Most Americans enjoy celebrating the 4th of July, or Independence Day. It’s a day to celebrate our freedom and it’s also a holiday for many. There are parades and fireworks and food, what could be better? Well, one thing that could be better this year is the prices.
With Joe Biden’s inflation at more than a forty-year high, prices of everything have increased, and that includes everything you normally purchase to celebrate the 4th of July.
Generally, people spend the 4th with their family and friends. We typically have cheeseburgers, hotdogs, chicken, pork chops, chips, potato salad, ice cream and cookies. U.S. consumers will pay $69.68 for these favorite Independence Day cookout foods, according to a new American Farm Bureau Federation marketbasket survey. This is a 17% increase or $10 more than we paid last year, thanks to supply chain problems, inflation and the ongoing war in Ukraine. The price increase was for the ground beef for those cheeseburgers. The price for two pounds of ground beef is $11.12, up 36% from last year.
In 2020 on July 4 it cost $59.66 to feed a party of six. In 2021 on July 4 it cost about the same, or $59.50. But on July 4, 2022, it will cost $69.68.
American Farm Bureau Federation Chief Economist Roger Cryan says that the war in Ukraine is exacerbating the problem “as that country’s contributions to global food security are cut off, Russian and Belarusian fertilizer exports are constrained, and some other countries pull back exports to protect their domestic supplies.”
Fireworks, which have always been costly, are even more expensive this year. An increase in shipping costs, materials costs and labor costs have all added to the increase in price of fireworks this year. “Unfortunately, we had to pass some of the price increases on to the public,” said Bruce Zoldan, President and CEO of consumer fireworks distributor Phantom Fireworks. “I would say from 2019 till ’22, items’ (costs) have at least doubled.”
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Add to all of this the increased cost of gas if you are traveling for the holiday and you have less of a reason to celebrate. Independence Day is such an important American holiday but because of Joe Biden, we have to spend more of our hard-earned money to celebrate it. Do you still plan to do something for the 4th? If so, what?
