Relative Gains

Barry Ritholtz puts up an interesting set of charts today (click to enlarge):

These charts show the the value of the S&P 500 stock index vs. various commodities. Put another way, these charts show the amount of various assets it would take in today's dollars to buy the stock market.

First it's interesting to note that in dollars, the stock market is just getting back to 2000 levels. But more interesting is how poorly stocks have done against other assets. This gives you some idea of just how pernicious inflation can be. For example, it takes a whole lot more corn equivalent dollars to buy a stock than just a few short years ago.