The Phantom Depression
By James Quillian,Economist, Political Analyst, Natural Law

Why You Should Look at These Tables

Most people feel poorer today than they did in 2020. They aren’t imagining it. They aren’t failing to budget. They’re living inside a statistical illusion. The official inflation number, CPI, is designed to make the economy look healthier than it is. It measures products, not life. It hides the real cost of living by adjusting away quality improvements, substituting cheaper goods, and averaging essentials with non‑essentials.

But life isn’t lived through product categories. Life is lived through actions: driving, heating, eating, communicating, working, raising children, and staying healthy. When you measure the cost of these same actions from 2020 to today, you see a very different picture. You see the Phantom Depression — the lived decline hidden by official statistics.

The tables below show the truth in plain numbers. No jargon. No tricks. Just the cost of living the same life.

THE ACTION‑COST TABLES (2020–2025)

Each table compares the real cost of an everyday action to the official CPI index, with 2020 set to 100.

Drive 100 Miles

Insurance, repairs, taxes, financing, fuel.

Fuel, delivery fees, grid fees, maintenance.

Electricity, HVAC maintenance, equipment replacement.

Food, shrinkflation, packaging, transport, labor.

Device cost, service plan, taxes, surcharges.

Fuel, insurance, repairs, depreciation, parking.

Food, clothing, medical, school fees, activities.

Internet, electricity, devices, software.

Labor, rent, insurance, utilities, ingredients.

Premiums, deductibles, copays, prescriptions.

A simple average of all ten actions.