My disdain of grocery stores is well documented here at AB.com, but I still sometimes have to handle the weekly shopping as part of my Honey Do List.[1] So, yesterday, I find myself and AverageToddler at our local discount supermarket (keyword: discount) picking up a few (keyword: few) items. As I'm going down the list, I find myself on the cereal aisle where my favorite Saturday morning healthy junk food (Kashi Heart To Heart Wild Blueberry) is usually found. For some reason the box isn't in it's usual middle shelf, it's high up above. And as I reach for it, I note something alarming on the price tag.
$5.19!!!!!
$6!!!! For friggin' cereal!?!?!?!!?[2]
The rest of the trip wasn't much better. Everything on the list, from milk ($4/gallon) to eggs ($2 dozen) spaghetti-o's ($1.39, used to be $.89) to oatmeal ($3 used to be $2.50) and even bread ($3.29 used to be $2.89) is far more expensive than I'd last noted.
Even rice ($2 for a box that used to be 10 for $10) is inflated.
Rice, ni@@a! Rice!!!! WTF!?!?
Seriously, with all the jibberjabbering about the economy this election season, I've yet to hear many concrete solutions from any candidate on how to fix the basic everyday inflation that's killing my wallet everytime I venture out of the house.
My old (keyword: old) barber started charging $20 (up from $15) for a cut last month. His explanation: inflation. Never mind the fact that he isn't even at the shop 90% of the time I drive all the way over to College Park, and often cuts my hair the way he wants, not the way I tell him. $20 is just friggin' insane. So, I started going to these Koreans down the block. As long as you don't ask for anything more difficult than a basic Ceaser, they're actually ok. The shape up's not extra tight, but the neck taper is good. It's a serviceable cut. But last week, even they recently flipped their price from $10 to $13. Needless to say, I'm about to invest in a new pair of Wahls.
Jamba Juice kicked their prices up as well, which means I've got to find a new vice, especially since ya'll aren't helping me with buying those damn AB.com t-shirts.
The Wizards didn't even offer any el-cheapo playoff tickets this season. They didn't seem to miss my presence last night though, throttling King James and the Cleveland Travelliers (1-3 step) by an astounding 36 points.
Movie tickets are now universally $10 and up. Thank God for Netflix.
Yeah, some of this stuff is trivial, but still. It seems like everything just costs more nowadays, and sometimes for no really good reason.
Sure, gas prices are a hot button issue, and in some parts of DC, a regular gallon is already over $4. And we all know home foreclosures are exploding and dropping home values across the board. But what about the other, day-to-day stuff that's quietly been inflated too? Huh? What about THAT economy?
John McCain doesn't give a sh*t about the economy because he left his old broke first wife (who'd stuck by him through 5 1/2 years of captivity) and hooked up with a beer magnate (while still married). Dude doesn't even have a remote understanding or concern about the economic struggles of regular folks, despite this populist Rust Best Tour 08' he's been on lately. McCain's idea of economic stimulus is marrying a rich white woman. If only there were more of those to go around.
The Dems are no better. Hillary Clinton gets caked up by writing books about her philandering husband. Her philandering husband gets caked up writing books about being a philandering husband. And if I hear Barack Obama say the phrase "lessen our dependence on foreign sources of oil" one more time, I might seriously consider voting for Alan Keyes.
Note to all candidates: Get a clue. It's the economy, stupid!
Do something about it before I o.d. on these generic "Corn Puffs", already.
Question: What's the most ludicrous example of "everyday inflation" you've personally observed?
[1] Oh, I guess I'm the only guy with one, huh?
[2] Yeah, I rounded up for dramatic effect. But that Kashi is some good stuff.
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I'm adddicted to spaghetti, which was $1.19/$1.09/on sale for 2/$1. Latley I've noticed that the price range is $1.39/$1.29/on sale for $.99. It sounds small but the broke and addicted notice these things.
I recently switched a lot of my diet around, and it's even more brutal if you're trying to eat healthy. I cut all High Fructose Corn Syrup out of the family diet... it was hard, and costly! I can't even buy store bread anymore, I have to go to a bakery now.
Part of the rise is directly due to farmers making more money from corn and soybean biofuel than from actual food... prices are effing crazy now for actual food. If you want to eat cheap, you can still rock that McD's Dollar Menu, and a coke on the side. Kiss your health goodbye in 3 months!
Alternately, some actual reform to the farm subsidy policies would be great. They still pay people in the EU and here to NOT grow food. Crazy. Ain't gonna happen in an election year though.
And I'm so strung out on that blueberry Kashi it's not even funny. You gotta try their Autumn Wheat square things too... v. tasty, and they sell 'em at Costco for about $3 less than the grocery store.
I am outraged at the price of milk. I am supposed to be starting Weight Watchers on Monday, but the cost of food is outrageous.
I can't get past the fact that you are letting the Korean folk play all in your head like that. I mean they ain't even Dominican?? I see how ya'll do on that East Coast. In the great state, I don't play with anyone non-black in my hair.
And yeah, inflation sucks.
My fiance had a quick answer to your question. Chicken. Wings.
He's a wing nut (pun intended) and he loves to cook 'em every which way but loose.
His biggest complaint: It's cheaper to go to a Chinese food restaurant on the corner and buy a platter of cooked wings than it is to buy raw wings at the grocery store.
Hawa from
Fackin Truth Blog
The only problem I've had is the cost of a haircut. Those damn Russians I got to went from $8 to $11. I prefer them over the Black people who want $20. I don't get it.
As for food... I eat out all the time and the prices on my regular spot haven't gone up. The price of drinks remain the same so I'm otherwise good.
