How Bush Screwed Our Thanksgiving

There is a compelling article in yesterday's New York Daily News by Pulitzer Prize winner William Sherman.

Sherman shows that there is not much for us to be thankful for in terms of the cost of food we put on the table this week.

Consumers are getting slammed with the biggest increase in food prices in a decade -- fueled by a perfect storm of rising grain prices and a falling dollar.

Poultry -- including your Thanksgiving Turkey -- along with dairy products have risen the most. A glass of milk costs New Yorkers up to 42% more than last holiday season.

The wholesale price of eggs has soared 86% compared to last fall, at one point.

"I'm spending $50 to $80 more a week on food than last year", according to one Harlem shopper.

The surge is driven by a ripple effect -- the Iraq war, the rise in oil prices, the growing deficits -- and a confluence of factors beginning with corn and wheat crops diverted to ethanol production, according to economists.

Demand for ethanol, caused by the surging price of oil, drives up the price of feed grain. High oil prices also affect the cost of running tractors and combines and transportation.

In the food chain -- from the corn fed hens and cattle to the meal on the dinner table -- just about every menu is affected. Pizza prices in New York are up 15% since last year. Filet mignon has jumped 10% in the last two months. Striped bass, according to one luxury restaurant owner, has gone up from $3 per pound to $8 per pound in one year. The average turkey is up 15% since last year.

Another prime factor in food price increases has been the steady decline of the US dollar relative to other currencies. The price of imported olive oil is up 25%. The weak US dollar allows foreign countries to buy US foodstuffs for less than American buyers. Increased foreign demand raises domestic prices.

In the first nine months of this year, writes Sherman, US food, feed and beverage exports were up $12 billion over last year. China has been a big buyer of poultry and pork.

This may be good for the farmers, but horrible for everyone else.

The implications of all this are:

Every time the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates to provide a temporary boost to a weakening economy, the dollar goes down, the price of oil goes up and the price of food skyrockets for ordinary people.

Looks like the chickens, and turkeys, are coming home to roost as the doomsayers have been predicting for years. In the past decades world confidence in the U.S. economy created a very favorable global business climate and powered much of the U.S. political and economic clout. Perception is everything.

But with a humongous trade deficit -- $700 billion last year -- and a $150 billion annual Iraq war bill, it could all come apart.... very quickly.

America's powerhouse economy depends on global confidence in the stability of the dollar which has traditionally attracted the world's surplus savings. But with the rapid fall of the dollar, other nations are increasingly indicating that they will invest in other currencies. Confidence in the US greenback is waning among foreign businessmen, a finding that in itself may be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

The U.S. exports 70 cents worth of goods for every dollar it imports. The U.S. has borrowed more than $3 trillion in the last six years. Money moves across markets with the push of a button.

If foreigners lose confidence in the U.S. economy, they will want their money back, the dollar will fall, and foreign investments will tumble, triggering an even weaker dollar. To an amazing extent, the U.S. economy has relied "on the kindness of strangers" to fuel its domestic and international investments and the recent real estate boom.

The consequences for our American Empire may be disastrous and swift, if the "kindness" and confidence of global investors is shaken. Will America succumb to the same imperial overstretch as the Roman, Dutch, Spanish, Soviet, and British? Hubris does not allow us to see much in the future. Every empire thinks that it is different, but....?

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Comments

[elisalucia]

I think we have a chance to survive "as an empire" if we reevaluate our relationship with the rest of the world. Our current administration has politically ostrasized us and done little to foster sustainable national growth.
However, there is (as always) some hope. Interestingly, several big time VC's (Vinod Khosla, Bob Metcalfe, Arno Penzias among others) are investing heavily in renewable energies.

Renewable energy development has a lot of potential to pad America's pocket book, now that oil has reached a "peak oil” period that will keep prices high forever'.*

Perhaps the future of our Nation will strangely be
saved by some innovative private investors.
We'll see.

*http://www.internetevolution.com/author.asp?section_id=477&doc_id=138851

[darker]

WELCOME to the Bush-Cheney DEREGULATED ROGUE ECONOMY and IRAQ INVASION for the benefit of irresponsible, greedy profiteers, including themselves via their multinational investments.

Count on Bush-Cheney to invent every possible MISSION IMPOSSIBLE and then call it MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. Unfortunately, ADVERTISING is NOT everything. Advertising is NOT REALITY. Advertising is LYING. Remember that when you vote.

The grim reality is: we're living in a NANNY STATE FOR THE RICH and Bush-Cheney corporate welfare queens, Big Oil, war PROFITEERS grabbing all our money and tax dollars.

Middle America's economy is being destroyed for the sake of mega-profits for deregulated, unaccountable "corporate welfare queens" .

[Spookcatcher]

Do what the other countries that are fighting back for their own control of their economy from the Global Fascists: Nationalize Energy Companies, expell the board members, and sieze the Corpoarate assets, as well as AT & T and the Communications Industry, and make them all public utlities with everyday Americans elected who must sign a contract that when they leave their public service they can NEVER take a job or work as a lobbyist or for a company that caters to the utility industry that they have served on.

[Average]

Hummm, wonder why grain prices are rising. Must be Bush's fault right? Maybe it is Al Gore's fault--taking corn flackes to make ethonol. Who did NOT see this one coming?

[RobertPaul]

The only thing left for BushCo to do before leaving office is start another war....this time with Iran.

Aside from that, BushCo has pretty much done all the damage he can.

