Loading ...THE EVE OF DESTRUCTION
THE STRAIT WILL REMAIN CLOSED FOR THE FORSEEABLE FUTURE
THE BOND MARKET IS IMPLODING AND WILL SOON LEAD TO US SOVEREIGN DEFAULT
TRUMP IS DERANGED AND OUT OF CONTROL IN IRAN HE IS ABOUT TO DO ISRAEL’S BIDDING AND BOMB THEM BACK TO THE STONE AGE
AND YET (click to enlarge )
AND FURTHERMORE
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN EXACTLY ?
SEE THE COMMENT SECTION FOR SOME ANALYSIS
THE EVE OF DESTRUCTION
WHAT IS THE CUMULATIVE INFLATION SINCE THE GREAT FINANCIAL CRISIS IN 2008 IN THER USA
Copilot said:
Copilot
Short answer (big picture)
Since the 2008 financial crisis, U.S. cumulative inflation is roughly:
? ~45%–55% total increase in prices (2008 ? 2024–2026 range)
More precise ranges depending on endpoint
2008 ? 2024
Prices are about 45.7% higher than in 2008
Meaning:
Something that cost $100 in 2008 ? ~$146 in 2024
2008 ? 2025
Prices about 49.6% higher
Meaning:
$100 = ~$150
WHAT IS THE AMOUNT OF INCREASE IN THE AVERAGE WAGE IN THE US SINCE 2008
Copilot said:
Copilot
Short answer (big picture)
Since the 2008 financial crisis, U.S. wages have increased roughly:
~45%–60% nominal growth (in dollar terms) since ~2008
BUT only ~10%–15% real growth after accounting for inflation
1. Concrete data (best official proxy)
Average hourly earnings (BLS data)
Around ~$21–22/hour in 2008 (from historical range on FRED chart)
About $37.4/hour in 2026
That’s roughly:
~70%+ increase in nominal wages
Average weekly wages (another official measure)
Around $685/week in 2006 ? ~$1,283/week in 2026
That’s about:
+87% nominal increase
Important:
2006 ? close to pre?2008 baseline, so it gives a realistic long-run comparison
2. After adjusting for inflation (the key part)
When you adjust wages for rising prices:
Real wage growth since the mid?2000s:
~10% to ~12% total increase
That may be correct(I haven’t done the math) but the best way to measure inflation regarding anything, is to see what it cost in terms of per ounce of gold then, vs what it would cost today per ounce of gold. Gold should always be the measuring stick.
HOW MUCH GAIN IN PERCENT WOULD AN INVESTOR AT THE BOTTOM OF THE GFC WHO PUT HIS MONEY IN THE DOW JONES INDISTRIAL INDEX HAVE MADE UNTIL NOW AND HOW MUCH DOES THAT BEAT THE 50% INFLATION SINCE THAT POINT?
Copilot said:
Copilot
Here’s the clean, precise answer with correct math:
1. Return from the GFC bottom ? today
Starting point
March 2009 low: ~6,470
Today (2026)
About ~50,000
Answer: ~+650% to +700% gain
2. Inflation over the same period
Roughly ~+50–55% cumulative inflation since 2008–2009
Inflation factor:
1.5 X
3. Real (inflation-adjusted) return
Now compare growth:
7.7 X
Convert to percent:
Answer: ~+400% real gain (after inflation)
4. How much did stocks beat inflation?
Here are the two ways to express it:
Multiple comparison
Inflation: 1.5×
Dow: 7.7×
Stocks beat inflation by:
About 5× better than inflation
Excess percentage return
Stocks: +670%
Inflation: +50%
Difference:
Outperformance +600 percentage points
Final clean answer
An investor who bought the Dow at the 2009 bottom would be up about +650% to +700% today.
After accounting for ~50% inflation, that still leaves about +400% real gains.
This means stocks outperformed inflation by roughly:
~5× in real terms, or
~600 percentage points
The core takeaway
The post-GFC era created one of the largest gaps in modern history between asset owners and non?asset earners:
Wages barely ahead of inflation
Stocks massively ahead (multiples of inflation)
BOTTOM LINE IF YOU OWNED A BUSINESS AND SOLD IT PUT YOUR ASSETS INTO THE DOW IN 2009 AND QUIT WORKING YOU WOULD BE MASSIVELY BETTER OFF TODAY
IF THAT DOESN’T PISS YOU OFF…YOU ARE NOT PAYING ATTENTION