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Showing posts with label economy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label economy. Show all posts

Friday, December 8, 2023

Bidenflation Right Before Your Eyes: December 2023 Kroger Prices vs. December 2019 Kroger Prices

The economy is the single most concerning political issue for Americans. If you are honest and are simply paying decent attention to what is going on in America, you already know this. If you need a source other than your eyes and ears, there are multiple polling agencies, including Gallup and Pew, that reveal this to be the case.

More specifically, inflation is the most cited political issue by a plurality of Americans. Thanks to the foolish economic policies of the Biden administration, the price increases that have plagued the U.S. the past few years have hit most Americans quite hard. In other words, “Bidenomics” is best described as “Bidenflation.”

Of course, Joe Biden, his Democrat colleagues, and his nefarious media apologists are working overtime to attempt to gaslight as many Americans as possible when it comes to the U.S. economy. Biden and his ilk have gone so far as to claim that Americans’ concerns on inflation are due to “disinformation” spread via social media. As Joy Pullmann at The Federalist recently put it, “It’s not social media making inflation top of Americans’ minds, it’s every trip to every store.”

Like tens-of-millions of other Americans, my wife and I know this all too well. And like most Americans dismayed by inflation, the grocery store is where we are most frequently reminded of “Bidenflation.” With this in mind, I took it upon myself to do a bit of research.

We have a large Kroger grocery store very near our house and shop there often, usually multiple times a week. Using a current Kroger weekly ad and a Kroger weekly ad from early December of 2019, for multiple popular grocery store items, I compared prices. The results were telling.

I chose December because that is the current month, and I chose 2019 because this is just prior to the Covid economy and the Biden economy, when inflation really took off. Finding old Kroger weekly ads proved more difficult than I thought, so I went with what I found most quickly. Thus, I used the December 4-10, 2019 weekly ad from a Kroger in Russellville, Arkansas.

For accuracy, I used last week’s weekly ad (11/29-12/5) from Russellville, Arkansas. However, after a same-day (as my online research) visit to the Kroger near our home (in GA), I noticed that the current Russellville ad was nearly identical to our current weekly Kroger ad.

Due to the Kroger weekly being copyrighted (even though it is a free item), I cannot show images directly from each ad here. (Go to the links above for those.) Thus, to provide a visual for the grocery items described throughout the rest of this piece, I replicated the ads using photos that I took.

The table below contains items from several different ads within each Kroger weekly with accurate pricing information below each image. The left-hand column contains items from the 2019 Kroger weekly. The right-hand column contains items from the 2023 Kroger weekly or from inside a Kroger store. Each row of the table shows the exact same, or very similar, items.

2019 (Kroger)

2023 (Kroger)


Final Cost (With Card) When You Buy 4: 4/$10 (Coke or Pepsi)


Final Cost (With Card) When You Buy 4: 4/$12 (Coke or Pepsi)

 

Final Cost (With Card) When You Buy 4: 99₵ (Coke, Pepsi, or 7UP) Otherwise Price is $1.67


Final Cost (With Card) When You Buy 5: 5/$5 (Pepsi 2L, Gatorade 28oz,…) Otherwise Price is $2.99

 

Dr. Pepper, Select Varieties of 24-Pack, 12 fl oz Cans, $4.77 Each With Card and Digital Coupon (Without Coupon and With Card, $6.99 each.) 

 

Coca-Cola or Pepsi, Select Varieties of 24-Pack, 12 fl oz Cans, $7.99 Each With Card and Digital Coupon (Without Coupon and With Card, $13.99 each.)  

 

Final Cost 9.25-11.25 oz., Select Varieties, With Card:$1.88 (Without Card Cost: $2.88) 

 

Final Cost, 6-10.75oz., Select Varieties, When You Buy 4 With Card: $2.29 (Less Than 4 With Card Cost: Up to $5.49)

 

Boneless English Roast: $2.99/LB
With Card 

 

Boneless Beef Chuck Roast: $5.99/LB With Card

 

Boneless Ribeye Steaks: $9.99/LB
 With Card

 

Boneless Ribeye Steaks: $15.99/LB
With Card

 

Kroger Ground Turkey, 93% Lean,
16oz, $2.99 With Card

 

Kroger Ground Turkey, 93% Lean,
16oz, $4.99 With Card

 

Kellogg’s Large Size Cereal, 14.6 to 19.2 oz.,
Select Varieties, $2.49 Each
(Original Price: $3.49)

 

Kellogg’s Large Size Cereal, 7.8 to 18 oz., Select Varieties, $2.99 Each
(Original Price: $4.49 to $5.69) 


“With card” means that the customer contains a “Kroger card.” This is free and is obtained by merely applying for it. It must be scanned at the register to obtain the “with card” price.

