A chicken in every pot -- it's that time again

[splat]

FDR knew what the people needed, and we need it again. The economy boils down to the price of bread and eggs and chicken to most of us, and we're having trouble affording them.

Most politicians and their staff don't notice. Like George H.W. Bush in his 1992 debate with Bill Clinton, they don't know the price of a gallon of milk.

What can Biden do? Food vouchers for all, like the stimulus checks during Covid? Even if the Republicans block them, they're taking a stand against feeding the people, which can't be good for them.

I would hate to lose because the power brokers don't realize how hard it is for those making less than them to make it through the week.

[bucolic_frolic]

1. Stimulus feeds inflation (again) and GOP will scream "Communist Socialist Pinko!"

[Bernardo de La Paz]

2. Inflation is down, the economy is chugging along nicely, RW is pushing economic scary stories

It's the RW who think that they can run on this. They made that bet a year ago and are in disarray as Biden and his cabinet have proven steady and competent overseeing the decline in inflation and the rise in consumer confidence.

Yes, there are people hurting. Biden is much more in touch with that than Bush. Biden came from working class. tRump was born with silver bone spurs. So I don't get the thrust of your OP that Biden is somehow like GHWB.

Yes, there are people hurting, but not enough to sway the election. Further, they are more likely to blame the 1% that tRump belongs to than the President who picketed with auto workers.

Strange OP. As if Biden did nothing or is doing nothing.

[splat]

6. Many, many people are squeezed now

You're making false equivalencies if you think I equated JLB and GHWB. It's not about where they came from, it's that the price of milk is not something they (and so many other "successful" people) have to deal with. Yet it's all I hear from even my grown children, my neighbors and friends. Sticker shock at the grocery store all the time. Enough to sway the election because this is what inflation means to them, not broad economic indicators.

[splat]

3. Let 'em scream

Feeding people is God's work, tell 'em. The food industry is price gouging.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

4. If you reply to a post like #1, please reply to that exact post rather than to the OP

Reader comprehension is why DU threads are tree-structured and not flat like FR.

[Aristus]

5. IIRC, a chicken in every pot was Hoover's re-election slogan.

Not FDR’s.

[splat]

7. Dates to 16th century Henry IV

But the point is the price of food.

[All Mixed Up]

8. Yes. A chicken in every pot and a car in every garage.

Though technically this was never uttered by Hoover or his campaign but rather a Republican businessman.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

9. Republican. An ad by Republican businessmen. Hoover didn't say it, but Ds used it against him

https://politicaldictionary.com/words/chicken-in-every-pot/

(I had to look it up)

[CrispyQ]

10. Part of the problem is you go to the grocery store every week or more,

so people are constantly reminded of the rising price of groceries & not so much other stuff that you pay for once a month or less.

All we can do as voters is GOTV & try to kindly educate people on the facts when we get a chance & hope they listen. If people are so stupid they think Trump or republicans are going to make their life easier then I don't know how you combat stupidity on that scale.

[All Mixed Up]

11. These measures would likely be counterproductive at this point.

They're inflationary and would likely undo all the work we've seen to lower inflation over the last two years, making things even more expensive and likely negating any gains a voucher or stimulus would create.

[splat]

12. How about Biden embraces this problem?

Several of you and most of the TV pundits cite factors that don't reflect most people's experience of life in America now. Some are baffled that Biden doesn't get more credit for them.

It's hard to get by but things seem rosy to you. This is a blind spot that can bite us as people want it to change.

If Biden can get food prices down -- even if only by shaming the food giants to be more patrotic and less greedy -- people will be grateful.

Please don't dismiss how vitally important this is to ordinary families everywhere.

[All Mixed Up]

13. I think you responded to the wrong person.

If happens. I never said anything about things being rosy or that there aren't things Biden can't do - rather just pointed out how vouchers and another stimulus could lead to higher inflation, which would just result in higher prices.

But again, looks like you got confused and replied to the wrong person.

[splat]

14. I wanted that to be at the end

I'm not confused.
You're saying that attacking runaway inflation in the food industry will lead to less rosy overall inflation numbers.

But if people are having trouble making ends meet because bread etc. is too expensive they aren't going to care about overall inflation numbers (as indeed many don't now).

I'm surprised how hard it is to get this basic message through here.

[All Mixed Up]

16. I don't think you understand how inflation works.

And that's okay. Sometimes we don't have a full grasp of how things operate.

You're saying that attacking runaway inflation in the food industry will lead to less rosy overall inflation numbers.

This literally makes no sense. You don't attack Inflation by giving out more money. That just increases Inflation and costs continue to rise significantly.

So, what you're proposing is just going to make things more expensive, including groceries.

You're not doing anything to combat the rising costs. This is where you seem confused.

A stimulus or vouchers will only make the price of goods go up as more money is pumped into the economy. That's a big reason Inflation surged in the first place: not only were Americans given multiple stimulus checks, but the economy essentially shut down, so Americans didn't spend as much in 2020 and had a significant amount of disposable income (also a result of millions having rent freezes so they weren't paying rent + student loan freezes so they weren't paying on that too) once everything opened again.

They then pumped a lot of money into the economy, which kicked up demand and that generally leads to higher prices.

Giving Americans another stimulus is only going to make things more expensive (including bread!) Then you're in a perpetual cycle of giving more money out to make up for the rise in costs and it is not sustainable.

You should look into Venezuela's battle with hyperinflation because what you're proposing is a contributing factor to their continued situation.

[splat]

17. I'm not wedded to food vouchers

I've also suggested Biden shame the food companies. I'm sure there are better ideas, but only if the chattering class notices it's probably the No. 1 problem for families and tries to address it. We ignore it at our peril.

[All Mixed Up]

18. All my original post said was that vouchers or a stimulus would likely make inflation worse.

That's it.

I have no problem with Biden shaming corporate America for its price gouging and he's done it a bit already:

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/01/us/politics/biden-food-prices.html

[CANADIANBEAVER69]

15. We paid over $12 dollars CDN

for a head of Iceberg lettuce, two tomatoes and 7 white mushrooms... The lettuce was $8.99.... I was so stunned. My sister paid it and we walked out to the car. I thought to myself, how can this all continue??

[All Mixed Up]

19. I hear prices are really bad in Canada right now.

[CANADIANBEAVER69]

21. The prices are all over the place. Eating healthy is expensive

It really is a struggle for people to try to eat healthy. The resurgence of household gardens for food is coming back though, which is a good thing.

[onethatcares]

20. I just paid $8.54 USD

for a head of iceberg lettuce, 2 nice tomatos, and 1 red onion, here in West Central Florida at Publix.

It's the greed of the corporations causing families to hurt when buying groceries..Same store charges $2.59 for a quart of fat free milk in a generic container., 6 eggs $2.39, bread is a bogo at $4.39. Meanwhile cereals are way over priced. IMO.

[CANADIANBEAVER69]

22. Similar pricing it seems

Corporate greed will leave us all poor.