It’s less “cherry[ing] pick numbers” and more failing to understand what the numbers are saying. Nothing in this article said that we experienced deflation. In fact, specifically on groceries, from the article:
Food prices gained 0.2%. Grocery food prices increased 0.3% after being unchanged in June. They were boosted by higher prices for eggs, beef, dairy as well as fruit and vegetables. Still, grocery store prices have slowed considerably, increasing 3.6% on a year-on-year basis in July after peaking at 13.5% in August 2022. [emphasis added]
Prices still went up. It’s just the rate at which they went up was not as fast as it has been. Unfortunately, the new, higher, prices are here to stay. There may be some reductions here and there, but generally speaking, the line always goes up. Under “normal” circumstances, the US Federal Reserve Bank aims for a 2% year on year inflation. And this is usually considered a good thing for everyone. It’s just that, in the past couple years, inflation has been way above that as our economy has dealt with the shocks of the Pandemic, lockdowns and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. That we seem to be settling back to a normal rate of inflation is a good thing. Though that doesn’t mean it won’t suck for most people as they are forced to adjust to the higher prices of everything.
It’s less “cherry[ing] pick numbers” and more failing to understand what the numbers are saying. Nothing in this article said that we experienced deflation. In fact, specifically on groceries, from the article:
Prices still went up. It’s just the rate at which they went up was not as fast as it has been. Unfortunately, the new, higher, prices are here to stay. There may be some reductions here and there, but generally speaking, the line always goes up. Under “normal” circumstances, the US Federal Reserve Bank aims for a 2% year on year inflation. And this is usually considered a good thing for everyone. It’s just that, in the past couple years, inflation has been way above that as our economy has dealt with the shocks of the Pandemic, lockdowns and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. That we seem to be settling back to a normal rate of inflation is a good thing. Though that doesn’t mean it won’t suck for most people as they are forced to adjust to the higher prices of everything.