These price comparisons are not perfect, but they’re close enough to reveal the real story when it comes to inflation in America. As “shrinkflation” (reduced product size in an attempt to hide even higher costs to the consumer) is also part of the story here, let me give row by row details from the table above and provide more information to what the ads above reveal.

  • Row 1 (Coke/Pepsi six-pack of bottles): The product size (16.9 fl oz) here has not changed, but the regular sale price is almost always at least 20% (as is shown) higher in 2023 than in 2019. The four six-packs for $12 deal shown (2023 column) is often four-for-$13 or four-for-$15. Four-for-$15 is a 50% increase from the 2019 price.

  • Row 2 (Pepsi two liter): The sale price here is virtually identical, but the two-liter Coke or Pepsi for $1 deal is very rare these days. Also, note the original prices. A two-liter Pepsi in 2019 cost $1.67. Today it costs $2.99. (The same is true for Coke.) This is a 79% increase.

  • Row 3 (24-pack of soda): Though the comparison here is between two different brands (Dr. Pepper vs. Coke/Pepsi), these prices were and are typical for name-brand 24-pack sodas. The $4.77 to $7.99 is a 67.5% increase. Also, again note the original price. The 2019 24-pack cost $6.99. The 2023 24-pack costs $13.99. This is a 100% increase!

  • Row 4 (Doritos): This type of product is where the “shrinkflation” is typical. Doritos and other chip brands have significantly reduced the size of their products, and the prices are still significantly higher. The increase in the “without card” cost is 90.6%.

  • Row 5 (English roast vs. Chuck roast): These two cuts of meat are very similar and thus are often priced the same. The 2019 to 2023 comparison shows the cost per-pound of this type of beef has essentially doubled. Again, this is a 100% increase! This steep level of inflation is common throughout the U.S. when it comes to the price of beef. The dramatic rise in the cost of beef is one of the most notable increases in the Bidenflation era.

  • Row 6 (boneless ribeye steaks): There was no ribeye steak ad in the 2023 Kroger weekly, so the 2023 information here is a current price from in the store. Again, we see a steep increase in the price of beef, from $9.99 a pound to $15.99 a pound. This is a 60% increase.

  • Row 7 (ground turkey): Again, there was not a ground turkey ad in the 2023 Kroger weekly, so the information in the 2023 column is from inside our Kroger store. The jump from $2.99 to $4.99 per pound is a 67% increase. Bidenflation has hit meat prices in general quite hard.

  • Row 8 (Kellogg’s breakfast cereals): Breakfast cereals are another product where “shrinkflation” is common. (Again, the information in the 2023 column is from inside our Kroger store.) So, though the sale price “with card” increase is “only” 20% ($2.49 to $2.99) and the original price increase—$3.49 to $4.49 (and up)—is at least a 28.7% increase, the actual price increase is larger due to less cereal in each 2023 box. The “large cereal size” in 2019 was from 14.6 to 19.2 oz. The comparable Frosted Flakes boxes today are 13.5 oz. The comparable 2023 Fruit Loop and Apple Jacks boxes are each only 10.1 oz. The current price (images not shown) for “large size” Kellogg’s Corn Pops (13.1 oz) and Apple Jacks (13.2 oz) is $5.79. Without taking into account the shrinkflation, this is a 65.9% increase.

Though this is just a handful of items—there are many more I could’ve mentioned—this small sample size is well representative of the large and widespread inflation throughout the U.S. food industry. Also, Kroger prices are well representative of American grocery stores in general. After Walmart and Costco, Kroger is the largest supermarket retail chain in the U.S.

In spite of the attempted spin by Biden and his apologists, Bidenflation is all too real, and it is devastating to millions of American families.  

Copyright 2023, Trevor Grant Thomas
At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason.
www.trevorgrantthomas.com
Trevor is the author of the 
The Miracle and Magnificence of America
trevorgrantthomas@gmail.com

Saturday, December 31, 2022

Taxes/Economics/Stewardship Headline Archives (2022)

For the most part, the articles/columns linked below appear in chronological order, beginning with the earliest. 


