencies is just one symptom of the dangers being faced. The crypto market is based on nothing except the greater fool theory.

into the picture.

In the likely event that the ACA extended subsidies are not going to happen this year, unless something is done rather quickly to remedy that situation, I think that will have a big impact on these numbers.

This is just the first few paragraphs, I may find some more interesting info as I read further. I split some paragraphs to make it easier to read, and I underlined a few items of higher interest to make them more findable. The bolding is mine too
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis over the 2 months from September 2025 to November 2025, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 2.7 percent before seasonal adjustment. BLS did not collect survey data for October 2025 due to a lapse in appropriations. ((The CPI includes food and energy, it's the CORE CPI that excludes these items -progree))

The seasonally adjusted index for all items less food and energy rose 0.2 percent over the 2 months ending in November. ((this is the so-called CORE CPI -progree))

From September to November, the index for shelter increased 0.2 percent. The energy index rose 1.1 percent over the same 2-month period and the food index increased 0.1 percent. Other indexes which increased over the 2 months ending in November include household furnishings and operations, communication, and personal care. In contrast, the indexes for lodging away from home, recreation, and apparel decreased over the same 2-month period.

The all items index rose 2.7 percent for the 12 months ending November, after rising 3.0 percent over the 12 months ending September.

The all items less food and energy index rose 2.6 percent over the last 12 months ((it was 3.0% in the 12 months to September, per the September report --progree)) . The energy index increased 4.2 percent for the 12 months ending November. The food index increased 2.6 percent over the last year.

Because the October CPI was cancelled, Thursday’s report did not have all the usual data points of a typical CPI release. The BLS said it was unable to retroactively collect the October data, but did use some “nonsurvey data sources” to make the index calculations. ((Presumably this didn't affect the November index values, nor the September index values, in which case I don't particularly care -progree))

The truth is almost certainly a lot worse than this.

* possibly adjusted for tariff delusions

From: https://www.ft.com/content/bee83769-fa41-4d18-9dc2-4a46130c72a8

This shows prices in a flat lining trend since Krasnov took over in 2025.

and I think they still give the best possible economic data they are able.

Realize also the largest item of CPI is not rent but what homeowners believe if they had to rent their own house what it would go for. From Google AI....The Consumer Price Index (CPI) weighs homeowner housing costs using Owners' Equivalent Rent (OER), which estimates what a homeowner would pay to rent their own home, rather than using mortgage payments or house prices. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) surveys renters of similar properties to determine these imputed rents, reflecting the consumption cost of shelter as an opportunity cost, not an investment. This OER, alongside actual rent, makes up the substantial "shelter" component (around 30% of CPI), giving it significant weight in overall inflation measures.

Rent is falling. Across the country. The falling rent offsets increases in health care, or services generally.

Other than when inflation hit 9% just after the pandemic, and during the Great Resignation, I really don't think inflation is as much a factor as wages. People don't have enough money. Now it's worded as "affordability" which is even more meaningless.

Good news none the less.

Last edited Fri Dec 19, 2025, 03:01 AM - Edit history (1)

according to their numbers
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm

The 2-month shelter increase of 0.2% is right in line with the all items inflation number. The year-over-year shelter is 3.0%, higher than the 2.7% all items number.

So the 2-month increase of 0.2% (an average monthly change of 0.1%) is helping to lower the recent month-over-month all-items CPI numbers from what they've been recently (see below the next line)

but is not helping to pull down the year-over-year all-items CPI number, which was 3.0% in September (a 3% increase in shelter does not pull down a 3% increase in all-items CPI. Other things had to increase less than shelter in order to bring all-items CPI down to 2.7%).

As for recent month-to-month changes, here's the 5 months of shelter month-over-month changes thru September;
0.3% 0.2% 0.2% 0.4% 0.2%

========================================================
Here's something from Yahoo Finance which I take much of the article with a grain of salt, but "interesting", anyway here's what it says
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/cpi-inflation-print-draws-caution-from-economists-its-hard-to-take-this-data-seriously-164227700.html

for example this one shows 3.053 per gallon Nov 2024 vs 3.050 in Nov 2025
https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/leafhandler.ashx?n=pet&s=emm_epmr_pte_nus_dpg&f=m
Fairly flat.

Last edited Fri Dec 19, 2025, 11:13 AM - Edit history (1)

CPI (seasonally adjusted)
https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CUSR0000SA0

At the top right, click on More Formatting Options

On the left are some check boxes. Besides the "Original Data Value" one which is already checked,

Check the 2-Month Percent Change and the 3-Month Percent Change and the 12-Month Percent Change checkboxes (Note the 1-month change one only displays thru September so don't bother with that)

Then click the "Retrieve Data" button.