General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsFood Prices Are Soaring And Washington Doesn’t Care
Todays economy is driven by Washington in more than just determining the location of Maserati dealerships. We see the ramifications of current government policies in numerous obvious ways. Make full-time employment more expensive with required benefits, and suddenly there are more part-time jobs; provide ample benefits and low eligibility standards for defining disabled workers, and suddenly there are more long-term unemployed going on SSDI; keep interest rates at zero, and suddenly there are more elderly workers; end unemployment insurance, and suddenly you see people accepting jobs they were reluctant to take; and as weve seen at the state and local level, raise the minimum wage, and suddenly teens are struggling to find work.
In all the debates over these policies, interested parties go back and forth over how and when to use the knobs and levers of government to achieve certain ends, concerning mobility and inequality and job growth and a host of other goals. But lost in these debates over statistics and trendlines are the ramifications of government policy when it comes to the (less politically sexy) burdens faced by most middle and working class Americans. In these arenas, policy debates are almost completely divorced from the experiences of most Americans particularly on the right, where Republicans talk over and over again about the burdens of taxes without addressing the costs of energy, food, and health care, all of which are squeezing household budgets.
We have a perfect example of this within the current debate over rising food prices, where a bunch of policy elites are currently debating the question: when is food inflation real?
U.S. food prices are on the rise, raising a sensitive question: When the cost of a hamburger patty soars, does it count as inflation? It does to everyone who eats and especially poorer Americans, whose food costs absorb a larger portion of their income. But central bankers take a more nuanced view. They sometimes look past food-price increases that appear temporary or isolated while trying to control broad and long-term inflation trends, not blips that might soon reverse
The consumer price of ground beef in May rose 10.4% from a year earlier while pork chop prices climbed 12.7%. The price of fresh fruit rose 7.3% and oranges 17.1%. But prices for cereals and bakery products were up just 0.1% and vegetable prices inched up only 0.5%. The U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts overall food prices will increase 2.5% to 3.5% this year after rising 1.4% in 2013, as measured by the Labor Departments consumer-price index. In a typical supermarket, shoppers are seeing higher prices around the stores periphery, in the produce section and at the meat counter.
more...
http://thefederalist.com/2014/07/08/food-prices-are-soaring-and-washington-doesnt-care/
Thinkingabout
(30,058 posts)I am not one to defend the policies in Washington but grain production has nit been good and so on down the line. Grazing land has produced less and feed lots had to pay more and in turn got less beef to market.
awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)not only does corn based ethanol (the only one we seem to be able to produce, because the corn industry is driving it) not only lowers mileage but drives up beef prices.
LuvNewcastle
(16,844 posts)I pay extra for gas without ethanol. I'm sick of it fucking up my engine. I wish they would stop using ethanol altogether, but they have a hell of a lobby in Congress. If you're tired of repair bills, try using ethanol-free gas. You'll see an immediate difference in how your engine runs.
awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)in major metro areas down here.
Oilwellian
(12,647 posts)awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)I hate running it in my bike.
LuvNewcastle
(16,844 posts)We only have a few places that sell it and none of them are near my home, but I go out of my way to fill up at one of them whenever I'm near one. I don't have to drive that much and my scooter gets excellent mileage (the real gas makes it even better), so it's not too hard for me to do. Start asking around and you'll find one. They might only have a couple of pumps that are devoted to it, but I'll bet there are at least a couple of places that have it.
awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)I wil check it out- I hate running it in my motorcycle.
Warpy
(111,245 posts)My Ford Ranger was underpowered even on straight gas. Every winter when the switchover to gasohol happened, it would hesitate at stoplights. Yes, I put a new clutch into it one year but no, it didn't fix the hesitation. It just fixed the slippage when I was going uphill.
My little Kia doesn't seem to notice the difference, at all. It's a zippy little thing with plenty of power, even filled to the brim with fiber gear. My Dodge Colt didn't notice it, either.
Perhaps high performance engines in muscle cars get bad indigestion on gasohol. My 4 cylinder putt putts didn't unless they had it on straight gas.
I can't speak to old Volkswagens and Subarus and a clunky Vega that ate its own engine, they never experienced gasohol, only MBTE when it was largely available.
Mopar151
(9,980 posts)Really, you don't. When you begin to understand Phase Separation, you'll figure out some of your animus with E10. Now, if gas is going to sit in unsealed storage more than a couple months, the extra cost of storage-stable gasoline is worth it - if nothing else, it saves the cost of various stabilizers that keep E10 from "falling apart".
rickyhall
(4,889 posts)awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)to make ethanol from corn waste (husk, etc)- but the corn industry can't make as much money off that.
Anansi1171
(793 posts)...pay people to vote against our interest.
