by Monica Showalter
American Thinker
Think prices are high enough at the grocery?
Well, they’re going higher, this time on avocados, that glorious Mexican delicacy so beloved by Americans on their toast, in their guacamole bowl, and pretty much everything else. Mexican avocado imports are a $2.8 billion annual industry, meaning, Americans like them a lot.
According to the New York Times:
Security concerns for agency workers have led the United States Agriculture Department to suspend its inspections of avocados and mangos imported from Mexico “until further notice,” the U.S.D.A. said on Monday.
Produce already cleared for export will not be affected by the decision, but avocado supplies in the United States, which mostly come from the Mexican state of Michoacán, could eventually be affected if the inspections are not resumed.
The rate of price increases for food has subsided in recent months, according to the latest government inflation data.
The Great Inflation is, thank goodness, over.
The financial markets were “mixed” this week (ended June 14) with the tech sectors moving smartly ahead while the more traditional sectors lagged. The S&P 500 (+1.6%) and the Nasdaq (+3.0%) both closed higher. But the industrial stocks were flat to down as represented by the Dow Jones Industrials which were off -0.8% for the week. Year to date, both the S&P 500 (+13.9%) and the tech heavy Nasdaq (+17.8%) are up double digits while the industrial based Dow Jones is only up +2.4% for the year and is down -3.1% so far this quarter.
Millions of American families are hitting the road to start summer vacation, and ordering food on the run tends to be par for the course. It couldn’t come at a better time. Fast food joints are in the midst of a budget-meal war, offering promotions to lure customers back to their restaurants despite inflation woes and a minimum-wage increase in California and other states.
Government overspending, an activity the Biden administration has taken to a new level, has sent the country into an inflationary spiral. Through trillions of dollars in COVID-19 relief programs, infrastructure spending, vote-buying student loan forgiveness programs, and a political “Build Back Better Agenda,” the White House has flooded the economy and decimated consumers’ purchasing power. We’re paying more and getting less for everything from energy to food.
Minneapolis Federal Reserve president Neel Kashkari said Sunday it’s a “reasonable prediction” that the U.S. central bank will cut interest rates once this year, waiting until December to do it.
High inflation brought down consumer sentiment to the lowest level in seven months in early June, the University of Michigan’s survey of U.S. households showed Friday.