4 ms·
I was in my local market, one of the value ones, nothing fancy like Whole Foods, and a no-frills pack of bacon was over $10.
by chrsw 3y ago
I was in my local market, one of the value ones, nothing fancy like Whole Foods, and a no-frills pack of bacon was over $10.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- candiddevmike 3y agoSpeaking locally, my "low cost of living" area is now quite in line with most "high cost of living" areas when it comes to buying things, maybe even higher for food items as I recently experienced while traveling (it was cheaper in a big city!). Sure, rent and mortgages are still low (for now), but they're creeping up pretty fast too. Wages here are abysmal because it's "low cost of living", but it's really not these days...
- rvnx 3y agoWell that is the consequence of ZIRP-policy + randomly printing unlimited free money during COVID (to support businesses). If there is more money in circulation, but the same amount of goods, of course the price of goods is going to increase.
- busterarm 3y agoIt's been driving me crazy how much I see in media this narrative being pushed that the economy is really doing great and that it's only smelly conservatives that think times are bad. I keep seeing supply chain shocks in poultry and dairy still, food and fuel prices aren't coming back down, every company I know anyone working for is in the middle of a sales & hiring slowdown and scores of my friends in tech have been out of work six months or more.
- kccqzy 3y agoGrocery stores and food suppliers are raising prices to enrich their own shareholders. Simple as that. Search for "greedflation"
- nsxwolf 3y agoWhy now? Haven’t people always been greedy?
- nick7376182 3y agoThe prisoner's dilemma of price discovery for corporations has shifted from the competitive mode to collusion mode thanks to the perturbation of COVID and inflation fear.
- bryanlarsen 3y agoIn the past, they couldn't get away with it. We used to have competition. Competition slowly changed to oligopoly over the years but companies were still applying lessons learned in the distant past that raising prices would drive away customers. But once they learned that they now can get away with raising prices...
- kccqzy 3y agoThe more people are aware of the fact that inflation is soaring according to the news, the more people find it expected that they see high prices at grocery stores, the more companies can raise prices. Self-fulfilling prophecy.
- rightbyte 3y agoI don't think NY grocery markets ever charged less than to maximize their profits. "Shrinkflation" is a better concept I think, since it implies deception.
- John23832 3y agoSpeaking from my own experience, the cost of groceries and rent in NYC are really incredible. There's always the idea that NYC is/has been expensive... no it really is insane. Inflation caused prices to go up, but there isn't any drag for them to come down, only to stop increasing AS MUCH. However, at least in the tech market (but as seen in others as well), you often hear "oh the market has softened so we're paying less". Or worse, people are getting laid off. If you haven't moved jobs in the past two/three years, you're at a pre-covid salary rate. I find it hard to square the circle, where the floor of prices has permanently been moved upwards, employers are pushing salaries down to save their own costs. This causes people to have to "rob Peter to pay Paul". Dissaving, is because workers are being robbed at the expense of employers and capital owners who can seek rents.
- beezlebroxxxxxx 3y agoOne of things that has been happening under the radar in NA is an enormous amount of consolidation and mergers. While you might see a lot of different brand names for stores (and the products they carry), in reality there is actually not that much competition. In Canada, for example, there are basically only 3 huge grocers (some internationals as well, like Costco and Walmart, but that's only recently). They have been caught price fixing bread, for an example, from 2001 to 2015. I imagine there is much more going on.
- nunez 3y agoThey aren't even under the radar. Grocery store chains have been merging aggressively over the last few years; many larger SMBs have gotten acquired by private equity and management groups; hell, the consolidation in tech consulting these last three years has been noticeable.
- MuffinFlavored 3y agoBacon is $3.73-$4.98 at my local Walmart
- John23832 3y agoWhere?
- chrsw 3y agoDefinitely not Boston
- kec 3y agoA no-frills pack of bacon at Whole Foods in Cambridge is currently $6.99 not on sale (unless their online / delivery prices are radically different than in-store).
- chrsw 3y agoYes, the prices too seem to fluctuate. And I just assumed Whole Foods was more expensive.
- nkurz 3y agoI just went to walmart.com and searched for "bacon": https://www.walmart.com/search?q=bacon https://www.walmart.com/search?q=bacon I put "Boston MA" into the store selector, and it told me that Lynn MA was the closest. It shows as $4.48/lb for the store brand. The Hormel brand name stuff is $4.98/lb. Why do you say "definitely"?
- chrsw 3y agoBecause Lynn is definitely not Boston
- nkurz 3y agoI see, your point was that the price of bacon at a Walmart cannot be that low because there are no Walmarts in the actual city of Boston? And you are implying that you answered "definitely" despite knowing that the price was correct for the greater Boston area? And that you don't care that 99%+ of the world refers to the entire Boston area as "Boston"? If this was the point you are making, please consider being clearer in the future that you are not contributing useful local knowledge but just being a pedant.
- pie420 3y agohow much would it cost you to raise a pig, care for it, slaughter it, butcher its meat, smoke it, package it, and transport some bacon?
- glitchc 3y agoI suspect this inflation reflects inflated transportation costs more than inflated food production. Of course, food production reflects transportation costs for feed and fertilizer too. It's transportation costs all the way down. The switch to renewable energy sources only exacerbates the cost.
- HPsquared 3y agoCanada?
- nunez 3y agocounterpoint: i bought a "fancy" pack of thick-cut churro seasoned bacon at HEB here in Houston for $8.49. their basic stuff was, like, $5. i think these prices are regional.