Why has inflation hit the US more than Europe?

[Anonymous]

Farmers in the EU are heavily subsidized so the price of actual groceries are cheaper. Also, salaries are lower so restaurant prices are lower. Add to that a very favorable exchange rate for the U.S. and it can seem cheap to us. But compared to European salaries, it’s not cheap.

[Anonymous]

Important to point out that a massive driver of EU inflation was the Ukraine war and huge energy costs. In contrast, the US actually benefited from the war.

[Anonymous]

Things have ALWAYS felt cheaper in Southern Europe in particular for americans. Have you seen how low the average wage is there? how little people earn?? I have house in Italy we spend 2 months each summer in and the average Italian, even with a white collar job does not make nearly what a college grad 3 years out might make. I can assure you Europeans are suffering horribly with inflation as well. Also job mobility is abysmal.

[Anonymous]

Ah, yes. The country of Europe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Important to point out that a massive driver of EU inflation was the Ukraine war and huge energy costs. In contrast, the US actually benefited from the war.

Economically? How so?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Things have ALWAYS felt cheaper in Southern Europe in particular for americans. Have you seen how low the average wage is there? how little people earn?? I have house in Italy we spend 2 months each summer in and the average Italian, even with a white collar job does not make nearly what a college grad 3 years out might make. I can assure you Europeans are suffering horribly with inflation as well. Also job mobility is abysmal.

There are better safety nets in Europe - they NEED less money -although I admit that that impact in Southern Europe is less than N or W

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Things have ALWAYS felt cheaper in Southern Europe in particular for americans. Have you seen how low the average wage is there? how little people earn?? I have house in Italy we spend 2 months each summer in and the average Italian, even with a white collar job does not make nearly what a college grad 3 years out might make. I can assure you Europeans are suffering horribly with inflation as well. Also job mobility is abysmal.

There are better safety nets in Europe - they NEED less money -although I admit that that impact in Southern Europe is less than N or W

Those are starting to fray. The UK is not the EU, but councils are facing bankruptcy and having to pull back from traditional benefits. Countries in the EU zone are having problems too- that one of the reason you're seeing increasing rural rioting

[Anonymous]

Prices in most of SE Asia are crazy low…it’s called a different COL, not inflation that US prices are higher.

[Anonymous]

According to all the data, inflation is higher in Europe than the US--has been slower to go down than the global inflation connected to the pandemic.

What you are pointing to is the effect of different cost of living (which varies widely across European countries/cities) and the effect of a strong US dollar, not anything to do with inflation (which as an outsider you wouldn't have a sense of because it's how much prices have gone up compared to prior times in the local currency).

[Anonymous]

Food and groceries have always been cheaper in the EU.

I lived there and was shocked upon returning to the U.S. how expensive things were.

That said, inflation was much worse in Europe since COVID than here. Part of the idiocy of everyone blaming Biden for inflation, when, if you look at US inflation vs the rest of world, we fared far better… and when it comes to inflation, inflating slower than everyone else = winning big time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We visited Italy, France and Monaco this summer and I was surprised that the prices overall were significantly less than the US.

Hotel rooms are definitely cheaper, the cost of food is significantly cheaper : a good croissant in Paris is 1.20 euros vs $5-$6 here at a comparable bakery. A scoop of icecream in Venice and Monaco is 3 euros vs $6-$7 here.
Restaurant food is almost half the price in Europe when you account for taxes and tips in the US ( not to mention you get better tasting food there).

I get the Covid stimulus packages passed in the US contribute to inflation but many European countries also passed those.

Why has inflation hit the US much harder?

Inflation hit Europe harder! The dollar is really strong now so the exchange rates make it cheaper for Americans.

This. Europeans are very upset about inflation. Their salaries really have not kept up. US dollar has a good exchange rate at the moment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We visited Italy, France and Monaco this summer and I was surprised that the prices overall were significantly less than the US.

Hotel rooms are definitely cheaper, the cost of food is significantly cheaper : a good croissant in Paris is 1.20 euros vs $5-$6 here at a comparable bakery. A scoop of icecream in Venice and Monaco is 3 euros vs $6-$7 here.
Restaurant food is almost half the price in Europe when you account for taxes and tips in the US ( not to mention you get better tasting food there).

I get the Covid stimulus packages passed in the US contribute to inflation but many European countries also passed those.

Why has inflation hit the US much harder?

Inflation hit Europe harder! The dollar is really strong now so the exchange rates make it cheaper for Americans.

+1 international travel is cheap right now because of the strong dollar. Japan especially is a bargain, although it went from crazy expensive to just expensive!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We visited Italy, France and Monaco this summer and I was surprised that the prices overall were significantly less than the US.

Hotel rooms are definitely cheaper, the cost of food is significantly cheaper : a good croissant in Paris is 1.20 euros vs $5-$6 here at a comparable bakery. A scoop of icecream in Venice and Monaco is 3 euros vs $6-$7 here.
Restaurant food is almost half the price in Europe when you account for taxes and tips in the US ( not to mention you get better tasting food there).

I get the Covid stimulus packages passed in the US contribute to inflation but many European countries also passed those.

Why has inflation hit the US much harder?

Inflation hit Europe harder! The dollar is really strong now so the exchange rates make it cheaper for Americans.

+1 international travel is cheap right now because of the strong dollar. Japan especially is a bargain, although it went from crazy expensive to just expensive!

Given that we had record number of American travelers this year, I'm guessing that people still have enough to travel and afford groceries.

I think people are just used to paying lower prices for things, and then during the pandemic when prices started going up, we had the covid payments that helped offset the rising prices, plus nobody was going anywhere or doing anything, so people had money saved for higher prices and travel once it opened up again. But, now the savings have drived up and we aren't getting the covid money anymore, so people are complaining more about higher prices.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:According to all the data, inflation is higher in Europe than the US--has been slower to go down than the global inflation connected to the pandemic.

What you are pointing to is the effect of different cost of living (which varies widely across European countries/cities) and the effect of a strong US dollar, not anything to do with inflation (which as an outsider you wouldn't have a sense of because it's how much prices have gone up compared to prior times in the local currency).

Incorrect. Inflation currently is higher in the US at 3.3% than in the EU, where it is 2.9%. UK is higher at 3.3%.

https://tradingeconomics.com/country-list/core-inflation-rate

[Anonymous]

^^Sorry--that should have been the UK at 3.5%.