THE ROAD of #47: Three Weeks In: “One Dozen, Please”

   February 1: A lovely Saturday morn, happy Saint Brigid’s Day to all. Today, is one of the deadlines established by our fearless leader to impose 25% tariffs on that country that no longer owns the Gulf, Mexico, also on our soon to be 51th state Canada and a measly 10% on China. All this is under consideration. 

    Let us look at the last few years to attempt to understand what might happen in the future. In 2023, the total value of (legal) goods traded between the US and Canada AND the total between the US and Mexico was collectively more than $1.5 trillion. That’s a lot of shit to trade. 

   New tariffs will disrupt trade, as #47 would so eloquently state, “from Day One”. And of course there will be the retaliatory tariffs imposed on the US not just from those three (Canada, Mexico, China) but from other countries. Finally, there will be severe damage to the smaller economies, many who rely on the US. So, what about the price of eggs and gas…

   Ah, a Democrat finally standing up to have a say with the shock and awe of week one. In an interview, the senior senator (D) from Minneapolis , Amy Klobuchar stated: “I look at it this way: Chaos up. Corruption up. And, sadly, the cost of eggs is way up. No matter how many tech bros you have at the inauguration, none of that helps the people who weren’t in that room. Those are the people that he told he was going to work to bring down housing costs, to create more housing, to do more on child care, to bring down health care costs, and he kept telling us how beautiful it would be. Well, all of this — and maybe it’s done for a distraction — but all of this chaos takes us away from that mission”.

   EGG PRICES:But he promised… I’ll give him this as it is one week 1…For more than two years, farmers have fought a battle with a fatal strain of bird flu that continues to disrupt the U.S. egg supply. Since October, continual large-scale outbreaks of the virus across multiple states have taken a massive toll on the U.S. flock of egg-laying hens. With limited supplies, shoppers have seen prices skyrocket, and many have encountered buying restrictions or empty shelves. 

   Egg prices rose 36.8% in one year, food prices just 2.5%.The average cost of a dozen Grade A large eggs was $4.15 in December, up from $3.65 in November, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, retrieved from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis’ FRED site. 

   GAS PRICES: But he promised…awaiting the tariffs to hit…According to AAA, the current national average price of regular gas is around $3.10 per gallon. Let’s see how that goes…

Oh, Ye, gentle mistresses and most distinguished gentlemen, and others… The opinions and observations are solely my own views, and I take full responsibility for any errors of fact, not to mention any predictions that prove to be wildly inaccurate.