Look, I am not an economist (she said, dusting the cobwebs from her Substack.) I wouldn’t want to be; it seems like a thankless job and one I would be terrible at. But as a middle class, middle aged woman who is mostly in charge of procuring the food for my household, this week’s Grocery Wars discourse is right in my personal-if-not-professional wheelhouse. And god, what a discourse it is. It is irresistible. It is the prime standing rib roast of discourses. (Much too dear for an ordinary weeknight, but at the holidays? Let’s live a little.)
I'm the manager of my small town's food bank and am currently in a bit of a kerfuffle with the mayor of small town, who likes to lecture us all on Facebook about the importance of shopping local and patronizing the far too expensive grocery store that's the only place to shop in town. I deal almost weekly with new customers signing up for our services, often while crying, in disbelief that they can't afford to feed their families anymore and how they especially can't shop at the one grocery store. And when people go to the local FB groups to make these kinds of observations they're chastised by the Mayor who reiterates the importance of buying local and not shopping at the Walmart in the next town over. Now see she's not wrong, it certainly helps the town to keep the dollars in town and it's great that she advocates for local businesses, but she doesn't seem to understand how elitist and removed from reality she sounds. She's been the beloved mayor for a very long time now but the last election she won by only a handful of votes, and if the way people talk about her now is any indication she won't win the next one.
People are truly struggling with food prices out here and those who may mean well but simply can't admit that reality without hedging just look really out of touch.
understand what you mean - it’s good to not lecture people who are legitimately in distress - but “hedging” is doing a lot of work here.
Imagine a conversation:
“Prices, are higher these days.”
“Yes, that is true.”
“Facebook/Fox News/someone on Twitter/a sticker at the gas station told me that this is all because of Joe Biden and his work agenda, and that voting for Donald Trump, and, for some reason, banning drag shows will magically make prices come down.”
“I am refraining from the epistemic violence of telling you that absolutely none of that is true, and so I will nod silently in agreement.”
It’s fine to tut-tut people for ham-fisted attempts at explaining away inflation, but it is also the case that the inflation narrative is, to a not inconsiderable degree, a stalking horse for what promises to be a very bad time under a second (and who knows - a third? Fourth?) Trump administration. I am not saying that your clients are advancing nefarious political causes; I am _absolutely_ saying that there are pundits who are perfectly happy to manipulate their desperation for nefarious political ends.
I knew I quit Twitter for a reason. I would have been sucked into this quagmire and I would have hated myself for doing so. It's like eating pistachio nuts, though: how do you stop once you start? My blood pressure thanks me for quitting both (pistachios and Twitter, too salty).
And yeah, more blogging would be most welcome. Your (Kat) writing is one of the things I miss most about Twitter, and one of the only reasons I'd consider subscribing to Unherd. Perhaps I need to read more Unherd articles by other people. Don't know. If I got regular content here, I'd subscribe for sure.
I continue to be mystified by how many otherwise intelligent people are confused by the rising costs of things. I remember being so grateful when our government was passing bills worth trillions of dollars to keep our economy afloat while many of us had to significantly reduce or completely stop working because we were facing a terrifying pandemic and saying to myself we will have to pay this back at some point. Well, here we are, paying it back, and it has been far less painful than I expected thanks to the fact that we finally have someone sane and responsible in the White House. It’s that simple. Why is this so confusing?
The issue often is definitely that certain grumbles about living costs are tinged with an undercurrent of privilege discourse.
But I think it's similar to the notion (however unfair) that crime becomes a more urgent concern when it starts encroaching upon those who are typically part of the secure middle class. If even they cannot experience comfort - then who can?
Call me crazy, but I do think it's kind of a problem that a younger version of me wouldn't be able to afford the life I had in my 20s, all else being equal.
Ignoring this reality is something our leaders do at our collective peril.
I noticed the fight from Inez F. Stepman, who fought Democrat guys (mostly guys), over the price of Wegmans sliced ham.
It's just Twitter ping-pong, but still quite annoying that inflation Poirots can only say "Shop at Walmart" while they don't shop at Walmart themselves. Or doing grocery at all.
Okay, in this case Inez was being (perhaps unintentionally) misleading. She posted a screenshot of a third-party website showing the price as over $18, presumably for the service of having a team of carrier pigeons deliver it from the Manhattan Wegmans to your apartment window. I checked Wegmans’ own app and it’s listed at $8 for the same sized container. Yes, it’s on sale, but the regular price is still only $12. Yes, inflation is real, but if you’re trying to have a serious discussion about it, choosing the most preposterous examples will only bite you in the ass because they’re likely to be out of context, incorrect, or easily ridiculed (as Mr. Outback discovered). Megan McArdle’s example was much better.
A sensible post graced with classic Rosenfield wit. Hope you write more on Substack
Excellent Poirot reference.
