Food Inflation: The Price Spikes of Beef, Coffee, Eggs, and Dairy
The CPI inflation index for “Food at home” rose by 0.32% in September from August (4.0% annualized), and by 2.7% year-over-year, the worst increase since August 2023, as per the data released belatedly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics today. Since January 2020, the CPI for food at home has surged by 30%.
The CPI “Food at home” tracks numerous categories of food and drinks that consumers purchase at stores and markets and consume off-premise, such as at home. But their prices don’t march in lockstep. Egg prices have re-plunged for months off their avian-flu spike and continued to drop in September.
But beef prices soared. Coffee prices dipped off the huge spike. And dairy has been plateauing at very high levels. Hundreds of food and drink items form the overall food at home CPI…. (Continue to full article)
Food Stamps to Be Paused for 42 Million Americans: What to Know!
Some 42 million Americans will not receive benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) until Congress approves new funding, according to federal officials, although some states have taken steps to intervene.
Congress made money available for SNAP for October before failing to reach a new government funding agreement, which resulted in the government shutting down on Oct. 1, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said in a letter to regional and state SNAP officials.
There is not enough money to pay full SNAP benefits to the approximately 42 million SNAP recipients in November, the USDA says.
“Bottom line, the well has run dry,” the USDA said on Oct. 25. “At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 01.”… (Continue to full article)
Largest Federal Workers Union Calls for An End to the Shutdown – Putting Pressure on Democrats
The country’s largest union representing federal workers is calling for lawmakers to pass a short-term spending measure to immediately end the government shutdown, urging Democrats to abandon their current position and join Republicans in supporting a stopgap solution.
“Both political parties have made their point, and still there is no clear end in sight,” American Federation of Government Employees President Everett Kelley wrote in a statement first shared with NBC News. “It’s time to pass a clean continuing resolution and end this shutdown today. No half measures, and no gamesmanship.”
The statement could increase pressure on Democrats to budge from their stance. Senate Democrats have insisted that they won’t vote to reopen the government without a commitment from Republicans and President Donald Trump on extending health care subsidies through the Affordable Care Act, which are set to expire at the end of the year. Without them, health insurance premiums on Obamacare markets will skyrocket for many individuals and families… (Continue to full article)
6 Ways the Shutdown Is About to Get Worse
The government shutdown gets uglier at the end of this week.
With President Donald Trump traveling abroad and Congress still deeply divided over a path to fund federal agencies, a pileup of deadlines on and around Nov. 1 is set to put many U.S. households at risk of new hardship: Popular programs that provide nutrition assistance, early childhood education and air service to rural communities are now among those about to run out of money.
Thousands of federal employees will also miss their first full paychecks this week, so services like TSA screenings and air traffic control operations could be further stunted if those workers stop showing up, as was the case during the 35-day partial shutdown that ended in early 2019… (Continue to full article)
Here’s When the Price of Gold Could Hit $5,000 Per Ounce, According to Experts…
The price of gold has more than doubled since the start of 2024. The precious metal was trading around $2,000 per ounce at the start of last year, and recently crossed the $4,000 mark before surging to above $4,300 per ounce— a level that seemed distant just months ago.
While the price has moderated somewhat in the time since, price upticks will likely continue to occur, at least in the near future, as today’s economic climate makes gold a smart bet for a lot of investors. And, not only has there been aggressive buying by central banks, but issues like high inflation and currency instability are also driving individual investors to hedge and diversify with gold.
The next price milestone investors are watching is $5,000 per ounce, as gold’s recent momentum helps that target look achievable… (Continue to full article)
Shutdowns Began as a Way to Enforce Federal Law. Now Trump Is Using It to Take More Power
The government shutdown – the second-longest in history, with no end in sight, is quickly becoming a way for President Donald Trump to exercise new command over the government.
It wasn’t always this way. In fact, it all started with an attempt to tighten Washington’s observance of federal law.
The modern phenomena of the U.S. government closing down services began in 1980 with a series of legal opinions from Attorney General Benjamin Civiletti, who was serving under Democratic President Jimmy Carter. Civiletti reached into the Antideficiency Act of 1870 to argue that the law was “plain and unambiguous” in restricting the government from spending money once authority from Congress expires… (Continue to full article)
