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CHEESEBURGER CHEESEBURGER CHEESEBURGER
Posted on 08/20/2014 5:47:09 AM PDT by xzins
(CNSNews.com) – The average price for all types of ground beef per pound hit its all-time high -- $3.884 per pound -- in the United States in July, according to data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
That was up from $3.880 per pound in June. A year ago, in July 2013, the average price for a pound of ground beef was $3.459 per pound. Since then, the average price for a pound of ground beef has gone up 42.1 cents--or about 12 percent.
Five years ago, in July 2009, the average price for a pound of ground beef was $2.147, according to the BLS. In those five years, the average price has climbed by $1.737 per pound--or almost 81 percent.
Along with the average price data, the BLS calculates a consumer price index, which is a “tool that simplifies the measurement of movements in a numerical series,” explains BLS. “An index for 110, for example, means there has been a 10-percent increase in price since the reference period.”
beef
The consumer price index for seasonally adjusted uncooked ground beef was 270.724 in July, which is down slightly from the all-time high of 271.726 in the previous month of June. When BLS began tracking this index in January of 1947, the index stood at 26.5.
The CPI is simply the average change over time in prices paid by consumers for a market basket of goods and services.
The seasonally-adjusted price index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs also hit an all-time high in July, according to BLS.
In January 1967, when the BLS started tracking this measure, the index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs was 38.1. As of last July, it was 236.147. By this January, it hit 240.006. By June, it hit 253.318. And, in July, it climbed to a record 254.174.
“The food index rose 0.4 percent in July, its fifth increase at least that large in the last 6 months,” states the BLS. “The index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs has increased 7.6 percent over the [last 12 months] and the index for dairy and related products has risen 4.3 percent.”
It doesn't work that way. If people chose cheaper ground beef over more expensive ground beef, then yes.
I know. It only buys 50% more gold than it did 3 years ago.
Gold is a marketable commodity, so it isn’t a very good measure, since it can be bid up or down in dramatic fashion. It was unreasonably bid up and now it’s seeking a realistic level.
I’ve tried to think of something that would be a reasonable measure of inflation that retains its value and isn’t overly subject to wild speculation. I haven’t thought of anything yet. Do you know of anything?
Gold isn't a good measure of the value of the dollar?
You will see a lot of farmers losing it all next year. I know of quite a few producers that leveraged themselves to the hilt in order to buy land, equipment, fertilizer, and seed.
Dropping the corn price by 40% means that many of these guys no longer will be turning a profit no matter how much corn they plant. The cash flow is such that even planting corn will be losing money (can’t afford the payments on the planter, let alone seed and fertilizer).
I don’t expect prices at the store to fall much. To many packers want the high prices, and they are worried about government mandates coming that will cut off their EBT and school customers (yes that is a HUGE market). So they have a vested interest in artificially keeping meat prices high.
Long term, this isn’t going to be a good thing. As the farmers get squeezed out, NGO’s keeping buying up land to take out of production. We already are importing food, and it will get worse. Between the large corps and the NGO’s, I expect that food prices will keep rising.
When the State sets the rules, the market no longer applies.
There are a lot of old timers out here that love it. The American Legion has a game feed every February, and that is always on the menu.
Raccoon Teryaki is very good.
I think in our era, the wild speculation dirties its utility as a measure of consistent value.
In the past, farmers protected themselves by diversifying. The corn croppers feed out cattle/hogs, plants beans or some other grain. That’s harder to do now with the huge mega-acreage corn growers. The easiest transition is to beans.
Yep. I just bought 5 lbs for $16.99 at the meat counter who has the best meat in town. Their hamburger is the best. They grind it right there and add nothing to it.
I can’t stand the taste of hamburger from anywhere else anymore.
You mean the last 150 years?
No, I mean the round-the-clock TV/radio/media advertising
Hasn’t been that way for a long time, though it has gotten worse in the last 20 years.
My grandpa planted oats and wheat on one field, while having a rotation of alfalfa to “enrich” the soil (good nitrogen fixer).
Some farmers do that. Now the focus is on corn, using fertilizer to regenerate the soil. Some still use corn/beans/alfalfa rotation, but they are in the minority.
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- Gasoline - $3.80 Pound (+/-)
- Ground Beef - $3.80 Pound (+/-)
- Kobe Beef at the White House - $100.00 Pound
- Champagne at the White House - Whatever is most expensive
- but no inflation . . .
corn, wheat, beans were always the staples in our area of Ohio. If the field wasn’t in one, it was in the other. Most planted some for rotational reasons, but primarily for protection against changing markets. Many also did all 3 and fed out beef/hogs to provide even more diversity.
They tended to stay away from dairy. Too work intensive and steals the hours of the day and the days of a life.
Gas always goes down leading up to an election. Then after the election it’ll go back up to $4+ so they can recoup their sale prices.
I was looking to buy a steak this week but at the local Albertson’s it was $12 and up. Hamburger was too much but surprisingly the pork chops were 2 for $3.29 So I had pork chops.
Here we are wondering if we can afford basics while the gov’t “leaders” are spending our money for their vacations and eating whatever they want.
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- One (1) Golfing vaca in Africa :
- $100,000,000
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- One-Way on AF-1 from Martha’s Vineyard vaca to DC :
- $500,000
- (balls not included)
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Plus the extra cost of sending the dog on a separate plane from Washington to Hawaii and back again.
Ever read a book entitled "King Rat" by James Clavell?
It's about WWII prisoners in a Japanese POW camp.
One man, "King Rat", has cornered the market on the fresh meat supply.
You can probably guess what it is.
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