system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
What is causing the price of so many goods and services to skyrocket?

Lumber is up, Proctor and Gamble is about to raise prices on diapers, gas is going up, etc.

Is this literally just because of Covid? If so, can someone provide more detail than just “it’s a pandemic” - aren’t most of these goods manufactured in China? It’s my understanding they’re past the pandemic (or so they say) so exporting goods shouldn’t have any effect no?

Thanks everyone for your knowledge.
gpt
It's a complicated question. A short answer might includes things like:

1. Supply chain hiccups in various intermediate components and raw materials during the pandemic leading to shortages in finished goods, driving up prices
2. Poorly managed health risks in workplaces and reduced availability of things like suitable child care have reduced the available labor pool of people willing to work for lower wages; this hasn't seemed to raise wages yet but reduced labor availability can lead to reduced output and shortages
3. (controversial/dubious) stimulus payments and increased UI benefits may have reduced the opportunity cost of not working, further reducing labor supply
4. demand spikes from relaxed restrictions
5. aggregate effects of stimulus policies reaching markets for consumer goods
6. it just might *seem* like prices are skyrocketing now just because inflation has been so low for so long

And FWIW, most lumber is produced domestically or in Canada, and most to all of P&G's diapers for the US market are produced domestically too. The recent gas spike is likely at least partially a result of the Colonial pipeline cyberattack causing supply shortfall and uncertainty.