some of that is inflation increasing the cost of groceries, electricity and to a lesser extent gas(petrol), but some is more structural. If I was to refinance my primary US residence today my monthly cost would double. If I was to buy it today at “market price” my monthly payment wound be 2.5-3x what I am currently paying… so comparing costs for someone arriving today who would need to rent or buy at todays rents/price/rates vs. people who brought at a different part of the cycle can help explain why when you calculate the cost of living as a new arrival today would be extremely high.

I guess many Western nations are experiencing greatly increased costs but the US levels were astonishing.

One of my English pals, that's been a US resident for many years, commented that it's like paying Swiss prices for third world service these days.

The house (my ex's) that my 2 US kids live in is now 3 times the value that it cost back in 2004, when it was built.

I can never work out where this idea that gas is a significant part of inflation today, or indeed any part of inflation came from, other than it is an idiotic talking point of the MAGA Republicans.

Today gas is about 20% cheaper in dollar terms than it was 14-16 years ago,* and about 50% cheaper adjusting for inflation. I am paying less today for high octane gas than I was for regular unleaded back then!

* That might not be true in some states that have very high gasoline taxes.

I think it’s just people who lived here when it was sub $1 a gallon looking back to the past…

having lived in UK, NZ, EU etc I have always thought gas is cheap here in the US….

Thats true going even further back. When I was on HS in mid sixties gas was around 32 cents per gallon and minimum wage was 1.25. Not a lot different from today when you run the numbers. Another point back then 15-18mpg was considered an economy car.

There's quite a lot of research on this - why do people care so much about gas prices when other things have much higher impact on their cost of living. It basically boils down to it being a universally comparable number that people are used to noticing (i.e. when driving around you'll check the displayed prices so you can save a few cents on each tank) - that give sit a special place in people's minds.

I somewhat agree, having pumped gas, briefly, and slightly, at under $1/gal, in 1999 IIRC, but it's more that people seem to have completely forgotten about the run up in gas prices between 2006 and 2008, reaching about $4/gal, and IIRC prices stayed at that level for the next 2-3 years. $4/gal in 2008 would be around $6/gal today (and I think both past and current prices are different in California and a few other states).
Agreed, I have long argued that the fact that the price appears frequently along side every urban and suburban road, and every major intersection means that it dominates peoples' perceptions.

Personally, I realized that even at $4/gal, gas is only a tiny part of our household budget, even though as a family we are driving about 2,000 miles/ mth, and that no matter how many gas station signs I pass, a 10c, or 20c price increase has a truly negligible impact on our budget.

All that said, I do feel for those drivers I see at the gas station with their beat-up Civic or old Buick, going to the desk with a $10 bill to prepay, because that's all they can afford. .... And I see people prepaying with cash most of the time when I go to buy gas.