Thursday, March 28, 2024

How Much is That Turkey in the Window?

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Washington, D.C. – On Day, people from all walks of life, from the many different faiths and races and ethnicities who inhabit this wonderful place we call America will gather together and give thanks to the Lord Almighty for the blessing He has bestowed upon us over the last year.

Usually, that means things like family, friends, , prosperity, children, love, jobs and, in bad years, the ability to hope for the opportunity to make the next year better. In 2023, people will no doubt also be giving thanks that they still have some money left over after buying everything needed for the meal.

Tom Turkey's price has gone up, the American Farm Bureau reports, by a record 20% over last year, according to the folks that feed the nation and the world. The average meal for ten, the AFB says, now costs about $64, which may not seem like a lot to some people but, at just under $6.50 a head, is considerably more than people are used to paying.

That pumpkin pie on the table? 's eating into it faster than Uncle Ed will when he raids the refrigerator after everyone else has gone to sleep. Never before in the group's 37-year history of tracking the price of what is usually found on the Thanksgiving table have prices risen so quickly in so short a time.

Who's to blame? The Farm Bureau says it's the continuing increase in inflation month over month of between 7 and 9% and the 12% hike on the most recent numbers regarding food consumed at home.

“Farmers are working hard to meet growing demands for food — both here in the U.S. and globally — while facing rising prices for fuel, fertilizer, and other inputs,” AFB Chief Economist Roger Cryan said — and we should all be thankful they are. They're not responsible for the rise in prices. Neither are the truckers who bring the turkeys and boxes of stuffing and loaves of bread and sweet potatoes and the bags of those tiny marshmallows. Or the hardworking people who stock the shelves and ring up your purchases in the checkout line while wishing you a “Happy Holiday!”

The ones responsible for making your Thanksgiving dinner the most expensive ever are the turkeys in Washington who keep spending your money like it was their own. Inflation is caused by too much money chasing too few goods and services. Higher demands fuel higher prices. And how did all that money get into circulation? Uncle Sam.

sent it out the door by the shovel-full during the COVID crisis, even after it was abating. The American Rescue Plans and the other Biden spending initiatives not only contributed to it the rising inflationary spiral; they may have kicked it off.

By paying people not to work and producers not to produce and bankers not to lend out tens or perhaps hundreds of millions, the folks who ripped us all off misused your hard-earned tax dollars which is what's responsible for the fix we're in now. So is the push to go green, which has limited the nation's domestic energy production so much that the price of fuel is through the roof. Diesel, if you can get it, is more expensive in some places than good old-fashioned gasoline. What do you think that does to the price of what's on the shelves at your local grocer?

The Washington crowd doesn't want you to think about this. They want you to believe it when they blame greedy businessmen for the fact you've not got enough left for seconds while they eat like sultans. Don't be fooled.

The cost of the food on your table at the end of November has everything to do with how you voted at the beginning of November. It's important to think about the role policy made in Washington has on the aspects of everyday life. Some people call it “pocketbook .” It's important to keep in the back of your mind how the policies made by the politicians ostensibly in your best interests work against you. Hopefully, it will different next year if higher rents and rising interest rates haven't forced you out of the family home.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.

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Peter Roff
Peter Roff
Peter Roff is a longtime political columnist currently affiliated with several Washington, D.C.-based public policy organizations. You can reach him by email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @TheRoffDraft.

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