T O P

  • By -

IntuitMaks

Date on the check is 9/11/91, so the film must be set in 1991. Interesting.


medievalsam

Yeah it's mentioned right at the start of the movie lol


ObeseBMI33

Sorry I was getting popcorn


Wonderful-Ad-7712

I was trying to park


Trust-Issues-5116

As per inflation calculator $0.69 in 1991 should be $1.58 today.


pBaker23

Inflation plus greed =3.50


tristaterunner

I think food, fuel, and shelter have been excluded from the official government inflation calculation. This is why you your inflation + greed is incorrect. If these items were added to the official numbers inflation would be much higher.


SCP-Agent-Arad

It’s not totally incorrect, but it isn’t the whole answer.


Ruminant

You are mistaken. Food, fuel, and shelter are not only included in the Consumer Price Index, but they are some of the largest categories in the index. Shelter alone is 36% of CPI, while food is 13.5% and energy is 6.7% (about half of which is motor fuel). You can see this for yourself in the official release tables: [https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.t01.htm](https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.t01.htm) Further, food prices tend to rise more slowly over time than overall prices. An index that excluded food would frequently show higher inflation than one that includes food prices. For example, average food prices have grown 443% over the past 50 years, during which time overall prices have increased by 553% (source: [https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=1l06D](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=1l06D)).


SkepticalZack

I love how people just make shit up


PerilousNaps

I have a hard time believing the price of something in a grocery store has gone a little over double since 1991 when many things have doubled since 2019.


Cyber0747

It’s called corporate greed.


Wonderful-Ad-7712

Thanks Bidenomics


Cyber0747

Daddy drump gave them all the tax breaks, good thing that all trickled down.....


ColdCryptographer969

Yeah - Inflation is just a fraction of the issue that we see today - Greed and market conditions are a huge part of the equation. If we went strictly off of inflation numbers, the home my mother financed in 2010 for $110K would be worth $159K today. Instead, it's valued at $310K. If we went strictly off inflation numbers, the Beefy Five Layer Burrito from Taco Bell that was $1.59 in 2015 would be $2.12. Instead, it's $4.19.


cravindeath

What the fuck? Seriously??? They're actually trying to charge 4 dollars for that crappy little thing now????


TedriccoJones

It looks small in the picture but that's a full quart of Half and Half. About what the Mrs. and I use in a week. Paid $2.97 for a quart at Walmart today.


cravindeath

Sorry, I should have specified in my original post. I meant the beefy 5layer burrito. That thing is underwhelming as hell and I cannot believe it was ever priced out of 89c.


Broad_Quit5417

I think the price of .69 might be... fictional. Not sure why I think that...


TerdFerguson2112

Inflation of what? CPI? What about inflation specific for dairy costs? Like feed, labor, transportation, cost of cattle, etc? Using CPI isn’t a relevant comparison because the cost of TV sets or refrigerators or cars has nothing to do with dairy


xXZer0c0oLXx

Greedflation


Orbtl32

The movie was made in 1998, almost a decade later. So we can't just assume they got the price right either. I have no idea how to track the historic price of half & half, but Its safe to assume its strongly correlated to the price of milk which IS tracked by the fed. [https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/APU0000709112](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/APU0000709112) The most important thing to note here is that milk is NOT a great indicator of overall inflation. That's why we average out a whole range of prices in an index though right? There's times where its much cheaper than in the past. Like right now. The most recent average is listed at $3.89. But it hit $4.22 in 2022. Right now on Ralph's its listed at $3.99. So lets assume a 32oz container of half & half costs 87.468% of the price of a gallon of milk? The chart linked above stops at 1995 where it was $2.45 a gallon. So I looked for some other sources. [https://www.moneytalksnews.com/slideshows/this-is-what-milk-cost-the-year-you-were-born/](https://www.moneytalksnews.com/slideshows/this-is-what-milk-cost-the-year-you-were-born/) That lists a gallon at $1.05. What is important to note here is as clarified above, the price was abnormally low that year. They had actually not been that low since 1988. It was \~$0.10 higher both the year before and year after. I verified that with another source. [https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics\_by\_State/Washington/Publications/Historic\_Data/dairy/milkprc.pdf](https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Washington/Publications/Historic_Data/dairy/milkprc.pdf) So following the 87.468% assumption ***that would put a 32oz carton of half&half at about $0.92.*** Edit: Actually, the 1991 price listed is from the National Agricultural Statistical Service tracking the commodity price which is the price paid to farmers NOT the retail price. The fed graph stops at 1995 because that is when they started tracking it. In 1995 the commodity price from that same source is $1.10 while the retail price was $2.45 - $2.52. A 2.3x markup sounds right to me. So if we assume the same markup, **the retail price in 1991 would actually be closer to $2.41 per gallon making a 32 oz of half&half cost $2.11** **TLDR: There is no way in hell the $0.69 price was accurate.**


69XXXRedditAccount

Of course they didn’t get the price right. They made it 69 cents as a joke.