What I'm really worried about is who is going to replace him and his minions.

If they continue many of his (failed and failing) policies then we will be in REAL trouble.

The world looks at the USA and knows that every 4 to 8 years we change leaders and each new leader can bring with them new policies or change existing ones.

The world is just as fed up with Bush as we are. But they are watching to see what's around the corner...someone who knows what they're doing?

If you look at the candidates for office, you should keep this in mind.

Frankly, I don't see a lot of promise in the "front runners" and Rudy scares the hell out of me. Fortunately I think the truth will catch up to him before he gets the Rep Nomination.

I'm not thrilled about Hillary either.

I guess we'll have to see what happens.

[WASanford]

Ok, show me something Bush hasn’t screwed up. Now that would be news!
I read a lot of complaining on this site and rightfully so. But I see little in the way of answers. Doing something about this is not that difficult..
George Bush is a symptom of an overreaching and hubristic capitalistic system. It threatens our safety, our liberties, our institutions, and it tends to put a vast majority of us into penury. Why in the world are you supporting it!?
If gasoline is too expensive then park the dammed SUV! Or trade it in for something more reasonable, When you can, put Citgo gasoline in your car, Chavez isn't sending our young people to die in Iraq!
If $15.00 for a pound of steak is too much then eat something else. That much meat isn’t healthy for you anyway.
If you want lower grocery bills, then hunt for bargains, Even making temporary dietary changes to take advantage of them
Be on the lookout for unethical or immoral business practices. When you find them take your patronage elsewhere.
Does this retailer support your community by paying living wages? Then patronize him/her!
I could go on, but you get the point. If the system won’t change then YOU have to.
And pass this word along. If enough of us do this we WILL take back our country. We will put capitalism back where it belongs, serving us instead of exploiting us.
I know it’s too late for this year so for next year, have A Happy Thanksgiving!

[Nofoolhere]

The religious right loves to rant about "The Wrath of God," applied to everybody else, as they trash the benevolent teachings of their Jesus by their support Bush-Co values.

I wonder then, if they are capable of relating the current horrors to their support of the Republican and corporate right, and if they are capable of recognizing and acknowledging the "WRATH OF GOD" as it is now descending UPON THEM.

[eddiestardust]

Last year I thought it might be a good idea to stock up on some food for a rainy day...like a winter storm. Couple of weeks ago I made it a point to really look at the cost of soup...

I remember a time when a can..a regular can of Campbells soup cost 33 cents...now it's up to

$1.29 PER CAN...and again it's just a regular old can of soup not the large cans or the specialty cans, just a regular can!

It's incredible:(

[Ron]

Bush and his Repulican Guard have taken over and actively abused all the departments and branches of our goverment, while ignoring laws, actively running organized criminal activities from the White House, and who knows what tactics are being used to prevent his impeachment from office. I'm thankful he hasn't yet false flagged an operation against our troops, or here at home, to escalate more wars.

[texanna]

Wouldn't you love to ask one of those "values voters" how they feel about things now? I say "feel" because it's clear they never think or how else could they have voted for Shrub and the free-marketers in 2000 and 2004. Free markets, indeed! Those corporations don't want a "free market", they want a market in which the govt does just enough to allow them to run amok.

[richsmith]

About the only things that seem not to be going up are wages and employment numbers. Looking at the brighter side of this food price increase, it may result in the obesity problem in the US finally starting to abate. As the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, as we hurtle unobstructed into the economic state of a third world country, that quarter you've been tossing into the Salvation Army donation can (onward Christian soldiers) is going to have to be stretched further and further before it makes it to the food kitchen!

As prospects for a safe and prosperous US grow dimmer and dimmer due to the ascendance of a kleptocratic culture that the Republican Party has been inexorably driving us toward and foisting upon us over the last several decades, the only refuge there seems to be left is luxury of humor and the opportunity to laugh at the greed, self indulgence, folly, and general stupidity of what used to be a majority of but now seems a dwindling percentage (although, relatively speaking, 30% is still no small number) of the adult population of the United States.

[Craig]

"The US has boroed $3 trillion dollas in the last 6 years." I thought the government alone has borrowed more than that, or maybe the authorization is for moe (up to $4.5 trillion).

[jazzman]

Stop complaining. Cost of food and fuel are not factored by the FED when determining the rate of inflation. Why would they be? We all know that food and fuel are non essential items in the average citizen's daily expenses. So, when you eliminate those two insignificant items, it's easy to see, as Bernake does, that inflation is totally under control and the economy is doing fine. Now ignore the food prices and enjoy that Thanksgiving meal, turn up the heat, and forget about the price of gasoline at the next fill up of your vehicle, because the rising price in food and fuel don't matter.

[researcher]

we americans still think it is bush jr. we love to blame our politicans for our ignorance.

this is a republic and guess who votes in these politicans? US.

they are only a reflection of the voters that voted these politicans into office whether it be spineless demos or war mongering repubs.

until we figure out it is we the voters that need to change we will continue on this rapid decline to fascism.

a repubic cannot stand in a dumbed downed society. if you really want to dumb down a society implement on a national scale a testing program like no child left behind.

americans were sold a bill of goods that this country is a democracy by the have and have mores elitists. this country was never intended to be a democracy by its designers.

as the economic crisis hits americans fascism is the only way to stop the decline to complete chaos.

[Mack20]

You people are sad and pathetic. If your lives suck so badly then why don’t you do something about it? Either try to change things or get the hell out of this country. I’ll bet half of you never even vote!