How have prices changed in a year? NPR checked 114 items at Walmart

Politics, Leadership, and Inflation

• Several commenters argued presidents have limited control over inflation in current global conditions, though some insisted a president can matter in “normal times.”
• Tariffs were blamed by some for muting what could have been a sharper fall in inflation, with goals seen as misaligned with affordability.
• There is strong distrust that political and economic leadership is aligned with ordinary people; some see inflation as a deliberate tool to erode wages, stealth‑tax workers, and protect asset‑holders.
• Targeting 2% inflation was challenged; some advocated 0%, doubting mainstream justifications.

Measuring Inflation and “Vibeflation”

• NPR’s 114‑item Walmart basket was praised as relatable but criticized as too small compared to what large datasets or card/retailer data could support.
• Debate over “basket of goods”: some say CPI is adequate as an average model; others argue it obscures essentials vs non‑essentials and distributional effects.
• The ALICE “essentials” index was highlighted as better capturing survival costs and explaining “vibeflation,” where people feel worse off despite modest CPI.
• Others insisted both broad CPI and essentials-focused measures are needed for policy, especially for Social Security and low‑income households.

Shrinkflation, Quality, and Product Changes

• Shrinkflation examples (toilet paper rolls, coffee bags, bacon, detergent, fast‑food drink sizes) resonated strongly.
• NPR accounting for price per unit was welcomed, but commenters noted quality downgrades (e.g., “dairy dessert” vs ice cream, weaker products) are much harder to capture.
• This fed a broader sense of “enshitification” and product “baffleware” that overwhelms consumers.

Specific Goods and Pricing Dynamics

• Ice cream: inputs (milk, butter, sugar) were reported down or flat, but retail prices up; explanations offered included labor, energy, distribution, brand margins, and local optima in pricing.
• Soda: many noted a jump from roughly $1 to ~$3 per bottle; attributed variously to standard supply/demand, deliberate “greedflation,” and oligopolistic “because they can” pricing. Some evidence was cited of recent price cuts after demand softened.
• Cheap fish (swai) and dollar-store mispricing were cited as examples of hidden or low-quality costs.

Distributional Effects and Coping Strategies

• Commenters stressed that essentials (housing, childcare, healthcare, interest on debt) outpacing wages hits the bottom third of earners hardest.
• Mortgage forbearance and FHA loss‑mitigation programs were described as quietly keeping some nonpaying homeowners in place, with debate over how long that can last and who ultimately pays.
• Coping responses included cooking from scratch (rice/beans/lentils/veg), switching to store brands, buying secondhand toys, tracking personal spending, and replacing disposables (paper towels, some toilet paper) with reusables.