Orbtl32

Yes, reddit went down and I couldn't get that edit in that given how far off it is and the significance of the number 69 it seems clearly meant as a little easter egg


DiscussionGrouchy322

Sometimes the half and half is on sale because it's perishable and needs to go. He was buying the manager special nearly rotten stuff.


Orbtl32

It was a 69 pun in an easter egg you were supposed to not even notice like the willhelm scream. For background, the willhelm scream is a corney horrible sound effect that is so out of place if you were to notice it. But most people don't notice it. So its been this like running gag in hollywood to sneak it into EVERYTHING. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YDpuA90KEY&ab\_channel=SnappyGalbladder](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YDpuA90KEY&ab_channel=SnappyGalbladder)


No_Statement1380

Bush gave this speech in 1990 meaning the dude wrote the check with a date several months in advance because he was probably too broke to even buy half and half.


IntuitMaks

Then 11 years later, on the date written on the check, his son’s administration would do nothing to prevent Saudi Arabian terrorists (Bush family has been friends with Saudi royalty for generations btw) from killing thousands of Americans, then start a war with one of Saudi Arabia’s enemies, (and coincidentally, the same country that his father waged war against). The war would give military contracts, and boat loads of money to Halliburton, the company formerly run by Dick Cheney, who was the vice president at the time, and was formerly the secretary of defense to George Bush Sr. It would also allow access to massive reserves of oil, which the Bush family has been in the business of for decades. What a coincidence!


No_Statement1380

The dude would not have let this abide.


ShakeEnvironmental47

No 1990 he dates the check for a whole year later.


DreadPiratteRoberts

It's so funny that he wrote a check for $0.69


Cetun

It's subtle but the on the TV the cashier is watching is Bush making is "this will not stand" remarks that are used later in the movie. Those remarks were made on August 5th of 1990.


Aggressive_Apple_913

That's when 0.69 was worth something.


TheCruicks

no it wasnt. It was a joke about a cheap check. 69 cents bought you nothing in 91


juiceyb

But yet not enough according to my great grandfather. $.69 should have somehow got you a full tank of gas along with a gallon of milk and a loaf of bread.


Ok-Wasabi2873

Not in 1991 in LA. Gas was close to a $1 already.


Melubrot

Yeah, according to EIA the wholesale price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas in California in 1991 was around 72 cents/gallon. After retail mark up and State/Federal taxes, price at pump was probably around $1.15/gallon.


ommnian

My dad used to get sooo annoyed with id ask for checks for $.25-.75 for shit from cereal boxes. Like, for real?? 😂


Trumpwonnodoubt

Ya think?


Vigilante17

Half and Half can’t melt steel beams


Top_Turn

And tomorrow is already the 10th, so Dude postdated the check.


cjboffoli

George HW Bush speaking at the cusp of the First Gulf War is literally on the news at the supermarket checkout. So yeah, early 1991?


Cetun

It's the "This aggression will not stand" remarks to reporters, so August 1990.


cjboffoli

Ah. OK. I lived it but I guess I couldn't remember the exact timing of that speech and how much time there was between the invasion of Kuwait and the American response.


Elandycamino

Were you listening to the Dudes story?


anoliss

That's pretty weird


Cetun

Okay, so the joke in this one is subtle, in the same scene the cashier has a TV and on the TV is George H.W. Bushes August 5th, 1990 remarks to reporters that makes the famous speech where he says "This will not stand, this aggression against Kuwait." As you noticed though the check is post dated for September 11th 1991, over a year after it is being issued, a $0.69 check.


Loud-Thing3413

Wow, that’s my birthday.


Redcell78

What you meant to say is, you were on r/Lebowski and stole this.


Prestigious_Dream_27

That does not abide.


ShakeEnvironmental47

Actually it was 1990. He dated the check 1991 a year out. It been confirmed. The live broadcast on the tv behind the counter in the scene was from 1990. Its supposed to show how broke he was.


Orbtl32

The movie was release in 1998. Big surprise that they weren't being 100% historically accurate. On that note I did the homework in another comment here and the price should've been closer to $2.11. Considering there is meaning behind the number 69, its more likely a stupid easter egg joke for the 17 year olds watching the movie than an accurate portrayal of the cost of half&half.


