People might not be in denial, but too many are clueless/uninformed about inflation and its effect.

You'd be surprised how economically iterate average people are. I had highschool colleagues who couldn't calculate VAT/sales tax out of a price on the whiteboard.

Sure, people have heard of the word inflation, they know this word exists, but they won't be able to explain how it works and its effects throughout the economy.

If you ask a random person on the street what inflation is (and what it is not) and how a 1950s dollar compares to today and what lifestyle the average single income household affords you then vs now, you’re going to get a wrong answer in both cases.