July 4 Barbecue Costs Climb to Record: Chart

[xchrom]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-02/july-4-barbecue-costs-climb-to-record-chart-of-the-day.html



Rising prices for beef, ice cream and lettuce mean Americans will spend the most ever for Fourth of July barbecues this year.

The CHART OF THE DAY shows an index tracking U.S. retail prices for seven foods commonly consumed while grilling climbed 5.1 percent in May from a year earlier to the highest ever for the month, the latest data from Bureau of Labor Statistics show.

Independence Day is the most popular time of the year for Americans to cook outdoors, according to the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association. The holiday falls on a Friday this year, increasing chances that revelers will keep celebrating into the weekend. Prices for ground beef are 16 percent higher than a year earlier, while ice cream climbed 1.7 percent and tomatoes soared 12 percent, government data show.

Consumers “are becoming adjusted to these price levels,” said Don Close, a vice president for animal protein at Rabobank Food and Agriculture Research and Advisory in St. Louis. “I would expect the overall grilling demand to be very good. The natural long weekend will be a benefit.”

[daleanime]

1. "are becoming adjusted to this price levels".....

Yes, more profit to be made.

[littlemissmartypants]

4. IKR

Bullsh*t. People are starving. While prices rise and containers shrink with their paychecks. Where is the spit smilie?

[merrily]

2. God Bless America!

[joshcryer]

3. More grilling = higher prices.

It just goes to show how patriotic the nation is becoming. Or rather, how July 4th is becoming just another consumer holiday.

Too bad it'll be 106F here in Vegas today.

[corkhead]

5. My Dog! according to the chart, we are paying at least 5 times as much as we did in 1996!

no, wait. The bottom of the chart is $14 and the top is $23. That's still a lot, but not quite as shocking as the distorted graph tricks us into believing.


Mean time we have supposedly had almost no inflation during that time according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index.

http://data.bls.gov/pdq/SurveyOutputServlet?request_action=wh&graph_name=CU_cpibrief


My conclusion. It's all bullshit.

On edit: I just noticed the CPI chart is "all items less food and energy". What is the point of this chart? Remove the volatile items because nobody buys food or energy anyway.

[WinkyDink]

6. No, there's no inflation. :-P

[flvegan]

7. Find a good sale on beer to offset the price.

Fat Tire was $3 off for a 12-er in my neck of the woods. Well, and I don't think that the "vice president for animal protein" is really reaching me anyway, so...

[daleanime]

8. heh, got a couple of black bean burger recipes......

that I'm trying this year. Hopefully at least one works for me.

[LeftyMom]

9. I got a case of Sierra Torpedo for $9.99. God bless America!