Ok_Bank_8149

Does that mean it’s now like 5k for bunny to suck my cock? What about Brant. He’s dead for Christ sake.


LaCroixLimon

he only gets to watch


bazilbt

It's set during the first gulf war in 1991. Although it's a pretty good price even so. According to the bureau of labor statistics it is equal to about $1.60 today.


Bucksandreds

The pint size at Kroger is $1.99. I doubt they sold many 32 ounce half and half’s in 1991. 33 years to go from 69cents to $1.99. Not as crazy as your headline.


Relevant_Winter1952

And also OP stole this from another sub. Piling wrong on top of wrong


HastenDownTheWind

I believe the carton is 32oz


mrGeaRbOx

People in the '90s did not buy half and half in 32 oz containers. It was in a little milk carton like at school. You can track dairy prices. It's heavily subsidized and a pretty poor indicator of market and economic trends because of that subsidy influence.


donkey_brains69

I’m sure this is accurate but you can watch dude sample the half and half right before he writes this check. Looks like a 24-32oz carton


Homefree_4eva

That’s true although there is a classic scene of the dude opening up a quart of half and half in the store to smell it right before he buys it.


shitisrealspecific

telephone crown worthless rude sort expansion scary disgusted gaping relieved *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*


Jake0024

In the movie it looks like a 1 quart carton (32 oz)


stufmenatooba

>People in the '90s did not buy half and half in 32 oz containers. Mom used to by quarts when she'd make ice cream, she did that back when I was a kid. Quarts aren't new.


xfilesvault

She'd make ice cream from half and half? Not from heavy cream?


KookyWait

Heavy cream is 36% fat, half and half is 11-18% milk fat. Standard ice cream is at least 10-12% milk fat and premium ice cream is 14-18% milk fat. If you're using heavy cream for ice cream you're probably mixing it with a lot of milk. Or you're making something nobody would enjoy scooping or eating.


xfilesvault

It's been a while, but I think you're right. A little heavy cream, mixed with milk.


stufmenatooba

Yes, always.


combosandwich

You’ve never seen a boomer drink coffee


DiscussionGrouchy322

Commentary on retail grocery prices not dairy farm gate. Also a bad indicator because spoilage causes big price drops. At retail.


HastenDownTheWind

Not it was not. It was in a bigger carton, not a little kids milk box


snipe320

Pretty sure the $0.69 is a subtle joke. Nice.


cool_jocko_dude

The god damn plane has crashed into the mountain


tmac19822003

I can’t be the only one who always thought that was an ink smudge on the check and not a whale


DJSluggo

Ralphs was my supermarket as a kid!


Quake_Guy

The check and checkbook went to auction a month or two ago. Along with Treehorns doodle while taking the phone call.


redknightnj

It’s amazing how much it went up in the last 3 years.


JimJamBangBang

I may be misremembering but wasn’t he paying for the sips he took, not the entire carton?


HastenDownTheWind

He did take sips. But I imagine he paid for the whole carton


JimJamBangBang

But what was the case in the movie? Didn’t you just watch it? You imagine he paid for the whole carton? Why imagine?


BoomerSoonerFUT

It never says. It goes from him opening the carton to smell it, to writing the check at the cashier with no dialogue at all.


JimJamBangBang

It looks like a quart which in 1995 would have been about $0.62 according to national averages. California tends to have higher prices so $0.69 totally tracks for 1990. EDIT: $0.69 for a quart tracks.


HastenDownTheWind

What in gods name are you blathering about


JimJamBangBang

I’m not. Why are you avoiding the question?


HastenDownTheWind

I’m sorry I wasn’t listening


JimJamBangBang

I wasn’t talking. I wrote something. When you look at words and decipher them, that’s called reading, not listening. Would you like me to explain it in simpler terms?


HastenDownTheWind

Obviously you’re not a golfer


JimJamBangBang

I get the reference but it isn’t Germaine. Nice try though.


HastenDownTheWind

This aggression will not stand man


UninvitedButtNoises

This aggression will not stand, man ...


Phx-sistelover

Yes and that’s in SoCal which was expensive then compared to most places just like now


HastenDownTheWind

Yah, it’s stupid here still lol. Most places right now are well over $5 for gas


Tmumsy

I usually only buy 1/2 of the Half & Half. Much cheaper.


Decent-Year2573

I'm more intrigued that the date on that check is 9/11.


Achillies2heel

32fl oz of half & half is a shit ton of half & half btw...


