Consumers have long been warned they were going to be pushed to the “point of pain” in order to curtail their spending. It seems like we’ve finally reached it.
Yeah, this isn’t an inflation problem, it’s a corporate greed problem. Prices have doubled for a lot of this stuff, sure, but quantities have halved, plus the little bit that’s left is packed with awful tasting fillers. Money aside, why would anyone keep buying smaller packages of worse tasting junk food?
Yes, and I truly don’t think they are accounting for shrinkflation (which has been ongoing for about 8 years now) when they calculate food inflation. The amount of money they put into engineering deceptive packaging alone must be insane.
And on top of it all, the fillers are literally trash. A lot of what Americans eat is outlawed in the EU, Canada, etc. In addition to poverty that’s fueling obesity, cancer, etc. It’s crazy that we keep allowing this but some rich people need to be richer so I guess it’s fine, eh
TL;DR - “our price gouging is starving people to death.”
Not to death, at least not in the USA.
We gotta keep the slaves alive so they can continue serving us.
Right, nobody in the US is dying of outright starvation. We’re dying of obesity, malnutrition and cancer from the literal garbage our food supply is made of. In the end we’re unhealthy and sick and it’s because of our food supply, and if something doesn’t change we will start seeing actual starvation.
People in US seldom outright starving but they are surely severely malnutritioned even if they not short on money…
I was at a grocery store the other day and boxes of cereal there were going for $7+.
For cereal. Not even fancy stuff. Like, Cpt. Crunch type cereal. Of course people aren’t buying that.
Now, that’s not every store in town. But still. Even the other stores are pushing basic cereals up to $5+. It’s madness.
It is. My local Krogers had a display of RAOs spaghetti sauce on “Sale” for $8 a jar. Don’t shop there any more.
To be fair, RAOs is a premium brand, and was always expensive… Now it’s just stupid expensive.
…inflation is bad across the shelf, but rao’s has always been $9+ a jar here in texas - well, for at least the past fifteen years since i first noticed its absurdly-high price…
Think I’ve seen a 2 pack at Costco for like $10.
Yes. If I don’t have what I need to make this quick vodka sauce I’ll usually have Rao’s from Costco in the pantry and I’ll toss the cream and parm in it and fresh basil from my plant.
Making it is a breeze though.
Bigger jars too.
Here in the USA, I switched to Aldi for breakfast cereal years ago. Its still just under $2 per box for the store brand with no shrinkflation to reach that low price.
Inflation doesn’t exist, the banks need another bailout, student loan forgiveness is a bad idea, and let the poors eat cake.
-every economist
Robert Reich would like a word to the contrary. He has a good YouTube channel where he discusses this nonsense in easy to understand ways.
Might check him but doubt it. I don’t trust economists, astrologers, or any other form of shaman.
Some economists are worth engaging with, but they’re few and far between. They’re usually in agreement that the economic mainstream resembles a religion or system of divination more than a real science.
And like religion it sucks up to power. I hate quoting her so I am just going to paraphrase her.
The government makes our life a living hell, the economist convinces us that it can’t be otherwise.
Not all economists are as you describe, so if you won’t see the proof for that, would you at least stop with the sweeping generalizations?
I will when the majority of polled economists consistently support views that are not aligned with the regular population. When I see daily articles from groups like Brookings and the Economist bragging about how great Wall Street bailouts are and condemning student loan forgiveness I am not inclined to go find the single lone unicorn out there that disagrees.
Somehow we are supposed to believe the moral hazard and inflation risk of student loan debt forgiveness is real and horrible while bank bailouts it is non-existent. Just the other day I read an article by Grunweld explaining how bank bailouts are emergency measures and they don’t have to factor in what mistakes led to it or what problems will come from the fix. Meanwhile if you even hint at getting rid of student loan debt suddenly everyone wants to talk about those issues.
People lost their pensions, jobs, and homes in 2008. Goldman Sachs showed record profits. Economists approve of both.
Well that’s a whole lot of words that you might hear Robert Reich say.
Good for him?
I will when the majority of polled economists consistently support views that are not aligned with the regular population. When I see daily articles from groups like Brookings and the Economist bragging about how great Wall Street bailouts are and condemning student loan forgiveness I am not inclined to go find the single lone unicorn out there that disagrees.
