Is inflation really bad for most people?

[progree]

1. Yes, it is terrible, I lived thru the 70's, and early 80s

I don't know where you got your information on median household income. The latest I can find is for 2020 which was down 2.9% from 2019 (that's real median income, i.e. inflation-adjusted), no surprise, since it was the main pandemic year economically. The Census Bureau produces that figure in September, so we won't see the 2021 number until September 2022.
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEHOINUSA672N

And yes, you are right, wages and salaries are not keeping up with inflation, at least average earnings of private sector workers, and average earnings of production and non-supervisory workers (80% of the work force).

INFLATION ADJUSTED Weekly Earnings of Production and Non-Supervisory Workers http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CES0500000031

Set the start year back to 1970 or even earlier. Not how it peaked in 1973, which is about when inflation started heating up beginning around the time of the many-fold oil price increases.

Median would do even less well.

Consumer Price Index: https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CUSR0000SA0

Our experience in the high inflation years of the 70's and early 80's was that wages/salaries didn't keep up with the cost of living.

Yes, its a good deal for debtors with previous debt IF their interest rate is FIXED. If they have adjustable rate mortgages and equity line of credits, its baaddd. Credit card interest rates went through the roof (think poor people).

Back to fixed rate mortgages - yes, it was nice having the mortgage payment be flat. But the mortgage payment was about 1/3 of my house expense starting out. The other 2/3 -- property taxes, utilities, insurance, maintenance, home owner association dues -- was going up up up.

Because of soaring house prices, most young people were stuck renting -- with rental rates soaring.

Interest rates will rise with inflation if it persists, already mortgage rates are going up. When I bought my house in 1980, I was very lucky to assume a mortgage for 9% and the rest of the financing was a 12% contract for deed that had to be paid off in 3 years.

The purchasing power of savings and investments eroded dramatically during those years. Tough on old people who saw their nest eggs dwindle in purchasing power. Tough on young people and middle-aged people too saving up for a down-payment for a house or car (both of course rapidly rising in price) or college expenses for their kids.