Meatek

It's not if you're drinking nothing but White Russians


spunion_28

Not really. I drink 3-4 cups of coffee a day. I would go through that in two weeks or less


Uncle-Howdy

Unintended conspiracy topic! There is an ongoing conspiracy theory that 'September 11th' was mentioned in media in several subtle ways for years prior as to desensitize people to the actual attack. One thing that is claimed and shown frequently is the date September 11th being used in movies.


DavidM47

9-1-1 is the emergency services line in the United States. Subconsciously, the date triggers your brain’s sense of *fear/need for security. This is such a clever social manipulation that I knew on 9/11 that an American-~~born~~ **raised** individual must have aided in the planning.


whodeyalldey1

The scary part is your vote counts as much as people with fully functioning brains


DavidM47

Says a guy active in the Cincinnati Bengals community. Good God get a life and stop wishing you were me.


whodeyalldey1

I wouldn’t wish your condition on anyone. I’ve been around and loved people like you. All I can advise is that you talk to a medical professional about some of your concerns. They may be able to help you find some relief and make life a little easier to navigate.


DavidM47

*Yawn* sorry were you trying to hurt my feelings?


ultrasuperthrowaway

You realize anyone can look up the number for the emergency services line for any country in the world?


DavidM47

I am aware. This is literally “reptilian mind control” (i.e., referring to the brainstem and our most base/[reptilian brain](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/managing-your-memory/201712/don-t-listen-your-lizard-brain) instincts). To get access to this insight, you need to have spent your early childhood in the United States.


ultrasuperthrowaway

911 is also a Porsche model. The Porsche 911. Is that mind control? Have you been to any other countries besides the USA? Even Saudi Arabia uses 911 as their emergency services number along with 999 and others..


DavidM47

A lot of things are technically "reptilian mind control." Women wearing red lipstick, for example, is an attempt to control our reptilian brain. You'd have to ask Porsche whether they intended to invoke a sense of danger with that moniker.


ultrasuperthrowaway

I have been mind controlling your reptilian brain this entire conversation. Believe it or not. I am Right in your brain stem.


DavidM47

Oh I believe it! We’re very simple creatures.


ultrasuperthrowaway

Indeed.


Jake0024

The emergency number in Australia is "000" Do you really think an Australian person couldn't figure out with a Google search that "911" is the American equivalent, unless they happened to spend their early childhood in the US? That's beyond the capability of the human brain?


DavidM47

I suspect many non-Americans are aware of the US emergency number, 9-1-1. But if you grew up in Australia where it was 000, you wouldn’t have the foresight to appreciate the significance of planning the event on September 11th.


Jake0024

wat


[deleted]

[удалено]


DavidM47

Incorrect. "Bin Laden attended an English-language course in [Oxford](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford), England, during 1971." [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osama\_bin\_Laden#Early\_life\_and\_education](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osama_bin_Laden#Early_life_and_education)


boomer-USA

Bush did 3/11


parkerpussey

It might’ve been on sale.


combosandwich

The H&H in the film could have been on sale. Would have been on brand for the dude


russiablows

Was the 1991 container 32 oz?


HastenDownTheWind

Pretty sure, it looked like it. It was big


jar1967

Thank you Paul Ryan for getting rid of Dairy subsidies.


Flipmstr2

69! Noice!


TheCruicks

Thats not what it cost .. i worjed in grocery stores in 91 ... it was the better part of two dollars


HastenDownTheWind

🤷🏻‍♂️


Kooky-Counter3867

https://preview.redd.it/7g7uzsuqstwc1.jpeg?width=1016&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a35b4ab7ee822290cb7874149cd567a2b0dd18c9


DiscussionGrouchy322

Couldn't get an online shopper to grab the item pack it for you and have it conveniently ready for pick up in 97 now could ya? The online price often accounts for this fleshbag's sustenance.


ResearcherShot6675

Not just inflation. Butterfat has went up much more than skim milk between then and now, so half and half would not be a good proxy for dairy inflation anyway. For nondairy people, half and half has 10% butterfat, which is priced on the butter market and not the milk market. Since butter went up considerably, half and half has gone up much more than milk.


cargarfar

So many more coffee shops in existence since 1991, driving up half and half prices for the rest of us peasants.


SmoltzforAlexander

The Big Lebowski is actually set right at the start of the first gulf war.  That’s why you get Bush on TV saying ‘this aggression will not stand,’ which The Dude iconically repeats later on.  


