Which brings to mind another phenomena.

Except for techonolgy (computers, cell phones, TVs and DVD players), when was the last time you saw retail prices go down instead of up? No matter what happens to the value of the dollar, the price of fuel or electricity, or anything else out there, it seems like all the prices at the supermarket just keep going up, and never really come down. You might get a bump on produce when it's in season, or the occasional spif sale or stock clearance, but by and large, consumables just seem to keep going up and up. It has been like this all of my life, and I gotta wonder, what does it take for prices to drop?

People say that a nickel don't buy what it used to, and I guess that's because folks didn't have as many nickels as they have now, so it seems like the economy has been in this long, constant runaway where the more money they make, the higher the cost of the goods and services they need. What a vicious cycle. Is it some reciprocating market thing, or is it just that everyone is so greedy they are afraid they won't get their fair share if they don't keep hiking the prices up? It doesn't even seem like supply and demand anymore.