Food prices to rise 2 to 3 percent this year - baltimoresun.com

Food prices to rise 2 to 3 percent this year - baltimoresun.com

Shoppers should brace for higher grocery bills, especially on basics such as milk and ground beef, as food prices are expected to rise this year. Food inflation is expected to accelerate this year to as much as 3 percent after two years of more moderate or declining prices, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Some economists are warning of even higher inflation given the volatile food market. That could add more than $20 to the average monthly food bill for a family of four. Some Baltimore-area grocery stores already have begun to raise prices and cut back on sales. Giant Food, the region's largest grocer, hit customers the hardest with a 4.5 percent increase in prices since October, according to a Morgan Stanley survey that included Baltimore-area grocers. Food Lion raised prices by 4.2 percent in that time, while Walmart held the line with a 0.1 percent increase.

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Drilling Ban

SHELL SHOCKED DRILLING BAN 
As gas prices continue to soar while President Obama tells the American people there is nothing he can do to solve the problem, the Environmental Protection Agency forced Shell Oil Company to scrap plans to drill in one of the most remote locations in the United States this week. Shell had planned to drill 70 miles off the coast of Alaska's North Slope in the Arctic Ocean, but the EPA denied the company a drilling permit after stating the company had failed to calculate greenhouse gas emissions in their assessment of environmental impact. Seems like the Obama Administration and the EPA have overlooked the negative economic impact of this decision. Before the decision by the EPA, Shell had invested nearly $4 billion in the project.

Meanwhile, President Obama has launched an investigation into evil corporations because he believes speculators and oil futures traders are driving the price of oil up through manipulation. 

President Obama: How does he solve problems?

We have some significant problems in the United States

• Federal Deficits. 
• Federal Debt. 
• Immigration. 
• Two (now three) Wars
• Health Care costs. 
• Entitlement costs. 
• World chaos. 
• Undue Political Strength of Public Unions

How has President Obama gone about solving any one of these problems?

1. create a committee to generate a report and then ignore the findings
2. after a lengthy delay, send a diplomat to discuss the issue
3. make a speech outlining the problem and demagogue anyone offering a solution
4. acknowledge the problem but do nothing
5. ignore and avoid the issue entirely

Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

Headlines in America:

Headlines in America:  
The Headlines stay the same but the message keeps changing --

1. Trust:  Is Obama who he says he is?
2. The Ages of America is ending
3. ObamaCare Is Starting To Bleed Insurers Dry - Forbes.com 
4. Obama:  Is he working on solving America's problems or his re-election?
5. Oil production:  When should we start drilling again - now or never?
6. Tea Party:  Are they terrorists?
7. Obama Links America's Greatness With Government Spending -- Again
8. Fiscal Problems:  Are politicians a solution or part of the problem?
9. Immigration:  Killing continues on Mexican Border
10. Borrowing $ billions from foreign governments $
11. The Economy:  What can we expect in the next twelve months?
12. Fighting and killing in Afghanistan
13. Who is able and willing to invest in America?
14. Bombing and killing in Libya $
15. Middle East on fire
16. Environmental Justice
17. Iran developing nuclear weapons
18. Value of the American dollar $ declining $
19. Value of Gold $ increasing $
20. Food prices $ increasing $
21. Oil prices $ increasing $
22. Food converted to fuel American cars
23. States in budget fiscal crisis $
24. Health Care costs increasing $
25. Federal debt increasing by trillions $
26. Americans living on food stamps $
27. Payroll taxes increasing $
28. Obama wants to increase taxes $
29. Federal Reserve causing inflation $
30. World Food prices increasing $
31. More federal regulations being written for Health Care
32. Congress and Obama negotiating our future
33. Home foreclosures not declining
34. Jobless claims not declining
35. Royal wedding
36. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac needing more billions $
37. Labor union unrest continues
38. Personal Income:  Who owns it - Uncle Sam or You?
39. Federal Tax Revenue:  Who should be paying?

Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

Rising food costs upset Valley shoppers - Business - fresnobee.com

Rising food costs upset Valley shoppers - Business - fresnobee.com

The cost of everything from the cheese on your pizza to the corn in your cornflakes is on the rise, and experts say food prices are expected to keep going up. A combination of bad weather that stunted crops worldwide, growing fuel costs, and rising prices in food ingredients are driving the increases. For months, supermarkets and restaurants have held back on passing the higher costs along to cash-strapped consumers. Now it appears they can't hold back anymore. In January, the average price of a USDA Choice boneless sirloin steak in the western U.S. was $1.84 a pound more than it was a year ago, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which tracks prices. A half-gallon of ice cream went up 87 cents, and broccoli rose 36 cents a pound.

