The Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index rose 9.1% in June, compared to the same month a year ago. That was a four-decade high.
The index is made up of scores of individual items. Some, like gasoline and oil prices, have risen by more than 50% most months, compared to the same month in 2021. Because so many Americans drive and heat their homes with oil, this has been crippling for some households. Gas prices alone could be a major cause of a recession.
The effect of some prices does not register with most people, but they have risen remarkably high nevertheless.
Americans eat an average of about 300 eggs per year. Some people do not eat eggs at all, so some people must eat a figure closer to 500, or about two a day. Eggs are not only eaten at home. They are a staple of fast-food breakfasts.
The price of eggs rose 33.1% in June, or about three times the consumer price index. The surge is so great that there was a rumor a dozen eggs would cost $12 by October, according to the USDA. The rumor was false. That anyone believed it at all reinforces the fact that egg prices have risen at breakneck speed.
The real reason egg prices have risen is the cost of corn and wheat. Farmers have pushed egg prices up, so they can make a profit.
The only way to combat inflation when a core component of the inflated item cannot be resolved is to lower demand. Americans could eat fewer eggs and help drop their prices. It seems like an odd suggestion, but it indicates how inflation works.
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