Skidmore
(37,364 posts)Hard freeze in the winter time with late start to the growing season because the ground was frozen way past the normal frost line. Now flooding and cooler than normal temperatures in the midwest for the season. Also, there have been animal sicknesses. Lots of factors.
djean111
(14,255 posts)SummerSnow
(12,608 posts)Supermarket brand Gallon of whole milk $4.79
Supermarket brand 4 sticks of butter $4.49
Supermarket brand toasted oats cereal 14 oz $2.39
Supermarket orange juice 1 gallon $3.39
total $15.06, didn't even include bread cause I bake my own bread
food is high
yeoman6987
(14,449 posts)LuvNewcastle
(16,844 posts)in Mississippi. The cost of living is usually a lot lower here, but we seem to be catching up, unfortunately.
SummerSnow
(12,608 posts)LuvNewcastle
(16,844 posts)DeSwiss
(27,137 posts)grasswire
(50,130 posts)supermarket gallon whole milk 2.50
pound of butter (supermarket brand) $2.50
Cheerios name brand 1.79 (3 for $5)
supermarket OJ gallon 2.50
the milk and OJ require a store coupon for that price
LuvNewcastle
(16,844 posts)My power bill wouldn't be so damned high in the summer, either. I had no idea that groceries were cheaper, too.
Warpy
(111,245 posts)My next trip to Costco is going to be a total jaw dropper.
Here in NM, the butter is about that but we see frequent sales. It freezes well so I stock up. The cereal is about the same. I haven't looked at milk and OJ because I'm allergic to both. I use instant soymilk in recipes that call for milk and it works for most things.
I always baked my own bread when I could eat wheat. It wasn't just cheaper, it was a hell of a lot better and made the house smell glorious for a couple of days.
I can still afford to eat pretty well. I do notice other people coming up short and I still make up the difference. Poverty sucks. I've been there and I remember it all too well.
elehhhhna
(32,076 posts)Make full-time employment more expensive with required benefits, and suddenly there are more part-time jobs; provide ample benefits and low eligibility standards for defining disabled workers, and suddenly there are more long-term unemployed going on SSDI; keep interest rates at zero, and suddenly there are more elderly workers; end unemployment insurance, and suddenly you see people accepting jobs they were reluctant to take; and as weve seen at the state and local level, raise the minimum wage, and suddenly teens are struggling to find work.
nomorenomore08
(13,324 posts)Warpy
(111,245 posts)Graduation season here is awful, you see kids who just graduated university making the rounds, looking for any shit retail job they can get. High school grads started working fast food jobs in their junior years so they'd have jobs when they graduated.
The only way to get out of this mess is to toss Republicans out on their butts and then go to work on getting rid of conservative Democrats in favor of progressives who will fix 40 years of conservative mismanagement by both parties.
JI7
(89,247 posts)because i was tired.
but i couldn't get past that first part which sounded a lot like the right wing talking points who oppose any regulations and standarsd for businessess.
nomorenomore08
(13,324 posts)LuvNewcastle
(16,844 posts)I think that the politicians who talk about raising our standard or living, which is reducing the amount we pay for essentials, will be the ones who win elections. The Democrats have the best shot at doing that. Nobody believes the Republican fixes for the economy will work anymore -- cutting taxes to spur growth. We've been doing that for the last 30 years, and it hasn't worked yet, at least not for any long period.
People want a government that plays an active role in helping to make their lives easier. So why does the GOP win elections? The only reason I can think of is that people aren't voting. They did in 2008 and 2012, and it made a difference. They still elected Republicans to the House, though. That's got to change if we're ever going to see any different results.
So far, I'm not seeing Democrats speaking out in this election like they should be. I think the Democrats are ceding far too many races. We have a Republican who is basically running unopposed in my district. I haven't heard a thing from his Democratic challenger. Sure, any Democrat has a steep uphill battle in this district, but I don't accept that as an excuse. Is it lack of money? We'd better get to work on an amendment if we're going to start winning elections. If we don't close that spending gap, we'll only have a chance to win the Congress in Presidential election years, and maybe not even then.
msongs
(67,395 posts)exactly what it is!
passiveporcupine
(8,175 posts)as I read it. Could not believe it was being posted by a DU member as if it was his own words. Then I saw the link at the bottom and went "Whew"!
I hope the OP did not post it because he/she believes it.
food prices are going up very fast here (also PNW). I noticed cheese is up way over 20% right now. Even velveeta...a box of velveeta at WM used to be $6, last night it was $8. At Wal-Mart.
And I was not food shopping there...just picking up a prescription and happened to walk through that aisle. I won't buy much at Wal-Mart. Just the things I need that I can't afford elsewhere, or are not available elsewhere, like prescriptions and small appliances and stuff.
But I also noticed 2 lb. cheese blocks at the supermarket are up a couple of bucks too. So is butter. So far it hasn't changed milk prices...yet.
No Vested Interest
(5,166 posts)And, if so, why are we reading it on DU?
RB TexLa
(17,003 posts)Haven't noticed that rising.
I have a frozen pizza on Friday nights, that's still like $2.
passiveporcupine
(8,175 posts)And I haven't been able to afford ground turkey for some time. I also usually buy only chicken breast or turkey, but lately can't find either at a price I'm willing to pay. I'm going veggie for now.