Somehow we are supposed to believe the moral hazard and inflation risk of student loan debt forgiveness is real and horrible while bank bailouts it is non-existent. Just the other day I read an article by Grunweld explaining how bank bailouts are emergency measures and they don’t have to factor in what mistakes led to it or what problems will come from the fix. Meanwhile if you even hint at getting rid of student loan debt suddenly everyone wants to talk about those issues.
People lost their pensions, jobs, and homes in 2008. Goldman Sachs showed record profits. Economists approve of both.
I pick up stuff in the store all the time and look at the price and shake my head and put it back. There are so many things that just aren’t worth it anymore.
Like, any snack food at all. Don’t know why they thought bumping up the price on junk, impulse food was going to hold for long. They were easily the first thing I stopped buying.
We’ve stopped buying nearly all premade foods and instead buy more ingredients. I used to cook twice a week but the past few months it’s nearly everyday and I’m kind of happy about it!
Cooking is the way to go, better for you and your wallet. Just sucks the work that goes into buying, prep, cooking, storing, planning, etc. Keep it up!
I bake all my food. Easy peasy.
Yep. Whack it in the air fryer for 15 minutes and Bob’s your uncle.
The box of snack size chip bags are $11 at Walmart near me, nope I’ll pass
Addictive foods => addicts => guaranteed market
Yeah, a regular (new regular after shrinkflation) bag of chips is $5 now. No thanks.
Indoor gardening, 3d printed hydroponics, homemade meals, potlucks. Let’s rebuild the community that these suits destroyed.
I think people suffering are not in that position. It is up to people who able to create these networks so we can take care of less privileged with out having to check in with Daddy Sam and his corporate owners.
Giving SNAP to people to spend at walmart is a clown system but that where we are at.
Decentralize economy will take a generation to implement, minimum.
Don’t know about anyone else but I no longer shop at regular supermarkets for most of my food. It’s mostly Aldi and home prepared meals for us now. We are pretty well off financially but I refuse to pay outrageous amounts for big brand products any longer. I’d rather save the money and use it on a nice family vacation.
Aldi’s decision to change all of the lanes to self checkouts at the stores around me has really turned me off. I thought they would be one of the last bastions against self checkouts. The workers there were well paid and happy. I don’t really know where to shop for groceries with a conscience anymore.
I agree. I make it a point to only use the attended checkout when I go.
I’ve been an Aldi shopper for maybe 6 years and I remember being able to fill my cart for $60-70. Post-covid, I’m paying double that. They’re still comparatively cheaper for a number of things, but the price increases have hit everything, unfortunately.
I swear Adli is making me sick, they don’t make normal water bottles as their ingredients for it is not normal. They even have the “materials added for taste”. No water bottle say that. Cereal really is coming in to be unhealthy, as I soon as I eat one box within a few days, my body won’t accept anymore. There is the meat that you buy in box, I hate those things. I know it won’t protect the meat, the whole thing is blocking cool air into the meat. There was never a reason to put them in the box, waste of plastic.
After like slowly getting away from Aldi, I just knew it has to be it. Only Aldi foods makes me sick, not Walmart, Target or Winn Dixie.
I think Walmart has better deals than Aldi.
Most of the food at Aldi is close to expiring, too.
But then you have to go to Walmart. The only I store I have had a homeless person come up to me and beg for change IN THE STORE was Walmart. Aldi or Lidl are infinitely better in my mind.
Sorry Walmart isn’t good enough for you because a homeless person asked you for change.
Glad you have the excess wealth to choose where you shop.
I was just in there for oil and a filter to change my cars oil, largely because it was cheaper than going somewhere and was I broke at the time. I’ve shopped at Aldi for years mostly because their food is much cheaper for comparable items, and despite being to several that were very sketchy, I’ve never had someone walk up to me and beg in a store. Parking lots are a different matter, but in pretty much every Walmart I’ve been to over the last couple of years (again, I basically try to not now that I can afford it), the amount of not giving a fuck by everyone involved is kind of extreme. And the prices aren’t even that great now either.
I’m down 50lbs so far, but that’s about the only good thing to come out of this.
I’m depressed and lethargic, but I finally reached my goal weight after 20 years of living well. yay, I guess.
You mean we stopped buying crap junk and focused on nutritious real food? Good! Screw big agra and big food and they fake wheat, corn, soy frankenfood!
