Prices Jump 12 Percent at the 79-cent Store in Egg Harbor Township
Here's a cut-and-dry visual of inflation if there ever was one: the Everything 79-cents store on the Black Horse Pike in Egg Harbor Township is now Everything 89-cents.
And while the increase is merely a dime on paper and seemingly not that big of a deal, that ten-cent increase represents an approximate 12-percent jump in prices.
Simply put, if you spent $7.90 for ten items there last week, you will now spend $8.90 for those same ten things this week. If you are trying to make every nickle and dime stretch as far as it can, your budget just got that much tighter.
Look at it this way: if regular unleaded gas is $3.15/gallon today and the price at the pump jumped 12% overnight, you would be paying $3.54/gallon tomorrow and it would be the lead story on every TV newscast.
And note that the focus of this article is in no way intended to be a negative story directed specifically at a local business. The point is, this is a clear representation of how we are all paying more for just about everything. This example just happens to be in big, red numbers on the front of a building that you may drive past everyday -- relatively rapid inflation has now made its way to your neighborhood bargain store.
CBS News reports the price of appliances has risen 12% in the past year, washers and dryers are up over 25%, lumber prices are at an all-time high, and big ticket items like cars and houses are making you write much larger checks, too. And if you need to rent a car, reports say those prices are up a staggering 62% since before the COVID-19 pandemic.
As for why we are paying more for everything, Zac Rogers, assistant professor at Colorado State University's College of Business, tells CBS, "Supply-chain capacity right now is sort of overwhelmed. [Last year] because demand was so low for so many products, there wasn't that much that was produced." And now that businesses have reopened at full capacity rather quickly, everyone is playing catch-up and you are paying more.