Blog Post 1: 4th of July
One of the most popular holidays in the United States is the 4th of July. This day oftentimes falls in the middle of the week, but this year, it falls on a Monday, making it a three-day weekend. Typically, individuals would travel a bit to their festivities for the 4th of July. Still, due to the high inflation percentage and the anticipation of a recession, individuals are now more hesitant to spend their money. With gas prices in the United States averaging around. “$4.812, $5.236, $5.536, $5.742” (gasprices.aaa.com), and even in CA where the price of a gallon is around $6, people are not as keen to drive as far as they would have in the past years. According to the market research firm IRI, “In the four weeks ending on June 12, the price of a hot dog package jumped about 17% compared to last year… ketchup prices spiked 21%, ground beef prices increased 11%, and hamburger and hot dog buns jumped nearly 13%...Frozen meat, not including poultry, went up 16%, frozen sausages got nearly 27% pricier, and lettuce prices rose about 13%. Mustard also got about 13% pricier.” This is largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the way that the Biden Administration has handled inflation. As the textbook points out, “When an increase in income increases the demand for a good, we say the good is a normal good.” (page 33, Modern Principles of Economics) But because the United States is facing inflation of 6.3%, individuals do not have as much buying power to spend the 4th of July as they would have in previous years. Thus, showing the impact of the economy on everyday life.
References:
Cowen, T., & Tabarrok, A. (2020). Modern Principles of Economics (5th Edition). Macmillan Higher Education. https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/books/9781319329464
Concepcion, M. (2021, June 27). Fourth of July to have huge economic impact. San Diego Business Journal. Retrieved July 3, 2022, from https://www.sdbj.com/news/2021/jun/27/fourth-july-have-huge-economic-impact/
GaNun, J. (2022, July 1). Fourth of July parties will cost more this year but you can save with a bit of math. NPR. Retrieved July 3, 2022, from https://www.npr.org/2022/07/01/1108354846/july-4th-2022-party-costs
National Average Gas Prices. AAA Gas Prices. (n.d.). Retrieved July 3, 2022, from https://gasprices.aaa.com/
Wiener-Bronner, D. (2022, July 2). Your July fourth celebrations will be more expensive this year. CNN. Retrieved July 3, 2022, from https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/02/business-food/july-4-bbq-prices/index.html
For me it is no surprise that gas happened to increase even more around the 4th of July. It seems anytime there is a holiday that individuals travel for, the price of gas goes up. This obviously has a direct connection to airline prices as well during these times. I have come to find it is better to travel in between the holidays as most people are working and doing school with their kids.
This year is obviously different than previously seen. With inflation at its highest rate in over 4 decades the American people are feeling the overall burden.