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EJ Antoni (Daily Signal)
Just in time for the holiday season, Bidenomics has managed to deliver the costliest Thanksgiving in American history.
What is perhaps the quintessential American holiday is now another reminder that the nation is in a cost-of-living crisis where even food is taxing families’ budgets. This is the direct result of the leftist ideology that constantly pushes for more government spending, borrowing, and printing of money.
The record budget deficit from 2020, fueled by excess spending purportedly to get the nation through the pandemic, was supposed to be a one-time fluke. If the Biden administration had simply allowed COVID-era spending to expire, federal expenditures would’ve plummeted, so much so that there’d be a balanced budget today. Instead, the big spenders piled on, at taxpayer expense.
By perpetuating multi-trillion-dollar deficits and printing money to pay for the profligacy, the government created a cornucopia of disaster: 40-year-high inflation, a banking crisis, massive losses across 401(k) retirement plans and pension funds, plummeting homeownership affordability, a collapse of savings, an explosion of consumer debt, and falling real (meaning inflation-adjusted) earnings.
While that’s clearly a legacy of failure, such a macro-level assessment doesn’t necessarily bring home the impact of Bidenomics on the American family. So, let’s see how the leftist agenda of the last 2-1/2 years has increased the price of your Thanksgiving dinner, compared to when President Joe Biden took office.
With turkey prices up 29%, many families might choose to downsize the centerpiece of their meal this Thanksgiving. The mashed potatoes aren’t as bad, but have still risen in price by about 13%. And that’s only about one-third of the increase for stuffing—more than 35%.
If you’re planning on enjoying rolls with your dinner, or accoutrements like cranberry sauce or gravy, you’ll shell out an extra 26% for any of those. Making cornbread or a corn casserole? The yellow maize costs about 20% more under the Biden administration, so be prepared to pay extra or make less.
If you and your family opt for a green-bean casserole instead, or maybe candied yams, sweet potatoes, or roasted carrots, it’s even worse. Prices for all of those are up more than 27%. Don’t expect any relief when it comes to dessert: The price of pumpkin pie is also up more than 27%, too.
Altogether, the bill this year for your Thanksgiving meal with your family is 26% higher than when Biden took office. That’s significantly worse than the official 17% increase in overall prices seen in the consumer price index.
For the millions of Americans who are already drowning in credit card debt and working multiple jobs to try to make ends meet, they have no good choices this Thanksgiving, and we’re not even talking about unlikable in-laws. To save money, people may have to invite fewer guests, make less food, or choose less expensive options than their traditional fare.
Those who don’t cut back on their Thanksgiving plans will have to cut back elsewhere in their budgets or turn to their credit cards for a lifeline. With interest rates on those credit cards at a record high and balances already exceeding $1 trillion, more debt is the last thing American families need right now, and it’s sad to think this is how some people will need to finance their holidays.
But what makes this all particularly disheartening is that Thanksgiving is supposed to be a holiday where we as Americans gather in gratitude for our abundance. Instead, many Americans will spend the holiday stressing over how to pay their bills.
It’s further proof that a government big enough to give you everything is also big enough to take everything away—even your holidays.
Originally published at WashingtonTimes.com
