Because Really, Wouldn't You Rather I Wore Pants?

I woke up this morning thinking about inflation, which quickly led to me thinking about pants.

Why did I wake up thinking about inflation?

Well, because I think about inflation a lot lately. Prices seem to be going up faster than the "official inflation statistics" of "worrisome" rates of 5%-ish indicate. Unsurprising:

In the last 18 months, the US “M2” money supply (coin currency, physical paper, central bank reserves, demand deposits, travelers’ checks, savings deposits and money market shares) has increased from about $15.4 trillion to nearly $20.4 trillion.

That’s a 24% increase, annualizing to an inflation rate of about 16% — if production of goods and services kept up. But it didn’t. US Gross Domestic Product dropped from more than $21.4 trillion in 2019 to less than $20.1 trillion in 2020.

Why did this lead to thinking about pants?

Well, because on of the things I purchase on a fairly regular basis, online via Amazon (making it easy to go see what I paid for it and when), is Thai fisherman pants.

I own a pair of jeans, a couple of suits, a few pairs of shorts, and a pair of swim trunks, but mainly, on a daily basis, I wear Thai fisherman pants. They're light, they're comfortable, they accommodate my weight swings ... and when I first started buying them a few years ago, they were cheap.

The first pair I ordered, in 2017, came to $8.70. Those were plain black ones. Later, I started getting more gaily colored ones, but no real price difference seemed to obtain.

Last September, I purchased a pair of red RaanPahMuang brand pants. Price: $8.99.

This May, I purchased a pair of purple RaanPahMuang brand pants. Price: $8.99.

Current price for that brand in red (purple seems to be out of stock) (not an affiliate link): $26.79.

It's not just that brand or that color or that size. All Thai fisherman pants seem to have doubled or tripled in price over the last few months.

Of course, not all of the increase is necessarily due to monetary inflation. There could be supply chain problems, etc. keeping supply down, tariffs pushing prices up, etc.

But I'm starting to worry that I may have to abandon Thai fisherman pants for something cheaper. The one down side to those particular pants is that they tend to last maybe a year (given the frequency with which I wear them) before hems start to fray, pockets start to tear, and already thin fabric starts to become sheer. Basically, I order a new pair every 3-4 months and throw an old pair (one I've been wearing only around the house so as to avoid arrest) away when the new pair arrives. I try to keep seven wearable pairs on hand.

Why am I boring you with all this?

Well, because I'm two referrals (to a free daily email newsletter chock full of good information and fun stuff) away from getting a free Morning Brew coffee cup.

But more importantly, if I refer five new subscribers this week, I get ... you guessed it ... a free pair of ("jogger") pants!

You wouldn't want to see me wandering around without pants, would you? Please subscribe to Morning Brew (that is an affiliate link) today!