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POPSBuying Power of Food Stamps Declines The declining buying power of food stamps has not gone unrecognized in Washington. In May, Congress passed a farm bill that would raise the minimum amount of food stamps that families receive, starting in October. The bill, which was passed over President Bush’s veto, will also raise for the first time since 1996 the amount of income that families of fewer than four can keep for costs like housing or fuel without having their benefits reduced.
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POPS$4 per Gallon Gas Pinching Low Income Families Worst This is forcing major shifts in spending and life changes as the cost of everything goes up respective to fuel costs, not just at the pump. This is pinching Americans, especially at lower income levels, while the well off remain careless and distracted. In turn this will increase government welfare spending, and force some out of their cars completely. All this to due dollar devaluation, due to heavy debt spending by government, printing money, to finance unjust and needless war-mongering abroad against countries that pose no threat to the U.S.. The poor suffer the most, as usual, who have the least to do with war policy, merely attempting to survive.
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POPSOil Prices Require More Than Congressional Accusations He was correct to remind Americans that if we want to lower the cost of energy we must be willing to use our own resources, whether they are natural or those we can build, rather than rely upon others to provide for our needs. After all, isn’t self-reliance part of the American spirit. We should not recontributely on foreign governments, many of which are volatile, to supply our energy needs, nor should our large farmers rely on Federal Government handouts to prop up their financially lucrative businesses. President Bush was correct to note that Congressional support for farm subsidies will do little other than contribute to the rising prices of food. He was correct to remind Americans that if we want to lower the cost of energy we must be willing to use our own resources, whether they are natural or those we can build, rather than rely upon others to provide for our needs.
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POPSSubsidies And High Crop Prices
Dooley says the net impact is bad for the food producers he represents. "For most American farmers, they're producing commodities—they're seeing their best years ever. But for farmers that have to feed grains and corn to livestock, they're seeing very tough times.... The policy is having a significant adverse impact on a significant sector of our agriculture, while I admit it is helping some farmers." These higher costs are also seen in consumers' grocery bills, and that has made ethanol subsidies an issue in Washington. Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York this month proposed legislation that would end the 54-cent-per-gallon tariff* as a way to stop a spike in milk prices. "There are a lot more milk consumers than ethanol producers in New York. He's hearing an earful from his constituents," Griswold says of Schumer. *The federal government gives preferential treatment to domestic, corn-based ethanol in the form of a 54-cent tax on imported Brazilian ethanol.
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POPSFood Prices On The Rise The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently confirmed what shoppers have been noticing for months: the price of food is increasing at an unusually rapid rate.
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POPSMilk Cost Up 21% -- Ethanol Subsidies And China Behind It Go to the grocery store and pick up a carton of milk. Milk costs 21% more than it did a year ago, according to a story in today's USA Today. Milk costs more because corn costs more. The interconnected forces of the global economy, global climate change, global terrorism and global energy supply are on display, every day, in every grocery store across America. You just have to look for them.
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POPSFull Stomach on Empty Wallet Food prices are expected to rise 3-4% this year which is on *top* of last years 4% hike. In other words, if last year was tough...this year will be much tougher. T^his page offers healthy and money-smart tips when trying to stay fed and healthy.
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POPSShoppers Warned Bigger Grocery Bills On Way Joseph Glauber, the USDA’s chief economist, said in an interview that until now some companies had absorbed the rise in commodities prices, but that trend was about to change. He said that wheat prices had previously moved from $3 to $5 a bushel without significant pain for consumers. “But now the wheat price has jumped to nearly $20 a bushel. These large increases will show up .” Companies until now have moderated consumer price increases thanks to large inventories and financial hedges in the commodities market futures. But during the course of this year those mitigating factors would vanish, executives said. “The final result will be higher prices,” Mr Lapp said. The global economy is “at the beginning of a period in which consumer will face higher food prices”.
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POPS Energy, food costs balloon US inflation It's time to get rid of the Federal Reserve and follow the Constitution by using gold and silver. We need to cut our spending to dig ourselves out of this hole, and that means bringing the troops home. We can't afford to maintain this empire any longer, and if we don't bring it under control now, it will soon fall. Today's empires are tomorrow's ashes. Let's save this country before it is too late. http://www.RonPaul2008.com/
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POPSStagflation - 1970's Déjà vu
As Yogi Berra once said, "This is like deja vu all over again." 1970's economy looms over us once again. Stagflation in the 1970s The term "stagflation" -- an economic condition of both continuing inflation and stagnant business activity, together with an increasing unemployment rate -- described the new economic malaise. Inflation seemed to feed on itself. People began to expect continuous increases in the price of goods, so they bought more. This increased demand pushed up prices, leading to demands for higher wages, which pushed prices higher still in a continuing upward spiral. Labor contracts increasingly came to include automatic cost-of-living clauses, and the government began to peg some payments, such as those for Social Security, to the Consumer Price Index, the best-known gauge of inflation. While these practices helped workers and retirees cope with inflation, they perpetuated inflation. http://economics.about.com/od/useconomichistory/a/stagflation.htm
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POPSThe Bulls are Back in Town Nothing like a little Thin Lizzy along with a nice PPI to fuel the bulls! While the PPI isn't the number the Fed is watching, it is just another indication that there really isn't much year over year inflation out there. Notice the 1.6% core inflation at the wholesale level year over year. CPI tomorrow!
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