FANNIE MAY IS FADING AWAY

Remember when your city had a Fannie May store? Ours was on a corner right in the center of town. I think my sister worked there for awhile. They gave away samples. Who could resist buying a pound of Mint Meltaways or Chocolate Truffles. The perfect gift for every occasion. Even after my children left home and spread out across the country, they loved receiving a box of their favorite chocolates in the mail. The candy was a bit more expensive than drugstore chocolates, but well worth it. Sadly, it’s one of life’s simple pleasures that’s coming to an end. Fannie May is fading away.

For decades, I sent loved ones Fannie May Candy for every birthday, Christmas and Easter. Some had favorites, like Pixies. Others didn’t care, as long as it was from Fannie May. It was something a little special that I enjoyed doing.

Most of the retail stores closed several years ago., although there are still a few in Illinois and Indiana. For awhile, you could scout around for a Fannie May kiosk in some malls. They didn’t ship, but for $22, you could buy a pound that fit into a post office sleeve, and mail it to anywhere in the USA for $5. When they closed those stores, you could still order directly by calling Fannie May. I think they had free shipping. And then that stopped. You couldn’t order online at all. Now, Fannie May has changed their policy once again and you can order online, but shipping and handling costs are $23.95! No savings there.

Last week, I decided to order candy for a relative recovering from surgery. Much to my surprise, Fannie May Chocolates now sell for $49.95 a pound on Amazon. That 100% inflation. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, and Federal Reserve Chairmen Jerome Powell say our inflation rate is 5%. Don’t believe them.

.No wonder Fannie May is fading away. There’s a limit to how much the average person will pay for a box of chocolates.

June 19, 2021June 19, 2021

FREE MONEY IS NOT FREE

Back in the Hippie Days of the late sixties and early seventies, there was a saying: Free Love is not Free. This was in response to a society that had embraced the concept of free love. Living together without marriage, which had once been scandalous, was now accepted as the norm. But the older generation wagged their finger and warned against so much sexual freedom. They had a point, because unmarried women still kept getting pregnant, and there was an explosion of STDs. Today, we have a new type of freedom to worry about. A government that’s borrowing wildly to print money, writing stimulus checks every few months, and rewarding those who choose not to work with generous unemployment benefits. But it seems we’re about to learn our lesson: Free Money Is Not Free.

Have you been to the grocery store lately? Supposedly, prices have increased a mere 5%. I don’t know who’s pumping out those figures, but here’s an example: A month ago, I could buy a low calorie frozen dinner for $2.29 cents. Today, that same product was on the shelves with a price tag of $3.59. At the home improvement store, floor covering I bought last year has increased from 54 cents a square foot to 89 cents. To me, these and numerous other price increases are closer to 40%.. All this free money has pumped up demand, creating a scarcity for goods and services..

Free Money is not Free. The feds don't know what will happen with inflation — Free Money is not free. The feds are blowing smoke when they say high inflation will not last.

I don’t know where the fed is coming from. First, Secretary of the Treasury, Janet Yellen. says inflation is “good” for the country. Then, she’s comforts us by predicting that it’s only temporary and prices will soon go back down. I say this lady is blowing smoke , along with Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell. They are basing their predictions on events that occurred in previous administrations. None of them have ever been though a pandemic like COVID-19, and they have no more idea of what is going to happen to prices than you and me. .

As a matter of fact, I think the average, middle class consumer has a better handle on the future of our economy that they do, because we’re driving to appointments, going to grocery stores, and buying home improvement items on a day to day basis. We, the ordinary tax payers are paying more for everything because all this free money has created such a high demand. Eventually, taxes will go up to pay for the free money , and so will interest rates. Ordinary people will find they are struggling to pay their bills every month. Many businesses will fail and unemployment will increase.

According to Fortune Magazine, “The economic lockdown, and the gigantic new spending enacted to combat it, brings the day of reckoning far closer. By borrowing multiple trillions at a pace never before seen, the U.S. is endangering the sterling credit that makes Treasuries and the dollar the safest of havens for global investors. It is likely that within the next decade, the U.S. will need to impose monumental tax increases. What America’s leaders aren’t saying is that it’s the middle-class Americans working today, the autoworkers, nurses, and deli owners, and not just their future generations, who’’ll foot most of the bill.”

Free Money Isn’t Free.

April 14, 2021April 14, 2021

BRINGING HOME BACON COSTS MORE

The feds keep telling us that all this monopoly money they’re sending out in stimulus checks won’t cause inflation. I think the treasury secretary, or whomever is in charge of the taxpayers’ money, says it won’t be more than 2 percent this year. Ask anyone who does the family grocery shopping about that. Yesterday, I bought 12 ounces of bacon for $6.75. That was the cheapest price. The fancier brands went up to $12 a pound. In 2020, the average price for a pound (16 oz) of bacon was $5.83. No matter how you figure it, that’s about a 25% increase. Bringing home the bacon costs a lot more than it did last year.

Vegans would tell us we’re getting our just desserts for eating meat. If they had their way, we wouldn’t be able to buy bacon at all. As a dietitian, I’m all for healthy eating. But I grew up on after-church, Sunday morning bacon and eggs. My parents made it to their late eighties, so that once a week treat didn’t cause them a premature death. At our house, we have continued my family tradition—in moderation. Each of us has two strips of bacon, one fried egg, toast and orange slices, every Sunday morning. However, the rest of the week we’re very careful with portion control, and follow a Mediterranean diet that includes lots of fresh fruits and vegetables.. We seldom eat red meat

I can remember a short time ago-maybe a year—when a cart full of groceries cost between $50 and $60. Now’s it hard to get out of the supermarket for less that $90 bucks a pop. C’mon Janet Yellen, that’s not 2% inflation.

Let’s go on to housing. Home prices have risen 15 % in one year. Gasoline prices have risen 75 cents a gallon since the November 3 election. The unemployment rate is going down, but fewer people have jobs. I suspect most of us know someone who has dropped out of the workforce, and quit looking for a job, Many small businesses are gone forever.

The point is, we’re experiencing much higher inflation than the feds are letting on. Ask any housewife or house husband. Bringing home the bacon costs more. And fewer people can afford to buy.