How Bush Screwed Our Thanksgiving

by Blake Fleetwood

There is a compelling article in yesterday's New York Daily News by Pulitzer Prize winner William Sherman.

Sherman shows that there is not much for us to be thankful for in terms of the cost of food we put on the table this week.

Consumers are getting slammed with the biggest increase in food prices in a decade --- fueled by a perfect storm of rising grain prices and a falling dollar.

Poultry - including your Thanksgiving Turkey - and dairy products have risen the most. A glass of milk costs New Yorkers up to 42% more than last holiday season.

The wholesale price of eggs has soared 86% compared to last fall, at one point.

"I'm spending $50 to $80 more a week on food than last year, according to one Harlem shopper.

The surge is driven by a ripple effect - the Iraq war, the rise in oil prices, the growing deficits -- and a confluence of factors beginning with corn and wheat crops diverted to ethanol production, according to economists.

More after the click ...

My comment: See "Unintended Consequences" or why it's better to have a Rhodes Scholar(1) or at least an actual war veteran(2) you might not particularly like in the most powerful office in the free world than a draft dodging, C-student cowboy who got through school on a social promotions with whom you think it might be fun to have a beer(3).