2022:
Previous Taxes/Economics/Stewardship headline archives are contained in a post at the end of each year and linked below:


2021202020192018201720162015201420132012201120102008-2009

Thursday, December 31, 2020

Taxes/Economics/Stewardship Headline Archives (2020)

For the most part, the articles/columns linked below appear in chronological order, beginning with the earliest. 


2020:
Previous Taxes/Economics/Stewardship headline archives are contained in a post at the end of each year and linked below:


20192018201720162015201420132012201120102008-2009

Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Taxes/Economics/Stewardship Headline Archives (2019)

For the most part, the articles/columns linked below appear in chronological order, beginning with the earliest. 

2019:

Previous Taxes/Economics/Stewardship headline archives are contained in a post at the end of each year and linked below:


2018201720162015201420132012201120102008-2009

Monday, August 12, 2019

Larry Burkett Was Right--About A Lot of Things

If you remember the late, great financial teacher Larry Burkett, your life is likely the better for it. I worked with Larry for several years in his Gainesville, Georgia headquarters of Christian Financial Concepts (and continued to work for the organization from home for many years after my children started coming along). In my mind, he ranks right up there with some of our Founding Fathers in his wisdom, love for this country, and amazing foresight in economic and political issues. He even left this world on the same patriotic day as John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Monroe—on Independence Day, 2003, at the young age of 63. His teachings, which were straight from Scripture, changed my life and bent the twig for my children and hopefully future generations.

The department in which I worked was tasked with answering constituents’ financial questions, so I had to be quite the student of Larry Burkett. In preparation for answering a certain e-mail, I had the opportunity to skim through the pages of Larry’s 1991 best seller, The Coming Economic Earthquake. The book was updated in 1994 to reflect the happenings of the Clinton era, and it’s amazing how accurate Larry was in his foresight of what was coming for our economy and for the nation, in general. He touched on many topics in the book, but some jumped out at me as especially relevant for today.

In light of the battles over the Common Core agenda that was shoved down the nation’s collective throat, Larry said, “Check out the curriculum being taught in your local schools and see if it is anti-free-market. It would shock most Americans to realize that a great deal of the economic information being fed their children in elementary schools, high schools, and especially state universities is blatantly socialistic, if not openly communistic.”

He went on,
The only place that communism still seems to flourish is in the American classroom. It is often labeled ‘socialism’ but, in reality, it is the same doctrine that was taught in the Soviet Union prior to the communism collapse: Government is the protector of the downtrodden; capitalism is inherently evil; people deserve decent incomes, regardless of their desire to work or not; and last, the government is a better purveyor of the nation’s resources than the wage earners are.
Sound familiar? The very issues that Larry saw as major problems 25 years ago have escalated at an alarming rate.

The government takeover of health care that was attempted during the Clinton administration was delayed only a few years until Obama came into power and had the political backing to force it onto the nation. Larry had great wisdom and forethought in this matter: “Let me say that if the federal government is allowed to take control of health care, which represents approximately 14 percent of our total economy, it will be the stake in the heart of our free enterprise system. The government cannot solve our health care problems—it is the problem!”

Larry continued,
Only twelve cents of every government dollar spent on health care now actually reaches a patient. It is a grossly inefficient system. There are two old sayings in Washington that describe what will happen to health care as soon as the political system gains control of that area too: ‘A camel is a horse designed by a government committee,’ and ‘An elephant is a mouse designed to government specifications.’
Wow. If only we had heeded his warning, maybe we wouldn’t be facing the disastrous effects of the government hijacking of our health care system.

Regarding abortion coverage, Larry said, “I rather suspect that, if abortion is accepted as a ‘necessary benefit,’ there would be heavy pressure put on those who oppose abortion to participate or be subjected to financial penalties.” Isn’t this exactly what we’re seeing today? Ministries and faith-based companies (Hobby Lobby and James Dobson’s Family Talk are some of the most recognizable) have been forced to sue the federal government over the abortion mandate in Obamacare. Larry added,
Christians will have to take a stand on this issue, regardless of the consequences. We should have acted with one voice when the Supreme Court decided that somehow an unborn human has no rights. Once abortion is funded through a national health care plan, the number of abortions will likely escalate. God’s people must wake up to this offense now! There is no nation that will survive God’s wrath for long, if and when it decides to kill its young (and old).
When writing The Coming Economic Earthquake, Larry reported that at the current rate of growth, the national debt would swell to $8.7 trillion by the year 2004. Even Larry couldn’t anticipate the rate of reckless spending by the most liberal president in the history of our nation--Barack Obama. Thanks to democrats and republicans alike, I believe Larry would be utterly shocked to know that the national debt is now nearly three times his predicted 2004 level, and it is higher than the Gross Domestic Product of our entire nation.

