I'm confused about the math.

[tavernier]

Every time the White House sends out some “official” with happy news about how well the president is doing with his plans and deals around the world and inside the country, and how much Americans are benefiting….. my grocery bill goes up. Every week. Noticeably.

I’ve switched grocery stores several times, giving up the top shelf food markets with the shiny new carts and no waiting checking out lines for a the not-so-shiny-but-cheaper prices stores. But suddenly their items are no longer comfortably affordable. And now I even find myself buying some food items out of the dollar store refrigerator. Yup, the same one where I have sometimes seen homeless folks picking out a meal.

So how is this math working where the president is benefiting his own citizens, and yet I can’t seem to stretch a dollar any farther… unless I sign up for free meals for senior citizens. … Oh wait, that’s not an option anymore.

Anyway, just to be frank, I’m blessed with good health and besides my social security and other investments, I continue to work and draw a paycheck. So if grocery shopping is breaking my budget, how are people getting along who have much less than me? Surely I’m not the only one who can’t figure out this new math being preached by the White House.

[Walleye]

1. Maga all think they are going to get "rebate checks"

What the tariffs really are, is Trump‘s way of raising taxes on everyday Americans without having to go through Congress to do it

[live love laugh]

3. Trump's considering "tariff rebate" checks.

[jonstl08]

5. Heard that

Funny how he says this will cause a budget surplus so no taxes but then will increase the deficit to give these checks out.

[JustAnotherGen]

8. Yeah - that's not going to happen

He's just throwing that out there to take our eyes off the Epstein Files and that he's a rapist.

[live love laugh]

19. I believe it will happen near the election.

[JustAnotherGen]

21. If he lives that long

[bucolic_frolic]

2. Standards of living will fall to pay for food and health care

Retrenchment underway, lifestyle adjustment. Mass liquidation, firesale prices. Last one out is a rotten egg.

[jonstl08]

4. You have a brain

It is because you are capable of seeing through the maze of misinformation out there. Heard a man in the grocery store the other day blame Biden for the price of Beef. This old lady straight up told him Biden is not in office so put the blame on Trump. He looked around seeking some support but most people were staring at him shaking their head. He did not respond to her and walked away with his head between his tail.

Keep in mind this is a red area of Southwest St Louis county.

[JustAnotherGen]

6. Great post and question

We do well financially and have access to a lot of farm stands. I pass three on my day's I commute to the office. I am seeing the increases in Olive Oil - not imported - we buy California Brand. But - who is picking the Olives in California now. Our Dunkin no longer offers 3 for $19.99 bags of coffee. My husband's espresso beans have jumped $6. I'm not buying Ricotta cheese again for a very long time. My mother in law taught me how to make cheeses, gardinieri, pasta, gnocchi. I haven't seen a rise in my Omaha Steaks orders yet - but I mostly buy Kielbasa, Brat, etc. etc. there. Closest to what I remember as a little kid living in West Germany.

It's just the two of us. I had two bags of groceries yesterday from Shoprite and my bill was $160.

A year ago that was $115.

This is when it becomes expensive to be poor or working class.

We can go halvesies with our friends to buy a cow twice a year. We can afford the parts for my husband to build a basement hydroponic greenhouse and stock up on seeds.

If you don't have the money or space upfront? How do you afford it on the back end?

I'm focused on my local foodbank, community kitchen, and localized meals on wheels.

Reach out to anyone who you know might be connected to meals on wheels. There ARE people like me who are working with two other volunteers to make sure our routes don't go hungry in this post Meals on Wheels America.

We don't want Seniors to go hungry. We are still there - in DEFIANCE of that mother fucker in the White House.

[hunter]

13. Olive harvesting in California is becoming automated.

Farms are growing the trees on trellises and using the sames sorts of machines that are used to harvest grapes for less expensive wines.

There's still a lot of labor involved in growing olives but farmers don't have to send hundreds of laborers at a time out into the fields on harvest day, just a few people running big machines.

Here's a commercial video:

Growing olives is still labor intensive but the labor isn't so concentrated around harvest day as it once was.

Older style olive orchards, where the trees look like trees, are being removed. Sometimes these trees are dug up and transplanted to new housing developments.

[IbogaProject]

15. That price shift is reduced harvests in Europe

Harvests have been around 1/3 or normal across the Mediterranean the last few years. It is one of my staples and I use it like a condiment on my food. I have Type 1 insulin dependent diabetes and olive oil is good for my circulation and gives me an energy reserve that doesn't require insulin and doesn't fluctuate like my blood sugar can. I have always eaten a high fat diet over my 42 years on insulin, as I have remained conscious and functional at lower sugars than most can handle. So this climate shift effect is hitting home for me.

[hunter]

18. Olive oil is a staple in our house too.

There are a lot of foods my wife and I have quit before olive oil when our budget has been severely constricted.

[JustAnotherGen]

17. Thank you

My husband's family still does it the old fashioned way in Calabria Italy.

[lastlib]

7. It's republikan math--it's not supposed to make sense.

Don't expect it to work for you unless you're a billionaire or large donor. Yes, of course you're getting screwed--it's what republikans do.

[flying_wahini]

9. Wait till the electric bills are a $1000 every month. The LNG sale to Europe was made at OUR expense.

[hunter]

16. We can partly blame the Russian invasion of Ukraine for that.

Using Russian natural gas to prop up the European Union's renewable energy industries was a bad idea from the start.

That's mostly Germany's fault. They seemed to think Russia would magically become a more Westernized and democratic society if they had more Euros to play with. Importing Russian natural gas was a lucrative business too, so much so a former chancellor got in on the action.

[IronLionZion]

10. Tariffs and mass deportations of workers are great for raising prices of everything

It's loony that more American voters don't make that simple connection.

Don't worry, GOP are raising prices for health care and cutting benefits and social programs all over the place. MAGA is efficient like that. Enjoy the tax cuts.

[IbogaProject]

11. Giving the already wealthy more

Doing this by taking from everyone else will slow the economy. Stocks may continue to slowly rise as that is partially a bubble inflated by debt. It is simple physics, the wealthy dont have to move their loot quickly. And they can easily just shuffle it to another of their own ilk buying art or other luxury products.

[Gimpyknee]

12. It's Biden's fault.

[tavernier]

14. Don't blame Biden!

We all know it’s Obama‘s fault. Oh wait. Hillary‘s fault. Or maybe it is Biden. No, it’s Colbert! Or Taylor? Nancy!! Has to be Nancy. Of course Adam is definitely up there. Nope. My money’s on Jimmy Carter. Trying to act like a goody goody when he was probably the ringleader. Yeah, it’s Jimmy. That’s the ticket.

[republianmushroom]

20. Trickle down math is real hard to explain and understand.

I've tried to understand it since saint ronnie proposed it and still don't understand it, except I know I'm getting screwed over by it.