I was surprised 535 people were yelling at you in the comments section until I realized I was staring at Matt’s post. Time to put my phone away....
I'm the manager of my small town's food bank and am currently in a bit of a kerfuffle with the mayor of small town, who likes to lecture us all on Facebook about the importance of shopping local and patronizing the far too expensive grocery store that's the only place to shop in town. I deal almost weekly with new customers signing up for our services, often while crying, in disbelief that they can't afford to feed their families anymore and how they especially can't shop at the one grocery store. And when people go to the local FB groups to make these kinds of observations they're chastised by the Mayor who reiterates the importance of buying local and not shopping at the Walmart in the next town over. Now see she's not wrong, it certainly helps the town to keep the dollars in town and it's great that she advocates for local businesses, but she doesn't seem to understand how elitist and removed from reality she sounds. She's been the beloved mayor for a very long time now but the last election she won by only a handful of votes, and if the way people talk about her now is any indication she won't win the next one.
People are truly struggling with food prices out here and those who may mean well but simply can't admit that reality without hedging just look really out of touch.
understand what you mean - it’s good to not lecture people who are legitimately in distress - but “hedging” is doing a lot of work here.
Imagine a conversation:
“Prices, are higher these days.”
“Yes, that is true.”
“Facebook/Fox News/someone on Twitter/a sticker at the gas station told me that this is all because of Joe Biden and his work agenda, and that voting for Donald Trump, and, for some reason, banning drag shows will magically make prices come down.”
“I am refraining from the epistemic violence of telling you that absolutely none of that is true, and so I will nod silently in agreement.”
It’s fine to tut-tut people for ham-fisted attempts at explaining away inflation, but it is also the case that the inflation narrative is, to a not inconsiderable degree, a stalking horse for what promises to be a very bad time under a second (and who knows - a third? Fourth?) Trump administration. I am not saying that your clients are advancing nefarious political causes; I am _absolutely_ saying that there are pundits who are perfectly happy to manipulate their desperation for nefarious political ends.
I knew I quit Twitter for a reason. I would have been sucked into this quagmire and I would have hated myself for doing so. It's like eating pistachio nuts, though: how do you stop once you start? My blood pressure thanks me for quitting both (pistachios and Twitter, too salty).
And yeah, more blogging would be most welcome. Your (Kat) writing is one of the things I miss most about Twitter, and one of the only reasons I'd consider subscribing to Unherd. Perhaps I need to read more Unherd articles by other people. Don't know. If I got regular content here, I'd subscribe for sure.
I continue to be mystified by how many otherwise intelligent people are confused by the rising costs of things. I remember being so grateful when our government was passing bills worth trillions of dollars to keep our economy afloat while many of us had to significantly reduce or completely stop working because we were facing a terrifying pandemic and saying to myself we will have to pay this back at some point. Well, here we are, paying it back, and it has been far less painful than I expected thanks to the fact that we finally have someone sane and responsible in the White House. It’s that simple. Why is this so confusing?
Oh yeah, there was and still is a huge amount of price gouging, too.
The issue often is definitely that certain grumbles about living costs are tinged with an undercurrent of privilege discourse.
But I think it's similar to the notion (however unfair) that crime becomes a more urgent concern when it starts encroaching upon those who are typically part of the secure middle class. If even they cannot experience comfort - then who can?
I wrote about this in the context of our (particularly grotesque) housing crisis, here in Canada a little while ago: https://www.mustardclementine.com/p/weve-let-our-housing-crisis-get-so
Call me crazy, but I do think it's kind of a problem that a younger version of me wouldn't be able to afford the life I had in my 20s, all else being equal.
Ignoring this reality is something our leaders do at our collective peril.
Oh. Didn’t know you were on here. I used to like to listen to you and your contemporary @Phoebe Maltz Bovy ’s Feminine Chaos podcast. I’ll subscribe.
I noticed the fight from Inez F. Stepman, who fought Democrat guys (mostly guys), over the price of Wegmans sliced ham.
It's just Twitter ping-pong, but still quite annoying that inflation Poirots can only say "Shop at Walmart" while they don't shop at Walmart themselves. Or doing grocery at all.
Okay, in this case Inez was being (perhaps unintentionally) misleading. She posted a screenshot of a third-party website showing the price as over $18, presumably for the service of having a team of carrier pigeons deliver it from the Manhattan Wegmans to your apartment window. I checked Wegmans’ own app and it’s listed at $8 for the same sized container. Yes, it’s on sale, but the regular price is still only $12. Yes, inflation is real, but if you’re trying to have a serious discussion about it, choosing the most preposterous examples will only bite you in the ass because they’re likely to be out of context, incorrect, or easily ridiculed (as Mr. Outback discovered). Megan McArdle’s example was much better.