Writing about the forecasted 2004 national debt of $8.7 trillion, Larry said,
There has never been anything approaching this level of debt funding in the history of mankind in so short a period of time, even on a percentage basis. The effects of this will be felt throughout the U.S. and ultimately the world’s economies…..Either the government will take the necessary steps to control the budget and reduce the deficits drastically, or they will resort to monetizing the debt by printing massive amounts of new currency.
We know which option our leaders chose.

Larry went on to say that,
Logic and common sense seem to play small parts in our present society….The answer [to these and all other issues] is found in God’s Word. All of these things are but symptoms. The real problem is that we have removed God from the decision-making process in America today. When any nation does this, evil will prosper. This is not the fault of the politicians; they are responding to the wishes of the most vocal groups. It is that the unprincipled people around us seem to be more committed to their agenda than the true ‘moral majority’ is to theirs.
Larry urged us to get involved in the political process and the issues of the day so that we could make a difference for the better. I would add that if we want to leave this great nation intact for our children and grandchildren, we have no choice but to hold our leaders accountable for their foolish decisions and force them to make changes that will lead us back to the founding principles that made us exceptional.

Some wise thoughts that Larry left us:
The one certainty is that God is still in control no matter what happens….However, knowing that God is in control does not remove our responsibility to do everything possible to change what is happening or to prepare ourselves for some difficult times. As Proverbs 16:9 says, ‘The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.’ 
We are to witness to those around us that God is sufficient in all things….God desires followers who will serve Him regardless of the costs. Adversity seems to strengthen us, whereas prosperity tends to weaken us. As the Prophet said in Proverbs 30:8-9, ‘Keep deception and lies far from me, give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is my portion, lest I be full and deny Thee and say, “Who is the Lord?” or lest I be in want and steal, and profane the name of my God.’
Larry Burkett left this earth entirely too soon. We need his wisdom now more than ever.

Michelle Thomas is a Christ follower, wife to Trevor Thomas, and homeschooling mom of four. Her books include a devotional for moms, Lord, I Need You, a book about her grief journey, Through Deep Waters, and a chronicle of their financial journey, Debt-Free Living in a Debt-Filled World. Her website is KingdomCrossing.com, and her email is michelle@kingdomcrossing.com.

Monday, December 31, 2018

Taxes/Economics/Stewardship Headline Archives (2018)

For the most part, the articles/columns linked below appear in chronological order, beginning with the earliest. 

2018:

Previous Taxes/Economics/Stewardship headline archives are contained in a post at the end of each year and linked below:


201720162015201420132012201120102008-2009


Thursday, June 14, 2018

The Ignorant, Godless Left Can’t Help Themselves

It seems the Republican National Committee’s (RNC) cash advantage over the Democratic National Committee (DNC) is even more pronounced than the numbers—$43.8 million to $3.4 million—indicate. As long as democrats like Nancy Pelosi vainly continue to attempt to ignore, downplay, or even bad-mouth good to excellent to record breaking (in more ways than one) economic numbers—and in the process be-clown themselves—the RNC will have to spend next to nothing when it comes to creating ads for the midterm elections.

Pelosi, in particular, is the gift that keeps on giving to the GOP. Cementing herself as one of our nation’s most morally and economically ignorant citizens, just prior to the GOP passing—and President Trump signing—sweeping tax reform legislation in December of last year, Mrs. Pelosi went on a historically foolish rant.

Awash in hyperbole and hypocrisy—remember, she leads the party that stands for, among other immoral outrageousness, the “right” to kill the most helpless and innocent among us, the “right” for boys to take trophies from girls, and the legal redefinition of the oldest institution in the history of humanity—she accused republicans of embracing “moral obscenity and unrepentant greed.”

