[Pirate's Cove] At the end of the day, the main culprit in all this is China, for intentionally or unintentionally releasing COVID19. Not because someone at a bat or something. After that, you can blame politicians and bureaucrats and such "public health officials" for stoking too much fear, locking things down, shutting businesses down, and then keeping it going too long. Not just here in the U.S., but, many 1st World nations. Of course, some nations are recovering better than others. The U.S. was recovering well till Biden took office. Now? Not so much.
You’re already paying more for groceries and gas. Here’s where consumers will feel the next round of ’sticker shock.’
Consumers may already be reeling from higher prices for things like groceries and energy, but S&P Global Ratings says inflation has more surprises in store.
"Packaged food and household products companies have yet to pass through all of their price hikes, and so consumers will likely face more sticker shock before prices stabilize," wrote Sarah Wyeth in a note published Thursday.
"As grocery and gas bills increasingly squeeze budgets, we expect that consumers will defer some expenditures and switch to less-expensive brands in the second half of the year."
The U.S. inflation rate has reached a 40-year high of 7.5%. With prices heading north, some shoppers are already tightening their belts with the help of off-brand everyday goods.
But for many shoppers, government stimulus programs and other COVID-related conditions have offered a cushion.
Hmm, so all those programs are just pushing the pain off, and, really, making the coming pain worse.
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