Posted on 06/20/2021 6:59:27 AM PDT by bert
Free Republic Inflation June 2021 Posting
There are a few of the 20 selected grocery items that have increased in price. At the Food City Chain where I get the price data, there is no across the board increase in prices. In general there is no price increase to report in the June monthly report
As a Media Template, Inflation is a major story of the day. As a result of Biden policies, many think there will be inflation. Milton Friedman taught us that “Inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon, in the sense that it cannot occur without a more rapid increase in the quantity of money than in output.” The $2 Trillion Covid relief plus the 15$ minimum wage plus the forgiveness of college loans all pump money into the economy.
Those actions are the very definition of monetary phenomena. The Bureau of Economic Analysis keeps us informed on the inflation rate but fails in one respect. The inflation information provided leaves out food. So, in the era of Pelosi/Biden induced inflation, bert has developed a basket of 20 common food products and will track prices and compute the inflation rate on the basket total and each individual item at a one month interval.
The reason given for excluding food in the BEA inflation figure is because there are so many variables that effect prices that monetary inflation gets lost in the shuffle. That fact seems to be in evidence in this month’s numbers. The Big Mac that represents all food groups declined in price. So, there will be no attempt to correct for other variables.
One we know that is already happening is China. China is in terrible food shape. Crop failure, massive flooding, swine disease and poor management of stockpiles have forced China to import phenomenally large quantities of soy beans and corn. Brazil is sold out of soy beans. American farmers will pick up all he slack. So, there will be a large China induced food price inflation.
Being bert and being conservative, I choose to ignore China and blame all the food price increases on Pelosi/Biden The second monthly food inflation presentation is posted below. There is no general food inflation noted for the June Report although other inflation is the news of the day Will it happen?
As President Trump was fond of saying……..We’ll see
“Price at Aldi’s is irrelevant. Buying cheap is not the point of the exercise.
The point of the exercise is to track increase in prices of the various items”
That’s just dumb. A good, used F250 is priced to the moon right now because there aren’t many. So don’t buy it or substitute.
Substitution is the market.
For simple commodity items like “crackers”, one can buy $9.99 imported water crackers or 50 cent Saltines on sale.
It’s only inflation if you have to buy.
That’s why some folks stopped buying lumber. It was too pricey for their needs, while others that needed it, could justify the higher costs, could get it at the higher price.
Otherwise, make the popcorn and watch the fun.
In California, you could load your cart with about 40 pounds of the $21.99 meat and leave the store.
Theft less than $950 won’t be prosecuted
So, go to the store and get 5 or 6 of the steaks and just leave
It’s only inflation if you have to buy.
“Kroger Ribeye usda choice 6.99 a pound today, Midlothian Va....battle of the shifting loss leaders and supply and demand adjustments probably.”
Low steak prices are mostly because of Fathers Day and they are loss leaders for the week.
Similar price cuts always happen before a big holiday weekend. Prices for turkey, ham, a rack of ribeyes go down during the week before Thanksgiving and the week before Christmas. Likewise you can get great buys on steaks, ground beef, hot dogs and picnic snacks just prior to Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day. Same thing with seasonal produce during the same weeks.
You interject irrelevancies personal to you into the discourse.
General inflation is not the topis of the study.
The price increase of 20 items is the only topic of the study. Ford trucks have no relevancy
(only a fool will buy a new truck now. The depreciation in the first year exceeds all the food inflation excess in perhaps 5 years)
China needs the corn for rapidly expanding pork production, and there is declining prospects for Brazil’s corn production.
Here in Atlanta I just spent $73 in a Wal-Mart community grocery store and it would have been $50 A couple of months ago. The meat is the culprit. I got a pack of chicken drumsticks for about the same price as always. Then $12 short ribs that should have been $8, $14 roast that should have been $9, $6 ground beef that should have been $4 and so on. Its the beef.
I noticed while shopping on Friday… Three ox tails at Publix were 18.50. Garbage bags went up a buck a box. Hubby says it’s because plastic has oil in it .
The older I get, the cheaper I get.
I used to be a loyal Brand Name Shopper. That ship has sailed.
I was a Best Foods / Hellmans fanboy. Grew up on it, my Mother wouldn’t buy any other Brand of Mayo.
Now I’m a Dukes buyer. It tastes great, is less expensive and it still comes in a 32 oz. Jar. There are some cheaper Store Brands of Mayo, but you can tell the difference. They practically have to give it away for me to buy it.
In my neck of the woods, Bacon seems to be more expensive than it was just a few Months ago. They should start selling it in Gas Stations.
Where was that list compiled? Bizarro world?
My state has regulated milk pricing so it’s always fairly high compared to other states and hasn’t moved much.
Where the Hell can you find Campbell Soup for a dollar?? It has been 1.59 for years and years in any grocery store I go to.
For those of us with allergies, pre-pandemic price of a box of nose tissue was $0.88; currently $1.49 for a much smaller box (Wal Mart and discount grocery store).
Exactly True! I was in Walmart and I was stunned at the prices I thought to myself. And this is Walmart??
When I was a little girl. We did eat oxtails the poor man’s food. Now it is the Rich man’s food. Ox tail soup....mmm.... mmm... Good!
I’m got some Campbell’s bean with bacon at Kroger a few weeks ago for $1.19.
For sure. I experiment and usually not disappointed.
About pasta, ALDI doesn’t have the ‘Dreamfields’ brand I buy at Giant Eagle. It’ supposed to be about a third less carbs than other brands and it’s good tasting.
All the dairy, produce, bread, pastry, nuts, chips etc are great at ALDI...even the generic soda.
My mom always preferred name brands of everything .... stuff like flour, baking things, bananas, eggs, even paper towels, pine cleaner or detergent! But, to me that doesn’t vary from one store to another, so it’s a chance to save a little
Its true I could have apparently walked out with $950 worth and feared nothing but a citation of some kind. . .
Yeah. I loved Dukes Salad Dressing, but they no longer make it.
Thanks for posting.
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