Three in four Americans say groceries are so expensive they’ve been forced to cut down on entertainment, travel, clothing, and food and drink away from home

 

 Reported here.

So, what do those of us cut, who long ago completely cut out entertainment, travel, food and drink away from home, and mend the clothes we cannot replace?

Drink period, for starters:

THE alcohol industry has faced financial hardship in 2025, leading to several distilleries filing for bankruptcy as Americans are drinking at the lowest levels in history. ... An August poll conducted by Gallup found that 54% of adults say they consume alcohol, which was down from 58% in 2024 and 62% in 2023. Gallup said the 54% finding is “the lowest by one percentage point in Gallup’s nearly 90-year trend.” ... Gallup found that 53% of Americans said having one or two drinks a day is bad for one’s health, while 37% say it makes no difference and 6% say it’s good for one’s health. ...

More. 

 

 

Trump reduced tariffs on coffee in early November, but it made a new record high average price in November 2025 anyway lol

 October 2025 is missing.

Eggs averaged $1.39/dozen in 2019 under Trump I but were $2.86 in November 2025 under Trump II, 106% higher

 

Trump cuts food prices by slashing tariffs which he increased in the first place, but apparently not on Italian products like pasta, olive oil, and tomatoes

 

Trump cuts tariffs on goods like coffee, bananas and beef in bid to slash consumer prices

  

Trump tariffs are helping drive U.S. beef prices to new highs

 

 

Victor Davis Hanson wouldn't know chaos if it walked up and introduced itself

 

Democrats Wielding Chaos as a Strategy

Victor Davis Hanson, American Greatness

 

This guy is delusional. 

 

I thought we were going to invade Greenland, Canada, and Panama at the beginning of the year, but instead we've actually gone to war in Yemen, Iran, and now Venezuela and maybe even Nigeria, all in nine months. But yeah, the Democrats are responsible for all the chaos.

 

I thought we were going to cut federal spending with Elon Musk at the helm, but all we got was a phony Republican tax and spending plan for the Fourth of July which has put us $2 trillion more in debt just four months later. But damn all those fired government workers who showed up in Virginia this week to vote for a Democrat for governor.

 

Everyday it's some new bullshit from Mad King Ludwig, but this egghead is upset that the public is reacting negatively to each new pile of it.

 

The administration and MAGA do not talk enough about . . . tolerable inflation . . . a calmer Middle East . . .

 

Good god, man, Joe Six Pack can't afford a lousy hamburger at McDonald's and the Red Sea is no longer safe for free trade.

 

 

 

  

Prices of 20 food items posted new all time highs on a quarterly average basis under Donald Trump in 3Q2025

 The 20 foods shown making new all time highs represent 43% of the 46 foods I have been tracking in the FRED database at the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank. Prices are per pound unless otherwise noted.

Beef Products:

Round Roast $8.182

All Uncooked Roasts 8.72 

Choice Chuck Roast 8.839

Round Steak 9.04

All Uncooked Steaks 12.12

Choice Sirloin Steak 14.003

Ground Chuck 6.43

100% Ground Beef 6.298

All Uncooked Ground 6.593

 

Other Meats:

 

Whole Chicken 2.072

Pork 3.716

 

Dairy Products:

 

Ice Cream 6.425/half gallon

Cheddar Cheese 6.071

 

Other Foods:

 

Orange Juice 4.682/12oz. frozen

Coffee 8.808 

Sugar 1.043 (two quarters in a row)

Bananas 0.664

Potato Chips 6.84

Chocolate Chip Cookies 5.179

Beer 1.832/pint 

The food inflation rate year over year under Trump I averaged 1.89%, under Trump II in September 2025 it is 3.1% or 64% higher

 

Don't forget to turn down the thermostat before you leave for work after your 66% more expensive Trump breakfast

 Piped utility gas used to average $1.04 per therm under Trump I.

Under Trump II it's $1.61 in September 2025, 55% more.

 

 

Sugar for your coffee used to average 62 cents per pound under Trump I, under Trump II it's $1.04 in September 2025, 68% more

 

Whole Milk averaged $3.12 per gallon under Trump I, under Trump II it's $4.13 in September 2025, 32% more

 

Whole Wheat Bread used to average $1.99 per pound under Trump I, under Trump II it's $2.77 in September 2025, 39% more

 

Bacon averaged $5.60 per pound under Trump I, under Trump II it's $7.29 in September 2025, 30% more

 

Orange Juice averaged $2.47 under Trump I, under Trump II it's $4.74 in September 2025, a new record high and 92% more than it used to be

 

Eggs averaged $1.53 per dozen under Trump I, under Trump II they average $3.49 per dozen in September 2025, 128% more

 

Can you afford even to wake up to Trump?

 Coffee hits new all time high in September 2025 of $9.14 per pound, 111% higher than it used to be.

Coffee averaged $4.33 per pound under Trump I. 

 

 

Immigrant worker shortage impacts produce quality at Sam's Club?

 I bought six heads of romaine lettuce yesterday like I usually do at Sam's Club every couple of weeks, for $4.46.

Such a deal, right? 

Well, this has never happened before in years of shopping at Sam's: the cores were rotten. I barely salvaged half of it. 

I also bought a five pound bag of organic carrots, for $3.62. That's always a great deal at Sam's, except this time all the carrots in the bin were THIN, THIN, THIN, and LIMP.

Summer weather is hard on such produce in any case, but I've been buying this stuff year round at Sam's for years and have never experienced this.

I should have taken the stuff back, but I do live in the country and I have compost piles. 

Worms gotta eat, same as buzzards.

 

 

  

Frozen orange juice concentrate, coffee, bananas, and chocolate chip cookies also made new record high average prices in July 2025

 

Frozen orange juice concentrate $4.641/12oz

Coffee $8.414/lb

Bananas $0.657

Chocolate Chip cookies $5.264

 

Even though bananas and chocolate chip cookies made new highs, they are good values adjusted for inflation since 1980. Bananas are 49% lower than they should be, and the cookies are 12% lower. Most US bananas come from Guatemala, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Colombia, and Honduras.

Coffee is running 3.9% ahead of its inflation adjusted price from July 1984, and OJ is running 3.4% ahead of its inflation adjusted price since July 1980.

All nearly fifty food items I track are still near their all time highs. 

We've had no fewer than seven spikes of serious food inflation running ahead of core inflation just since the year 2000.

Agricultural export prices also have soared since then. What a coincidence.

 

 

All eight beef prices I track made new record average highs in July 2025

Adjusted for inflation since July 1984, 100% ground beef should cost $3.88/lb in July 2025, but it's actually 61% higher than that.

 

  

100% Ground Beef $6.254/lb

Ground Chuck 6.338

Round Roast 7.909

All uncooked beef roasts 8.397

Choice chuck roast 8.439

Round steak 8.69

All uncooked beef steaks 11.875

Choice sirloin steak 13.554 

 

 

Adjusted for inflation since 1980, eggs should cost $3.03 a dozen in July 2025, instead they cost $3.60

 

CPI food inflation was 2.9% year over year in July 2025 vs. the 1.86% average 2009-2020 and we're supposed to be happy that the Fed might cut interest rates in September

S&P 500 jumps to record high as inflation report gives Fed green light to cut rates: Live updates

The current rate of food inflation is running 56% higher than the average rate for the entire prior decade and more.

Nothing would sing "we can't fix it" more than a rate cut in September, but three in the Autumn would shout "we don't care!"