To get around the movie thing... Get your money's worth by doing the two for one special. That is, if you have time. (And bring your own snacks.)
here in St. Louis, gas went from 3.09 about a month ago, to 3.59 at last check, and we haven't even hit the Memorial Day skyrocket. Booo.
i also notice that when I was grocery clerk in high school. You could get corn cheap, about 6 for $1. Now its 4 for $1 in April on sale.
Signs of the times folks. Futures markets are listing rice at $1,000 per ton.
So figure a pound of rice to be at $2 dollars at the store. Sam's club are limiting large sacks of rice to 4 per customer.
I believe that gas will surpass $4 around memorial day, and maybe hit even $4.50 or more by summer.
What's messed up is that my car can run on ethanol, but there aren't any pumps near me. Plus, ethanol costs as much as regular unleaded from what I read, so what's the point?
I seriously, seriously suggest those of us who are spiritually motivated to start making plans for the immediate future.
The wheels are off the bus, the steering column is broken and we are headed for the abyss.
EG
I love a good doomsayer!
@ thembs
Yeah, the price increases are small, but all that stuff does add up eventually.
@ spool
Yeah, that Kashi is crazy addictive. I may need to get a Costco membership and buy me a 3 year supply of it.
@ victoria
Mane, milk costs more than gasoline. Something is very wrong about that.
@ tiff
Anyone with a steady hand can cut a ceasar. Just use one guard to go over the entire head. I may get AverageSis to start doing this.
@ urban thought
$15 is the point of no return for me. I refuse to pay more than that for a haircut.
I'm with tiffany in houston on the hair thang. I let a non-black person cut my hair once. And although he did a good job (and cheaper too!), I felt like a traitor and never did it again. All things black folk consume are packaged up and sold to us by mostly non-black people. Our "hip-hop" clothing stores are rarely owned by black people. Black beauty supply and nail shops are rarely owned by black people. "They" take our money and raise their kids, help out their own race but never give back to the community that they (rape) cater to.
Black owned barber shops are the last thing we have left from the old days of black businesses. I refuse to let that be taken from us too, even if it costs 3x as much as a russian or other wise shop. My 0.25 cents.......
@ yellowfellow
I feel you on that one. Honestly, my not going back to the old barber has much more to do with him not cutting my hair the way I like and the distance (20 min drive vs 3 mins) than the cost.
But, I agree. The non-black barbershop experience feels dry by comparison.
Here's my old barber's website. Maybe you can see why he needs to charge $20. All that flash animation ain't cheap.
http://www.afroscut.net/
Inflation my arse. The Koreans don't even have a website.
@ AB
that little barber man super hero thing was pretty corny! folk always trying to be fancy and ish!
btw has anyone noticed that the standard ATM fee has gone from 1.00/1.50 to $2?
@ tal-10th
Did you listen to the AfrosCut theme music? He has a 6 song promotional CD. It's on the upper toolbar of the site.
Yep. That explains the $20 cuts.
@ thembo
The fee is as much as $3 some places here in DC. I am thinking about going back to "putting it under the mattress".
Shop around, you can find a back that charges no ATM fees ever... there are two in my home city.
and Costco ftw! With 5 people in the family, even bulk food vanishes quickly...
I commented about this a while back. There's a worldwide food shortage. And despite some media outlets trying to pull the okey-doke on us in saying that there's no shortage in the U.S., the lack of produce in my local grocery and the high price of bread, flour, rice and milk make me think otherwise. After all, it's a world-wide shortage, and the U.S. is a part of the world (despite what the Bush administration would have you believe).
The rice thing is really scary, it is such a staple in so many countries. If people don't have food---it's gonna be on (witness Haiti). I'm no "end of days" conspirist, but.... We are living in truly frightening times. I heard some economist on the radio this morning saying people should start stockpiling food!
Alan Keyes Constitution Party Speech Friday Evening, April 25, 2008 as he seeks nomination.
Link: http://archives.alankeyes.com/play.php?mp3=222
@spool32
No offense taken, but...
Doomsayer, my ass! :)
When was the last time you heard about $2 rice, $4 gas (well, the 70's but pumps were friggin empty) and $6 cereal that wasn't a bulk box? Plus, for me personally, my faith is one of the last things keeping me from having a nigga moment in these times.
I remember hearing on my Sirius advertisements promoting heavy investment in crude oil back when gas was pushing $2. I missed that oppurtunity. I swear if I hear something about futures markets I may have to sell out for the cash. :)
But seriously, my dad was out yesterday planting corn and already has a little vegetable garden started. I may have to emulate him. I think a good idea would be to save seeds and stems on foods you buy fresh (like tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes etc.) If rich folks are building a doomsday seed vault in Europe maybe we should take action for our own lives, too.
We're gonna see some unfathomable prices between now and election day. But salaries are at a standstill, and layoffs abound. The question is, which political party will folk turn to.
I think $3.60 a pop for petro is more than DC area drivers could take- one can barely fit on a Metro train downtown after 4:30.
Don't get me wrong... gas is $3.39 here in Texas, which is effing crazy. We can reverse the "food shortage" with three quick policy changes:
1: Remove mandatory biofuel targets, particularly from the EU nations.
2. Reduce subsidies on the Big Three crops: corn, wheat, soybeans. This will make it economical for local growers to compete against the giant agri-businesses. Prices will go up temporarily as the markets readjust, but in the EU they pay farmers not to grow, so keep prices stay high enough to make it profitable. This should change.
3. Drill in ANWAR.
Growing your own and buying local is a fantastic idea... it's good for your local economy and for the environment. I should do more than a herb garden. :)
Also, the economy isn't ALL bad... my company posted a profit for Q1 '08 and I got the raise I asked for, too.
in 10 years(got this for WSBTV news) Atlanta gas went from 94 Cents per gallon to $3.81/gallon. DAMN. You could literally fill up for $15 dollars. now you need $65. That is enormous.
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