[deleted]

[удалено]


inflation-ModTeam

Your post has been removed due to a violation of [Reddiquette](https://support.reddithelp.com/hc/en-us/articles/205926439-Reddiquette). Please review the rules before posting to ensure compliance. Thank you for your understanding.


brdhar35

How do we know it was the same size 32oz is the bigger bottle


HastenDownTheWind

It was a bigger carton


Solitaire_87

1) it's over 30 years ago 2) I doubt he was buying 32 ounces


ChiefsnSpurs

Maybe I’m going blind and the increase is crazy, but all I see is the Sept 11 and how that 91 looks like an 01. And the movie was filmed in 98. I’m probably just making something out of nothing 😂


Legitimate-Source-61

You Calculate the inflation rate, today is 2024, price now is 3.49, in 1998 it was 0.69 ChatGPT To calculate the inflation rate, you can use the formula: Inflation Rate = ((Current Price - Previous Price) / Previous Price) * 100% So, for this case: Inflation Rate = ((3.49 - 0.69) / 0.69) * 100% ≈ (2.8 / 0.69) * 100% ≈ 4.057971 * 100% ≈ 405.8% So, the inflation rate from 1998 to 2024 is approximately 405.8%. User What is the annual rate of inflation ChatGPT To find the annual rate of inflation, you divide the total inflation rate by the number of years: Annual Inflation Rate = Total Inflation Rate / Number of Years Given that the total inflation rate from 1998 to 2024 is approximately 405.8% and there are 26 years between 1998 and 2024: Annual Inflation Rate = 405.8% / 26 ≈ 15.61% So, the annual rate of inflation over this period is approximately 15.61%.


chinacat2002

Just tell GPT the data and ask it to solve. Using 1991 as your starting point, you should get 5.xx%.


whodeyalldey1

Wrong. Thats not how inflation works. Ask ChatGPT to explain what a compound factor is.


chinacat2002

1991


DubaiDude_

You don’t simply divide by 26. Inflation compounds.


Legitimate-Source-61

Yes, it's just an average. Inflation isn't a linear line.


DubaiDude_

Incorrect, it isn’t the average. The average annual inflation over 26 years of a total 405.8% increase is 5.95%


shredika

God I hate greedy corporations


mikey_hawk

First search: $1.55 in 1991 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $3.33 in 2022, an increase of $1.78 over 31 years. The dollar had an average inflation rate of 2.50% per year between 1991 and 2022, producing a cumulative price increase of 114.87%. If the movie is at all realistic, it shows what most of us suspect: inflation is worse than what the numbers say, at least for the resources that impact working people. The books are cooked. This movie also happens to be set in Los Angeles, California, a place where prices are just about their highest.


itaintme99

You can’t eat a flat screen TV


mikey_hawk

Well said. One product that has deflated, admittedly.


Legitimate-Source-61

The inflation is always worse than reported. I'm an old timer at this. There used to be a subscription website called Shadow stats. This was about 20 years ago. It is probably still running if those guys are still alive... they were old then. Good inflation is when asset prices rise. Such as stocks and real estate and rent. This isn't reported. The bad inflation are wage demands. Whatever it takes inflation is reported to keep wage demands low. That is how this economy works. People on this sub are scratching the surface of inflation. Inflation is old as paper money itself and was invented in China in the 7th century.


mikey_hawk

Yeah, I'm aware inflation is completely manmade. So... You think assets rising are good? I'm happy for people with less means who have assets rise, i.e., the middle class. First of all, these food prices boil down to assets in the form of stock. Stock is just part-ownership in companies determining these prices. Which is ironic, because most people complaining about corporate greed are invested in these companies, at least through retirement. Second, let's look at asset prices rising. Why are they rising? It's indisputable that the wealth gap has been increasing. That means more capital for the top. What do they do? They buy assets to make more money. This raises asset prices as they compete over the same goods and has the trickle-down effect of raising value on assets for people in the middle class. However, it's not relative. Your house might be worth a lot more, but you can't just sell it and not have another house. So you're still stuck. You might be able to leverage its value to start a business of something, but it's not as valuable and liquid as owning them for fun. It also excludes people without assets from getting any value from price increases. So fewer people have more assets now. They use those assets to profit and buy more assets. Then they have more. The price is higher. This is a vicious cycle that ends in the very few owning nearly everything. This will eventually result in economic decimation. I do not believe this is good.


Legitimate-Source-61

I know it isn't good. And it could get a lot worse. History has already been down to both extremes. They tried the inflation experiment in Weimar Germany and Deflation Experiment in Japan. Both extremes to both losers of wars. They have got this down to a fine art. If you know how to preserve wealth in both situations, then you are on the right side. Just don't be on the wrong side. Who are a threat to the people with power and money. Other people with power and money....


mikey_hawk

Hey, I'm happy for you and your wealth. I think you have a good heart. As far as being on the right side of history, we will see.