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Food prices at 'dangerous' levels: World Bank - World - CBC News

Food prices at 'dangerous' levels: World Bank - World - CBC News

The World Bank said Tuesday food prices have hit "dangerous levels" that could contribute to political instability, push millions of people into poverty and raise the cost of groceries. The bank's president, Robert Zoellick, said in Washington rising prices have hit people hardest in the developing world because they spend as much as half their income on food.

he bank, in a report released Tuesday, said that global food prices have jumped 29 per cent in the past year, and are just three per cent below the all-time peak hit in 2008.
On Feb. 3, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization said prices are already there.
Its food price index rose in January by 3.4 per cent from December to 231 points. The rise was the seventh straight monthly increase.
The index measures monthly price changes for a basket of foods including cereals, oilseeds, dairy, meat and sugar.
High prices sparked rioting in 61 countries in 2007 and 2008. Back then, the FAO index was at 200 points for all of 2008.
Wheat prices have traded at record levels recently as commodity traders worry about the quality and quantity of the global wheat supply, given continuing drought in China, and after devastating floods damaged Australia's crop. Last year, yields were affected by drought in Russia and Ukraine and by flooding in Canada.
Wheat futures for May delivery retreated by 3.8 per cent Tuesday, to $8.70 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade. A day earlier, the price touched $9.15 a bushel, its highest since Aug. 22, 2008.

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Charles Krauthammer - Obama's Louis XV budget

Charles Krauthammer - Obama's Louis XV budget

Five days before his inauguration, President-elect Obama told The Post that entitlement reform could no longer be kicked down the road. He then spent the next two years kicking - racking up $3 trillion in new debt along the way - on the grounds that massive temporary deficit spending was necessary to prevent another Great Depression.

To prove his bona fides, he later appointed a deficit reduction commission. It made its report last December, when the economy was well past recession, solemnly declaring that "the era of debt denial is over."
That lasted all of two months. The president's first post-commission budget, submitted Monday, marks a return to obliviousness. Even Erskine Bowles, Obama's Democratic debt commission co-chair, says it goes "nowhere near where they will have to go to resolve our fiscal nightmare."
The budget touts a deficit reduction of $1.1 trillion over the next decade.
Where to begin? Even if you buy this number, Obama's budget adds $7.2 trillion in new debt over that same decade.
But there's a catch. The administration assumes economic growth levels higher than private economists and the Congressional Budget Office predict. Without this rosy scenario - using CBO growth estimates - $1.7 trillion of revenue disappears and U.S. debt increases $9 trillion over the next decade. This is almost $1 trillion every year.

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The State of America: HEADLINES

Headlines in America:

1. Obama:  Is he working on solving America's problems or his re-election?
2. Oil production:  When should we start drilling again - now or never?
3. Tea Party:  Are they terrorists?
4. Fiscal Problems:  Are politicians a solution or part of the problem?
5. Immigration:  Killing continues on Mexican Border
6. Borrowing $ billions from foreign governments $
7. Fighting and killing in Afghanistan
8. Bombing and killing in Libya $
9. Middle East on fire
10. Iran developing nuclear weapons
11. Value of the American dollar $ declining $
12. Value of Gold $ increasing $
13. Food prices $ increasing $
14. Oil prices $ increasing $
15. Food converted to fuel American cars
16. States in budget fiscal crisis $
17. Health Care costs increasing $
18. Federal debt increasing by trillions $
19. Americans living on food stamps $
20. Payroll taxes increasing $
21. Obama wants to increase taxes $
22. Federal Reserve causing inflation $
23. World Food prices increasing $
24. More federal regulations being written for Health Care
25. Congress and Obama negotiating our future
26. Home foreclosures not declining
27. Jobless claims not declining
28. Royal wedding
29. Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac needing more billions $
30. Labor union unrest continues

Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

Medicare Should Evolve

Why shouldn't Medicare get out of the business of making direct payments for medical services and just become an agency that solicits and discusses with private insurance's companies to proliferate the number of policies, choices, options, and plans available to people in the market.

Medicare should not be negotiating prices with doctors hospitals and drug companies. They should just be negotiating with the insurance companies.

Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

Solving USA's Financial Problems

I hope this is viewed by many Americans to make sure they understand the issues and problems with getting our fiscal house in order.

Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness