Huffington Post Libels Palin, Refuses to Change Story

Pundit Press ^ | 11/9/10 | Aurelius

[NC28203]

>>> And in the article where business owners claim that they are seeing 10-20+ increase in commodity prices I guess they are wrong as well.

No, I agree they are seeing higher prices. They just have been unable to pass them along to consumers, which has resulted in narrower margins. Also, the actual cost of food ingredients is relatively small for most final food items sold. Labor, transportation and marketing frequently make up a larger share of the final goods price than does the food going into it. So, even if commodity prices are up 10-20%, grocery food prices are not likely to see those same gains.

[Steve_Seattle]

"An inflationary tide is beginning to ripple through America’s supermarkets and restaurants, threatening to end the tamest year of food pricing in nearly two decades."

I don't know exactly when it happened, down to the month, but within the last 18 months ALL of the restaurants that I frequest jacked up their prices by a buck or two for most entrees. Since we are talking about entrees in the $10-14 price range, that represents a hike of about 8-12%. So if they are claiming there was no increases in food prices during that period, I frankly don't believe their statistics.

But, getting back to the quote, the reference to an "inflationary tide" in recent months renders Palin's characterization of the story quite fair and reasonable. It is certainly not a gross distortion.

[NC28203]

>>>But, getting back to the quote, the reference to an “inflationary tide” in recent months renders Palin’s characterization of the story quite fair and reasonable. It is certainly not a gross distortion.

Well if a QE2 is going to result in a 1.4% “inflationary tide” for food prices, then I guess we don’t have that much to worry about.

[dools0007world]

Thanks for that info. But I wonder about her real past.

[ApplegateRanch]

Flour/grain prices up...and set to rise again: CHECK!
Sugar prices up...and set to rise to record levels: CHECK!
Meat and poultry prices up...and set to rise more: CHECK!
Food packages downsized, with no decrease in prices, AGAIN: CHECK!

Yep! That Sarah Palin wingnut says food prices are higher, so that proves she is definitely a liar!

[ApplegateRanch]

Uh, wasn't Palin's quote: "everyone who ever goes out shopping for groceries knows that prices have risen significantly over the past year or so..."
The response by the WSJ reporter was that the increase was not actually significant.

What is or isn't "significant" depends upon one's income level and budget constraints.

[NC28203]

>>>What is or isn’t “significant” depends upon one’s income level and budget constraints.

Perhaps, but the average growth rate over the past 20 years is 2.7%. Current rate is 1.4%. I wouldn’t call that significantt growth. By comparison, real GDP grew at 2.0% in 3Q10. The 20-year average is 2.5%. I don’t think most people would say we saw significant growth in GDP last quarter.