Educate yourself:
The Inflation Draining Your Wallet, Grocery Cart, and Gas Tank Is Far Steeper Than 8 Percent
When you hear ‘8 percent inflation’ bandied about but feel certain your costs are rising at a far higher rate, you’re not crazy.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), in the average U.S. city, ground beef is up 14.9 percent since last March, boneless stew beef is up 24.3 percent, bacon is up 23.1 percent, boneless chicken breasts are up 17.6 percent, eggs are up 25.9 percent, milk is up 17 percent, frozen orange juice concentrate is up 18 percent, and ground coffee is up 15.8 percent. Meanwhile, fuel oil has jumped a whopping 71.5 percent, and utility gas is up 23.3 percent.
Many of these urban numbers don’t even capture how steeply prices have risen for middle America, however. In the Midwest, ground beef has risen 24.5 percent, almost 10 percentage points more than the urban average.
While BLS breaks down beef products into ground beef, steaks, stew beef, etc., its “all other uncooked beef” category shows a drastic 38.2 percent jump in the Midwest, compared to a still-high rise of 25.4 percent in cities. The inflation of the price of bacon in the Midwest is 3 percentage points higher than in cities, while for boneless ham it’s more than 15 percentage points higher. The price of boneless chicken breasts in the Midwest jumped by 31.2 percent, compared to 17.6 in U.S. cities. |
