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U.S. Consumers Spent More on Food in 2022 Than Ever Before (Inflation Adjusted)

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Re: U.S. Consumers Spent More on Food in 2022 Than Ever Before (Inflation Adjusted)

#21

Post by candiddevmike »

carabiner wrote: post #10

Shhh, don't look at that. Just focus on "U.S. GDP grew at a 4.9% annual pace in the third quarter, better than expected (cnbc.com)" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38025177 and celebrate. Sure, 90% of Americans under 50 will never be able to buy a house. They are one injury away from bankruptcy. But the GDP!

This is a byproduct of the US political polarization. The state of the economy (and every other attribute of the US) has become a football game, and you must agree with your team on the state of it per whatever the talking head coach says, lest you grant the opposing team a "win". This ruins honest discourse about the state of things.

Re: U.S. Consumers Spent More on Food in 2022 Than Ever Before (Inflation Adjusted)

#22

Post by soperj »

swatcoder wrote: post #15
soperj wrote: post #2

I think this has a lot to do with the under counting of inflation. If you go back to 80s methodology inflation has been much larger that what they've let on.

Yup. I think there's also an ongoing century long shift in "modern" culture that makes classical economics food "baskets" unrepresentative. Excepting wellness geeks, nobody who participates in "modern" culture lives on classical staples of grains, produce, dairy, and affordable cuts of meat. As a hardline economist in academia, you can say that those are what matter to poverty or starvation because people will eventu…

> The cultural traditions that made simple foods practical have been lost from many families and those never-learned recipes and habits don't just restore themselves to people overnight when times get tough.

That strikes a chord. How do you fix this piece though?

Re: U.S. Consumers Spent More on Food in 2022 Than Ever Before (Inflation Adjusted)

#23

Post by ceejayoz »

nradov wrote: post #11
Dig1t wrote: post #3

Everyone knows they are spending way more on food. The CPI inflation numbers feel like a lie.

Which numbers feel like a lie? You can drill down into the BLS CPI data and see prices for specific items like ground beef. Are they wrong? Food is just one component of the CPI so it's possible for food prices to increase a lot even while overall inflation remains low.

I suspect a lot of people were living closer to “paycheck to paycheck” state than they realized. No raise plus even 5-10% bumps in food prices feel like a much bigger impact when you’re suddenly running out of money when you never have before.

Re: U.S. Consumers Spent More on Food in 2022 Than Ever Before (Inflation Adjusted)

#25

Post by SoftTalker »

TaylorAlexander wrote: post #12
jeffbee wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But that's not what's happening in this article. The Food Away From Home share has hit an all-time high, and FAFH costs more (because it contains more internalized labor than groceries). Americans eat out a lot because they are unbelievably rich.

Yes Americans are rich and are also very busy. Life seems to push so fast that I know a lot of people buy food away from home due to a sense that they don’t have time to cook. There must be rich individuals in other cultures who still eat at home because they have more freedom to take the time to do so. Americans on a global scale are rich but I expect that living expenses are so high too that many people who often e…

Eating at home takes less time than eating out. Maybe about the same if you include washing up and putting everything away.

Getting prepared food via DoorDash, I guess might be quicker, but you're still sitting there for 30-60 minutes in most cases waiting for it to show up. You can roast a chicken and vegetables in the oven in that time.

Re: U.S. Consumers Spent More on Food in 2022 Than Ever Before (Inflation Adjusted)

#27

Post by [deleted] »

swatcoder wrote: post #15
soperj wrote: post #2

I think this has a lot to do with the under counting of inflation. If you go back to 80s methodology inflation has been much larger that what they've let on.

Yup. I think there's also an ongoing century long shift in "modern" culture that makes classical economics food "baskets" unrepresentative. Excepting wellness geeks, nobody who participates in "modern" culture lives on classical staples of grains, produce, dairy, and affordable cuts of meat. As a hardline economist in academia, you can say that those are what matter to poverty or starvation because people will eventu…

[deleted]

Re: U.S. Consumers Spent More on Food in 2022 Than Ever Before (Inflation Adjusted)

#28

Post by laidoffamazon »

carabiner wrote: post #10

Shhh, don't look at that. Just focus on "U.S. GDP grew at a 4.9% annual pace in the third quarter, better than expected (cnbc.com)" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38025177 and celebrate. Sure, 90% of Americans under 50 will never be able to buy a house. They are one injury away from bankruptcy. But the GDP!

90%? What are you talking about? If this were the case home prices would be falling precipitously not rising!

Re: U.S. Consumers Spent More on Food in 2022 Than Ever Before (Inflation Adjusted)

#29

Post by bluedino »

kajumix wrote: post #24

I eat a lot of eggs and meat, and their prices are at least 50% higher than last year, not 6%. Inflation measures are such a joke.

Eggs (at least in my area) have gone back to normal in the last couple months ($2 for an 18 pack instead of $6)

Beef on the other hand...

Re: U.S. Consumers Spent More on Food in 2022 Than Ever Before (Inflation Adjusted)

#30

Post by cheriot »

soperj wrote: post #2

I think this has a lot to do with the under counting of inflation. If you go back to 80s methodology inflation has been much larger that what they've let on.

Wasn't the methodology change on housing costs?

If this is under counting inflation then spending at restaurants is up even more. I guess people have money to spend and are enjoying the restaurant scene.

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