Blind to her extreme “plutocracy hypocrisy,” the 78-year-old grandmother, who’s been in Congress for over 31 years and has a reported net worth of over $100 million, claimed that a vote for the GOP tax bill was “a vote to install a permanent plutocracy in our nation.” Forgetting that she represents those who hate our Founders and our military and those who think children are a “punishment,” Mrs. Pelosi also claimed that the GOP tax bill “does violence to the vision of our Founders” and “disrespects the sacrifice of our men and women in uniform. And it betrays the future and betrays the aspirations of our children.”

After the GOP tax bill went into effect and businesses and corporations started shelling out large bonuses and raises, Mrs. Pelosi then had the difficult duty of pretending that these were not really good things. Her “crumbs” comments have already come back to haunt her, and they should continue to do so.

Of course Nancy Pelosi is far from alone in her efforts to try to keep the American electorate from believing what they are seeing when it comes to the U.S. economy. Chuck Schumer echoed her “crumbs” comment; Debbie Wasserman Schultz joined in the “Liberals Against a Magnificent Economy” (otherwise known as LAME—I hear they’ll be opening for Madonna soon) chorus; and naturally, the establishment media aided and abetted these absurd attempts at deceit.

Along with trying to put increased wages in a bad light, Pelosi and her ilk also had the unenviable task of trying to convince Americans that more jobs is a bad thing. While trying to distract from record employment numbers, Pelosi attempted to disown the healthcare debacle that continues to plague millions of Americans. In other words, along with trying to convince American voters than increased wage and jobs numbers are somehow “fake news,” democrats are also hoping to dupe us into forgetting that it is they who wrecked our healthcare system.

The awesome May jobs report gave the left-wing media another opportunity to remind us how smart they are and how stupid President Trump is. They did about as well as they usually do. CNN’s Don Lemon said, “There’s no question today’s job report is good news, including the news that we’re as close as we’ve ever been to full employment in the black community. But what’s full employment without full respect.”

As Andrew Klavan aptly put it, “Don apparently thinks Americans don’t respect all black people. Who’s going to break the news that it’s just him we don’t respect?” Instead of the great news on jobs, NBC wanted to focus on—and pretend that they weren’t the only ones focused on—Trump’s “premarket tweet.” CNN’s chief national correspondent John King dared everyone to find a President of the United States prior to Trump “talking about, Tweeting about, communicating about the unemployment report before it came out.” Of course, someone took his dare and proved him laughably wrong.

Things have gotten so good economically—or bad, depending on your election hopes—and so deep is the left’s hatred for Trump and his administration that liberals have stooped to “A pox on you and your economy!” On a recent episode of his Real Time show, Bill Maher declared,
Can I ask about the economy because this economy is going pretty well? I feel like the bottom has to fall out at some point. And by the way, I'm hoping for it. Because I think one way you get rid of Trump is a crashing economy. So, please, bring on the recession. Sorry if that hurts people, but it's either root for a recession or you lose your democracy.
Actually it’s a republic—if we can keep it. And as is sometimes attributed to Ben Franklin himself, when the people find they can vote themselves money—as often happens when there is a ballot cast for a democrat—that will herald the end of the republic. In other words, Maher and his minions face a political Catch-22: to elect more democrats, liberals need a “crashing economy,” but the quickest way to a “crashing economy” is to elect more democrats. Good luck with that, Bill.

Maher’s selfish drivel was only upstaged by that of Robert De Nero—I mean “Niro.” Sorry, I sometimes confuse vulgar, debauched Romans. With his epic “F-Trump” rant, De Niro and his enthusiastically approving audience at the Tony Awards again reminded us—as if we needed reminding—of where hedonistic Hollywood stands on the political and moral spectrum.

Whether De Niro or Samantha Bee, Joy Behar, Susan Sarandon, Chelsea Handler, Lena Dunham, J.K. Rowling, Jennifer Lawrence, Jimmy Kimmel, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Danny Glover, Michael Moore, Seth Meyers, Stephen Colbert—the more they open their foul, godless mouths, the more they also remind us why Trump was elected and why liberals and liberalism have been so widely rejected.

(See this column at American Thinker and The Black Sphere.)

Copyright 2018, Trevor Grant Thomas
At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason.
www.trevorgrantthomas.com
Trevor is the author of the The Miracle and Magnificence of America
tthomas@trevorgrantthomas.com