Inflation Note: National Park fees


Posted On: Friday - August 14th 2020 8:48PM MST
In Topics: 
  Inflation



(Note: This is not necessarily the location we visited, but just a file photo.)


This is just a short inflation note. Is this cherry picking, is what I wonder myself sometimes? Well, if there were something related to counteract the items I see going up, I'd write about it too. I suppose we could have a post soon about the things that have been truly getting cheaper but being made of (or served resulting in) the same value or better.

Anyway, the National Park entrance fee is now $30 for a good-for-7-days entrance and $55 for a year-long one. I do not remember the comparable 7-day one, but through only 12 years ago, I used to go enough to one particular beautiful National Park that I'd get year-long ones.* They were $30 then. With the online calculator Money Chimp (yeah, I just like the name, and it works), I get a 5.18% inflation rate with compounding accounted for.

There is another data point that I wish I could give more details on. Let's call it a transportation service of some kind. This exact same service in the exact same location costed $6.50 in 1999. It is $20.50 today. Ka-ching! 5.62%, says the Money Chimp.

Hey, these Inflation notes I've been posting are just anecdotes. They add up though. Don't believe the BLS.



* One could and can also get year-long ones good for ANY of the National Parks. That was $80 last week, and I think it was $50 back in the day I'd buy the $30 ones. That's right at 4% yearly inflation.

Comments:
Adam Smith
Saturday - August 15th 2020 12:47PM MST
PS: Yeah that tussin... Put some tussin on it...

I'm good. No congestion. It seems as though I have not caught the covid from my friend.

It's not racist. Watermelon jolly ranchers are delicious.
So is watermelon. And fried chicken. And ribs.
And okra. And cornbread. I absolutely love them all...

But yeah, that watermelon patch joke is dark.

This one's a bit lighter...

"How do you know that adam and eve were white"

(google or bing it with quotes for the answer)

Moderator
Saturday - August 15th 2020 11:31AM MST
PS: Adam, as in Robitussin? Yeah, or get me some of that bootleg Chinese Hydrochoro-somethin' or other. Got a post coming on that. How are you doing today. You don't sound congested.

Oh, that was looowww about the watermelon patch. I did notice that our big bag of Jolly Ranchers I snagged at a great deal is almost 50% blueberry and not enough watermelon. Gotta be PC or something.

Your explanation on the tickets might explain something I wrote about in a post long ago about the minor league baseball game prices - "The Price Point at the Field of Dreams". I hadn't thought about that aspect of it when I wrote it.

https://www.peakstupidity.com/index.php?post=705
Adam Smith
Saturday - August 15th 2020 9:52AM MST
PS: Good afternoon Mr. Moderator, Mr. Knave...

If you think dat's wayciss Mr. Knave, then you wouldn't want to know how we keep the Blacks! out of our watermelon patch in the backyard...

About the riffraff... Isn't that why lift tickets, Yankees tickets and museum tickets cost what they do?

Seems like your covidcough is getting persistent Mr. Moderator... Maybe you should put some tussin on it?


Moderator
Saturday - August 15th 2020 8:28AM MST
PS: Come to think of it, LotFHotK, I meant to write something about the reason for the fees, as they in no way cover all the costs. If we can keep the cough, riffraff, cough, cough, out, I'm up for 80 bucks for the year for all parks, hell, make if $500!
Land Of the Fee Home of the Knave
Saturday - August 15th 2020 7:39AM MST
PS Fees? Dats wayciss!
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