And there’s nothing quite like a war to goose up spending. So…win win I guess
Canadian February YOY inflation was 1.8% but expecting that to skyrocket in March thanks to Mr Trump’s war.
Wholesale prices up 0.7%…before Trump’s excursion to Iran.
There seems to be no respite from food inflation in the UK.
Wonder how they will dress it up this time around because they have already used shrinkflation and enshitification pretty extensively over the last few years.
Grocery seemed incredibly cheap when I visited the UK last year, compared to what we have in the US. I saw a box of generic cheerios for 85p where something comparable here would be $2-3. That differential seemed to be true for most everything.
Sure. But keep in mind the average wage is around £36k/year (£30k outisde of London) and housing, energy, food and taxes have all gone up at the same time.
The US may be more expensive for food but if you adjust for higher wages, cheaper housing, cheaper energy, and lower taxes…you are probably better off in the US unless you happen to be poor (UK has more social benefits vs US).
The only thing that would move the needle is healthcare costs, but that is also a problem in the UK now if you live in an area where the NHS is poor (which generally means you can’t access healthcare when you need to).
Lots of offsetting items in all of that. The food one just surprised me because I think the US would have the advantages of a vast productive farmland across the midwest and plains, and a cheap source of labor on produce that comes from Mexico.
US no longer grows much food for direct consumption. We grow ingredients (corn syrup) and animal feed.
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What I am finding from Google is that about 90% of our groceries in the US come from the US and a bit less than half of our produce comes from Mexico.
Its likely also true that the majority of farmland goes to producing things like HFCS, ethanol, and animal feed.
Agree…different perspectives of the same idea.
Which is not a great use of land, imo. We should swap some corn out for solar.
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As more farm equipment becomes electric-powered, local energy production can be a great benefit even without grid connections for large scale solar farms.
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Really? This is what google tells me.
In 2024, the United States imported approximately $205 billion to $213 billion in agricultural products, marking a significant reliance on foreign goods for items like fruits, vegetables, and coffee. Imports accounted for less than 20% of total U.S. food and beverage spending, with 85% of food still produced by the domestic supply chain.
Economic Research Service (.gov)
Economic Research Service (.gov)
+2
I was wondering about that - if solar beats out ethanol for energy production, we should throw those solar panels out on the western plains where irrigation is required to grow anything and shift out corn fields to replace those crops.
It may not be that simple, but it solves a few problems at once.
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Oh, the anti-solar lobby is strong. My MAGA in-laws really think solar is downright dangerous. They sent me some messages, it’s very much ‘alternative facts.’
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Had not thought about that but I expect there are sites promoting that view. Sigh.
Click the link at your risk, this is what my MIL sent me. Absolute gish gallop of slop.
I’ve got a libertarian classmate from grad school who lives in Wyoming. She and her friends are grumpy about some new wind and possibly solar power going in. Apparently property rights only count when you’re doing something they approve of.
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