I've just had my 80th birthday, and I've been reflecting on some of the changes I've seen. When I started driving I could ask for 4 gallons of petrol ( there weren't any serve yourself pumps then), and I could give the attendant £1, and say keep the change. $ gallons today will cost over £36, and I have to serve myself. They keep saying inflation is low, but that doesn't seem low to me. Right now the producer price ines is up over 36%, and that is a more realistic indicator than the retail price index bandied about by the government.
It really does seem to be a way for the super-elite with their hereditary wealth to increase their asset value at the expense of the bulk of the population.
It's not just gas honestly. Or rather, gas prices tend to push other comodity prices through the roof. However, I need to point out that the prices 50 years ago and today are hard to compare due to natural inflation. What needs to be adressed is what we can really buy with todays money, and the honest answer is, regarding the basics, unfortunatelly much less than the previous gen could.