2011. Pennyless.. and Hopeless>
Posted on 03/20/2011 5:46:29 PM PDT by NRG1973
Look out! From Huggies diapers to Nike shoes, Americans are about to get less bang for their buck on some of the biggest brands.
This week, paper-products maker Kimberly-Clark announced plans to raise prices on diapers and toilet paper later this summer. Nike said it would increase prices on their shoes. And food companies Kraft, Smuckers and Heinz recently announced price hikes on some of their brands.
"The increases are necessary to offset inflationary pressure from higher raw material and energy costs," Kimberly-Clark (KMB, Fortune 500) said in a press release.
Huggies diapers and Pull-Ups prices will rise by 3% to 7%, the company said. Cottonelle and Scott 1000 toilet paper will rise about 7%.
Kraft Foods (KFT, Fortune 500) raised its price on Maxwell House coffee by 22%, or 70 cents per pound, after Smuckers (SJM) said last month it would raise the price of Folgers by 10%.
The increases come as major brands struggle to keep their profit margins intact, amid surging costs on raw materials. Producer prices rose 1.6% in February alone, the the biggest jump in nearly two years, according to government data released Wednesday.
Until recently, producers and retailers resisted price hikes, fearing they would lose customers during a still-sluggish economy and high unemployment.
(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...
What costs less than it used to?
Technology, of course. TVs, calculators, etc. Computers have changed the world.
Things like bicycles and clothes(goods from China)
Anything you can find on ebay in large amounts. I’ve specifically noted old books. Jewelry would be cheaper except for the hop in gold.
In fact, lots of things cost less. But essentials, no.
Food, insurance, cars, all higher.
hard to “catch up” too....yay Heinz, get them prices up there, TeRAYsuh needs a new yacht for hubby John to wind-surf from.
Smuckers is very conservative company. My father in law just retired from them. They just completely strongarmed the teamsters and it was pretty funny.
Lurch Kerry is one of the ugliest human beings I’ve ever seen. Guess the wife is no prize, but, he (like McCain) married into money. His wife is also a big part of the Tides Foundation, which is also connected to George Soros.
I wish there was a way to make everyone see the blatant bias of the media. For instance, local TV here had a big expose about Pa state republicans spending 12grand on office equipment. The story was 5 minutes of a 30min broadcast and was seething with rage. However, Obama takes an entourage of a thousand people to Brazil and not a peep.
That’s the media for you. They say they’re not biased but every day they show they are. Then they get upset when you point out the obvious to them.
Women and minorities hardest hit.
A loaf of bread $3.19
The same brand (my favorite) was exactly $1.64 three years ago. Nearly doubled but hey, there is no inflation. No COLA for you!
I wish there was one that I know of but I do not know.
I have kept track of these things myself over a long period of time.
I have compiled a list and I suggest others to do the same and then stick to it.
One thing for you all to think about is that things are still VERY, VERY, cheap, compared to what they will soon cost once the dollar collapses (probably within 2 years).
Figure just about anything you buy today is half, or two-thirds off its future price. So make a list, and STOCK UP, if you have storage space and access to money (even if you have to borrow it). It’s going to be a very rough ride, but whoever has the most stuff (as in necessities) will have a much smoother time.
Smuckers, it is...after I finish my own stash of homemade jelly, apple butter, jams, etc. :)
I work for a couple of those Evil, Christian, Old-White-Guy-Capitalists, myself.
Wouldn’t have it any other way! :)
A loaf of bread $3.19
That’s why some are turning to bread making:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2688675/posts
” A loaf of bread $3.19
The same brand (my favorite) was exactly $1.64 three years ago. “
I know - that’s why I decided to teach myself to bake my own bread (the way my Grandma did it - no steenkin’ ‘bread machine’ for me)... It took three days of false-starts and disasters to get something recognizable (and/or edible), but it’s been six weeks, now, since I’ve bought bread at the store....
I haven’t broken the cost down exactly, yet, but my guesstimate is somewhere between 50-75 cents per loaf - and there’s the added benefit that home-made bread makes toast (and grilled cheese sandwiches) that are a completely new and wonderful experience....
;)
As of late - I buy only things on clearance and discount.
If I may make a suggestion... Register at target. I got 20 bucks worth of diaper coupons from them every other week. Still do in fact,I pass them around at work.
I have been noticing the jump in food prices for around 7 months. Certain items such as bacon, butter, eggs, sausage made huge jumps, more than doubling then came back down, then some of them went back up. Overall they went up quite a bit.
Of course everyone knows gas has gone way way up.
I get a tiny Social Security check along with a tiny federal retirement (I made the mistake once of quitting and taking my retirement with me then going back to work for a few more years) They would not let me repay it by the time I came back. When my Father started working for federal civil service, they would loan you the money to pay back you retirement if you had withdrawn it)
Actually he came out of WWII and they gave him 30 days vacation. plus generous sick pay. When I began it was 13 days of vacation and 13 days of sick leave. I guess they may have thought they owed the veterans something as he got preference for being a combat veteran.
2011. Pennyless.. and Hopeless>
My Social Security income went up TEN CENTS from last year to this year.
My deduction from my income payment to pay for Medicare Health Insurance went up TEN CENTS.
I’m just rolling in dough.
This will be blamed on the greedy corporate overlords in order to incite the further class war.
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