I think flex gave a good answer to the question in my previous post.
I’m now leaning toward an idea that I’ve had for quite a while which was reinforced by a recent e-mail message I got from Robert Reich’s Substack. Here are three of what seem to me to be the important bits:
On Tuesday, according to exit polls, Americans voted mainly on the economy — and their votes reflected their class and level of education.
…
While the economy has improved over the last two years according to standard economic measures, most Americans without college degrees — that’s the majority — have not felt it.
…
While Republicans steadily cut taxes on the wealthy, Democrats abandoned the working class.
Yeah, professional Democrats and Republicans are pretty much united in their support of large corporations and billionaires (although the Republicans crank it up to eleven and the Democrats are much better on “social issues”). That’s why I voted for Bernie Sanders in the primary when he was still a viable candidate (although I wasn’t a “Bernie bro” who stayed home out of spite).
I’d love to just quote the whole thing, but that goes way beyond “fair use”. I guess the next job for this old fart is to figure out how to link to a particular post on somebody’s Substack.
The economy *has* improved, and moreover, we’re not seeing completely empty shelves and panic-buying like we were 4 years ago. Remember when toilet paper was going for $5/roll if they even had it?
As the chief grocery shopper for not only my own household, but also for my elderly parents’ household, I know that prices have stabilized since the pandemic, and things cost about what they should cost. For example, a 20-teabag box of tea I’ve been getting for years was usually around $2.99 before the pandemic and now it’s $3.12, about the amount you’d expect due to regular inflation. At the height of the pandemic, it was running around $4 if they even had it. Likewise, bananas at my local supermarket were 59 cents a pound before the pandemic and they’re 59 cents a pound as of this morning. After Trump imposes his tariffs, they might become an unaffordable luxury.
I’m kinda sick about hearing about the cost of eggs; the bird flu has caused the culling of millions of hens. Nonetheless, I paid $4 for a dozen organic eggs from pasture-raised hens just this morning. That’s 33 cents an egg. Throw in some cheese, leftover snippets of ham or sausage, and maybe some mushrooms and slivered green peppers and onions, and you’ve got a full meal for about $2 that contains protein, dairy, good omega 3s, and vitamins C and D3. Have a cup of tea with it and the cost rises to $2.15. The gas to get to the supermarket cost me $2.89 gallon. In my local area, I’ve paid as much as $5.35/gallon in the recent past.