Posted on 10/28/2010 8:31:57 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Food price inflation is the topic du jour, with a run up in wheat, corn, and soy causing panic amongst those concerned their wages won't stretch to meet the new costs.
But, actually, food is cheaper than it has ever been, according to a chart from MJ Perry. Well... the key is that as a percentage of disposable income food prices remain ridiculously cheap. Yes, they've gone up, and sure wages have gone down, but it's all about perspective. Food prices aren't a big crisis, at least in America.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
I think you found this article in the soft soap department if you shop for food at all. ;-)
LOL. I didn’t realize it was April Fool’s Day already! thanks for the laugh!
I’ll have to run this article by my local supermarket. The same amount of eggs, meat, fruit and veggies now cost a good $40 over what I paid last year. (We don’t eat much canned or frozen stuff, but that’s gone up too.)
I'm still trying to wrap my head around the logic of this statement.
My food bill requires noticeably more dollars of outlay than a year ago and more still than two years ago. That is with buying more and more the off brands and substituting one thing for another. I see those charts or others to the same end from time time and I am glad that food is getting cheaper and cheaper. It, unfortunately, takes more and more dollars to buy it. I know my income keeps rising- they tell me that, too. The dollars I earn are fewer than last year because overtime was eliminated and there have been no raises for two years. I have to reach up to get my check now though, because they put it in a higher slot than they used to. My wife, a school, teacher has had the same salary for 3 years with no change. It all seems to have something to do with the New PC English and New Math.
Five years ago $20 would take care of my snacks, soda, and whatnot needs for a week. Now its 40, 50, 60 bucks for the same stuff. I’m glad though that some fancy Ivy League economist has jiggled the numbers to come out “no inflation!” I feel better now.
Of course, there is no mention of the cost of feeding your family when you are out of work.
Millions of American families are not enjoying the supposedly low cost of food these days.
So if food prices go up and wages go down, there's no inflation?
There's an inflation in food prices. There's a deflation in wages. What am I missing?
Even as there is less food in my grocery basket, it's really a problem of perspective and not quantity?
ridiculously cheap.
What a bizarre choice of adjective. Why not wonderfully or blessedly?
Baraq added 17 million to the food stamp ranks in 2 years.
I’m just hoping they’re not inspired to vote Democrat as a thank you.
Prices are up. Also most of us have noticed that while the package size remains the same, the content amounts have diminished.
Ethanol’s fault.
Are they talking list prices here? I haven’t seen much difference in what the shelf says over the last few years, but sale prices have surely spiked.
Five years ago the shelf price for a 12 pack of soda was $4.49, but regularly went on sale for $1.88. Today the shelf price is still $4.49, but it never gets cheaper than 3 for $10.
Scott’s toilet roll is still $3.99 for a four pack, but used to be BOGO all the time. Now the four packs never go on sale, only the larger sizes, and even then you rarely get the 50 cents a roll you used to find- and the rolls are shorter!
London Broil runs about $6 lb- five years ago I could find it on sale $2 lb at least once a month. I haven’t seen it for less than $3.99 lb for almost two years.
This has to be written by a man whose wife does the shopping... in the last week 4 “staples” of our shopping all went up ... hey a dime here and a dime there and soon it is real money
Their argument is that food prices have gone down as a PERCENT of the average American disposable income.
Food prices might have gone up, but as percent of a person’s disposable income... how do they measure up?
Let’s see....as a percentage of income, food is cheaper than ever, yet prices have gone up and wages have gone down? All this logic crammed into the first 2 paragraphs. I guess it’s the same reasoning that calls a deepening recession a ‘recovery’.
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