Cost of living

Inflation is rising higher and higher. It is an indicator which tells us that our cost of items is rising. Risen it has and that to at a blistering pace. Cost of all items starting from the very basic stuff like potatoes or toothpastes to high end items like televisions or cars have risen sharply. The main reason being given is the rise in input cost and fuel prices. These two items has affected every industry. The companies have two choices. Either to absorb the price rise or pass it along to the end user. Some companies have managed to effectively control the price rise and have managed to keep the price of their product the same or raised it just slightly. One such company is the maker of the glucose biscuit Parle G. They have managed to keep the price for this low end biscuit the same for almost a decade by streamlining their company production lines and reducing the margin given to retailers. This has helped to keep the prices in check even though the input prices have risen sharply for all their main ingredients. Other companies have no other choice but to pass it on to the end user. For example, the price of sheet metal used in making the outer body of cars has risen sharply over the last few quarters and the car companies have been raising the prices every so often. The average person is adversely affected by the prices rise especially for the essential items. It has become really difficult for him/her to balance their check book. It will take time to tame these inflationary pressures, since they are due to external pressures. As soon as the oil prices come down to comfortable levels once more, some of our problems will go away, at least for awhile. This had a cascading effect on all items. But not much can be done since it is beyond our control. Maybe, one of the solutions would be to build large petroleum buffer stock to control this massive price fluctuation.