Inflation: the scourge of a modern society. Prices of everyday essentials go up and up, while wages remain stagnant. Shareholders get fat, and workers stay poor. This nefariousness was revealed clearly when a woman on TikTok demonstrated just how much the price of dog food has gone up the past few years.
In a video captioned “enough of the price gouging please,” user petpluschelsea, who works in a “family run pet shop,” broke everything down by showing what the pet store pays for dog food, and how that trickles down to the customer.
“A customer just asked me what the price of his dog food was a couple years ago, and now I want to show you guys.”
She pulled up an inventory screen with dates and prices for Blue Buffalo dog food, a popular choice for pet owners. When prices go up on the invoice, she said, “we have to raise our prices, or we lose money.”
She explained that back in 2020, a 30 pound bag of chicken and rice flavored dog food was $48.99. In 2021, it went up to $54.99. In the Summer of 2022, it went up to $59.99. By November it was $66.99. How much is it now? $70.99!
“Twenty two dollars,” she said. “In three years. Tell me again why we can’t raise the minimum wage.”
The boilerplate argument against raising the minimum wage has historically been that if you pay people more, then prices will rise. PRICES ARE RISING REGARDLESS. That’s how inflation works.
By the way, if you’re curious about inflation rates, there’s a nifty inflation calculator that demonstrates just how expensive things have gotten. It’s going to make you feel worse (unless you’re rich, in which case, good for you).
There’s been a movement the past few years to raise the minimum wage in the United States to $17 an hour, eventually. The “raise the minimum wage” group has pointed out that the move would only help the country.
“$17 minimum wage by 2028 would generate $86 billion in higher wages for workers and would also benefit communities across the country. Because underpaid workers spend much of their extra earnings, this injection of wages will help stimulate the economy and spur greater business activity and job growth.”
Then we won’t go broke simply buying dog food. Things in this country don’t seem to improve for us plebeians, though, so I’m not holding my breath.
