Prices for key foods are rising sharply

[MoreThanReady]

Get rid of ethenol subsides and the price of corn will start to come back down and so will the price of all corn related products.

remove the tarrif on ethonal being imported and the cost of ethonal additives will go down...

If the Government will stop trying to give subsidies to every one, then many prices would come down...

[Neen273]

Interesting - exactly half of the "essentials" on that list I don't eat anymore and am feeling perfectly healthy - milk, eggs, coffee, beef, chicken & seafood. (Am doing my best to avoid all the antibiotics, steroids, saturated fat, and worse in animal products.) On the other hand, my diet is mostly raw fruits and vegetables, which is also a very expensive way to eat. Luckily, I seem to be consuming way more nutrients now and so my body is not starving for them all the time so my appetite has gone way down. It all evens out.

I do not think wages will catch up to food prices overall. The discrepancy is only going to get worse and worse. People in the tribulation will have to work all day for a loaf of bread.

Rev 6:6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and [see] thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

[Neen273]

If the Government will stop trying to give subsidies to every one, then many prices would come down...

Indeed. Or, at least they could give subsidies to farmers who grow fruit and vegetables directly for human consumption...rather then encouraging them to overproduce corn and soybeans, which causes high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated soybean oil to be put in as much of our foods as possible.....and those end up being cheaper than healthier choices....which is why Americans in general are a lot more unhealthy and fat than the citizens of other nations.

[eve_anne_gelical]

As for wage increases...most folks are lucky if they get a 2% increase each year, that hardly keeps up with the increases in food and goods that are happening. Folks who do get a 2-3 % raise see it eaten by rising contributions they have taken out of their checks for increased health care coverage costs. Not to mention jobs going oversea's and of course the continued influx of 20 million illegals who will work for less and use the social services that your tax $ will support. Also when employers are forced to give larger raises as another poster suggested they turn around pass that cost on to the consumer, again.

The following article regarding the % of increase that food has gone up from 2006-2007 per the US Labor Dept:

____________________________________

MIDLAND, Va. -- The Labor Department's most recent inflation data showed that U.S. food prices rose 4.1 percent for the 12 months ending in June, but a deeper look at the numbers reveals that the price of milk, eggs and other essentials in the American diet are actually rising by double-digit percentages.

Already stung by a two-year rise in gasoline prices, American consumers now face sharply higher prices for foods they can't do without. This little-known fact may go a long way to explaining why, despite healthy job statistics, Americans remain glum about the economy.

Meeting with economic writers last week, President Bush dismissed several polls that show Americans are down on the economy. He expressed surprise that inflation is one of the stated concerns.

"They cite inflation?" Bush asked, adding, "I happen to believe the war has clouded a lot of people's sense of optimism."

But the inflation numbers reveal the extent to which lower- and middle-income Americans are being pinched. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said in its June inflation report that egg prices are 19.5 percent higher than they were in June 2006.

Over the same period, according to the department's consumer price index, whole milk was up 13.3 percent; fresh chicken 10 percent; navel oranges 19.8 percent; apples 11.7 percent; frozen juices 17.7%. Dried beans were up 11.5 percent, and the price of white bread just missed double-digit growth, rising by 9.6 percent.

These numbers get lost in the broader inflation rate for all goods and services, which measured 2.7 percent for the same 12-month period. Across the economy, rising food prices were offset by falling prices for things bought at the mall: computers, cameras, clothing and shoes.

"All of that stuff is going down in price, but prices for gasoline have gotten higher, and food prices have gone up," said Mark Vitner, a senior economist for Wachovia, a large national bank based in Charlotte, N.C.

People also go to the mall a lot less than they go to the grocery store, so they're constantly reminded that dietary staples are up sharply.

In broad terms, the economy isn't terrible. Unemployment is near record lows, and the second quarter posted a strong 3.4 percent growth rate. But it is bad for those Americans who are pinched by rising food and gasoline costs, and that's a lot of folks. Half the nation's families earn below the median family income of about $56,000. Three-fifths of American families report income under $70,000.

http://www.sacbee.com/103/story/325680.html

[Witness4Jesus]

Eve, I think your avatar was part of the batman recall :)

Witness

[eve_anne_gelical]

:)


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v65/bondservant/1130268344BATMAN.jpg

[pobsn]

I really don't think prices CAN go down for most food essentials. Almost all of my extended family farms either in the dairy or beef industries and they're barely scraping by even with growing all their own crops to feed their cattle. And on top of that, most grocery stores are making minimal margin on milk and eggs, and produce isn't a whole lot better.

I think part of the problem is that we as a nation don't have our spending priorities straight. Many people don't think twice about paying for cable, cell-phones, or internet, but they gawk at paying more than a few dollars for a gallon of milk. Yeah, we've got more expenses than folks a generation ago, but food really should be a priority.

Maybe it's just my farming background, but I really don't mind spending more money of quality food at the expense of other items that really are luxuries, especially if it goes to support local producers. This is the only body I'll ever have and I'd rather not cut corners when it comes to what I feed it.

[Chariots]

I've been told the money in beef is not in the producer but in the packing house end. Farmers I know still barely get by. Most farming here is Cattle and Hay.

Dairy is up and down. There may be Government buy outs or subsidies but most dairies around here rotate from dairy to beef production depending on the price they are being paid for milk. The prices they get depends on the supply and demand curve. Since the demand curve is gradually increasing the more that get out helps the ones that stay in. Two years later some get back in and get some of the cream off the top till the market gets saturated again. Just a normal business cycle.

Big industrial scale farming is nothing like the family farms around here.

[adam423]

We just went shopping today and were surprised when the total was rang up. This was a normal shopping trip for us and a huge increase. My husband was like :shocked

There wasn't much in terms of snacky foods, mostly staples.

[mikalikat]

Boy, no kidding. I went to the store this morning and the milk I get was $1.69 per gallon in January, $2.99 per gallon today. It means no more boxed foods, whole foods, good meals, no driving around town (in my gas sucking Durango that I would not part with for anything) since in town driving kills my mileage and ABSOLUTELY no daily coffees. Yesterday, my venti white mocha at Starbucks was $4.10!!!!! Belt tightening time.