Eggs are a hot topic lately. So are cars… and houses… and health care…? Spanning from daily groceries to the family pet’s annual tetanus shot, inflation has hit American families hard. So when did it hit me, a 17 year old with little financial responsibility, that prices aren’t what they used to be? Precisely when we were driving past an EMPTY Costco parking lot. I had never seen nor expected to see an empty Costco parking lot (during operating hours), and I don’t know if it was something that I should have seen. The ghastly and grim carcass of America’s economy felt ever more present in that parking lot. It wouldn’t have been much better if a tumbleweed came rolling through! However, despite the looming price upticks, hot-dog and churro enthusiasts hold no fear as Costco does not plan on raising their food court prices- a decision upheld since 1985.
As my APUSH teacher has been saying since early 2020, from a basic economic standpoint, the rise of spending leads to a rise in prices. When the demand exceeds supply, supply must become a premium to suppress the demand. Then the government comes in with heightened interest rates to, essentially, punch inflation in the face. Which is why for any prospecting home buyers/car owners, interest rates are public enemy #1. With high interest rates being an undefeatable “final boss,” the economy can cool down with less borrowing and large investments. So is this a positive trend? Not if you’re a millennial trying to get a condo for yourself and your cocker spaniel, otherwise it’ll probably mean lower egg prices and a cheaper price tag on your summer vacation.
But for a lot of people who were hit big by medical expenses during the COVID-19 pandemic, paying the bills meant canceling summer vacation plans. In this article by the JPmorganchase financial research institute, it’s calculated that annual healthcare spending in families increased 20% from 2020 to 2021. Looking back, that data margin definitely explains the lack of people at Costco.
The age-old quote by Kelly Clarkson (or Friedrich Nietzsche if you’re a history buff) says: “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” but anyone that pushes through long-covid, rising interest rates, and ridiculously priced dairy products can attest that what doesn’t kill you, makes you broker.
Image generated by DALL-E AI with prompt: “expensive chicken eggs in an abandoned refrigerator”
