The Consumer Price Index shot up at an annual rate of 5.6 percent in July --- and the newswires are buzzing about how that’s the highest rate in 17 years.

But it is what is inside the index that’s really high.

On an annual basis, year over year, today’s report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics says cereal and bakery products have increased in price by 12 percent. Fruits and vegetables, up 10 percent. A category called fats and oils, up almost 16 percent.

Gas, the kind you use in your home, and electricity, are up almost 15 percent.

Thank goodness Floridians don’t need to heat our homes with fuel oil, which is up 61 percent.

And the big kahuna, gasoline, up almost 38 percent since last year.

The upside? Not sure what it is, but if it makes you feel better, let’s consider what gasoline-like price surges would mean in the rest of our daily lives.

If haircuts had gone up as much as gas, a $20 haircut last year would be a $27.60 haircut this year.
A $50 pair of shoes would be a $69 pair of shoes.

A $75 dinner at a restaurant would be a $103.50 dinner.

At least we don’t have those kind of price spikes across the board, yet.

Or, do we? Where have you seen inflation hit hard? Which prices?