Back in May, when I sat at lunch, I heard somebody ask this question "Why are food prices so high?" So, here I attempt to answer it.
OIL and GAS
On his first day in office Biden canceled by executive order the Keystone XL oil pipeline, which was to run from Alberta, Canada to Steel City, Nebraska. Twenty-one states sued him for overstepping congressional and state authority. Of course, nothing happened because the citizens don't count and can't sue big government. Biden's administration wanted the country to "go green" and eliminate the dirty oil and gas industry. When Trump left office, the US exported oil and gas and had reached energy independence.
Gas prices in January 2019 - $2.23.
January 2020- $2. 57
January 2021 - $2.24
January 2022- $3.28
May 2022- $4.18-4.40 some cities
May 2022- $4.59 in Silver City, New Mexico
May 2022 $5.53 - $6. In California the highest ever, 15 months into the Biden administration.Price for heating oil including propane has increased for homes and industry. Rising fuel costs have crippled the airline industry. Industry, manufacturers, farmers, truckers, homeowners and every day citizens bear the brunt of this p
olicy.
BORDER WALL
Next, Biden stopped the work on the southern border wall. So all the companies with contracts with the government were out of luck. All the companies that supplied the parts for the wall, the machinery, the manufacturers, the manpower, the workforce just stopped. Can a normal company just stop honoring and following the terms of the contract? They would face lawsuits. Who can sue the federal government? The companies either go bankrupt or try to absorb the loss.
BORDERS
Then Biden considered open borders a good thing. Millions of illegals, and perhaps criminals have inundated the U.S. Where are they going and what are they doing? We, the taxpayers, provide housing, food, and money for them to live. We have citizens homeless, living on the streets. Food prices up 25% or more. Veterans fighting to get healthcare. Elderly living on Social Security. People on Medicare trying to get healthcare. Home prices rising due to mortgage rates increasing. Apartment prices going sky high. The country faces a wave of homeless.
AGRICULTURAL POLICIES
This summer and fall the government approached farmers and told them to plow under their crops and the government would pay 1 1/2 times what the harvest would bring. If the farmers did not, they would risk the government's ire and be put out of business. Who owns US farmland? It turns out communist China and Bill Gates have been buying up farmland. Farmers cannot get fuel, fertilizer, parts for their tractors and heavy equipment and seeds this year. In addition, avian bird flu is on the rise. 26 million turkeys and chickens have been killed this year—taken off the market because of disease. Four companies— JBS, Cargill, Tyson, National Beef—own the beef industry and they set the prices. JBS is an international firm out of Brazil. These beef packaging companies control the prices for the whole nation. China now owns the biggest pork producers. The country bought Smithfield Farms and now control the pork industry in the US. Famine ahead.
FOREIGN POLICY
Hong Kong used to be a free market economy, a special administrative region of China. They had freedom and autonomy to trade and run the country like they wanted when they were under England's rule. Then, China decided the people in Hong Kong raised the risk of terrorism and clamped down on and took over Hong Kong. They arrested the activists, they seized assets, they fired government workers under the guise of security law. In recent years, 1300 US firms had a base in Hong Kong. Lately only 254 American companies remain with regional bases in Hong Kong. Before China took over the island, 85,000 Americans lived in Hong Kong. The US tried to impose sanctions and convince China to let Hong Kong be free, but none of their sanctions or deals worked. Remember the US accused China of human rights violations, sweat shops and taking advantage of the workers.
China has been accused of crimes against humanity and genocide against the Uyghur population in the north-western region of Xinjiang.
China supplies most of the rare earth minerals that batteries in electric cars and other manufacturing goods require. You may not know this, but China has provided about 90% of American drugstore products including over-the-counter meds, antibiotics and prescription drugs. When a consumer goes to Mexico or Canada to get their drugs, many of them were made in China.
China took retribution by stopping shipments in March and April from Shanghai, a huge port city under the guise of COVID restrictions. Also, Beijing does not export as much especially to western countries who China considers their enemy. They resent the west, of which the United States is chief country, and accuse the west of interfering with their government and their economy. Because the US has shown its weak underbelly, China and Russia are colluding to cause our demise. My prediction, World War III on the horizon.
Well, how does this affect food prices? Walmart buys 70 to 80% of what is in their stores from red China, and only 20% is US food sourced. Walmart has 5000 stores in the US and the company plans to close 154 this month. They own 12,000 stores around the globe. This could be the end of Walmart; they're caught in the middle.
Also these companies buy products from China : Sam's Club, Costco, Nike. Apple makes all its iPhones in China. Intel manufactures its semiconductors in China. If China decides the US is an enemy and does not want to sell these products to us or raise the price very high, we are the ones out of luck. What will China do with American companies that have set up manufacturing sites in China. Will they nationalize them? China has already required many of these companies to hand over their technological blueprints. Will they forbid US Companies to trade with the US? Keep your eyes on the situation.
Elaine Haynik
Silver City, NM