Welcome to 2022! New year, same problems
By Stephan Drew
Well, 2022 is officially here and I hope and pray that it’s better than 2021. Last year, we saw COVID spread even more, new variants emerging to ravage and terrify us again, millions still unemployed, some store shelves empty from supply shortages and prices skyrocketing all over the country. High prices really worry me more than anything else but it is only a result of everything else that is happening. I was profoundly shocked when I bought two bags of tortilla chips and, instead of paying my usual $5, the cashier informed me it was $10.60. I had to do a “double-take.” TEN dollars for two bags of chips!? That wasn’t my only surprise, though. I like the white cheese dip on my chips. It just tastes so much better. But the jar of dip I usually buy (which was $2.49 a few months ago) is now $4.98. So for $15, I was able to get two bags of chips and one jar of dip. That’s the price I used to pay for a nice lunch. No more. Doing a little research, I discovered that food prices have increased anywhere from 200 percent to 500 percent. All other goods have followed suit. Lumber is up nearly 500 percent. In 2020, a thousand board feet had an average price of $372/mfbm. Now that price is $1,573/mfbm. Gas has increased from $1.60/gallon to over $3/gallon. In a few states, gasoline is now $4.69/gallon. That is a 293 percent increase for some people. And yet the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says that the Consumer Price Index has only increased 6.8 percent from November 2020 to November 2021. I’m not sure what data they used to arrive at that figure. However, I do know that the situation is completely different in our stores, supermarkets and gas stations. I took my truck in to have it serviced a few weeks ago. The lady behind the counter was extremely frustrated. It seems she had to replace her set of tires. She told me that the old ones she bought three or four years ago cost $600 for all four tires. She looked online to find the lowest price for a set of tires comparable in quality. She located them and the manufacturer told her they could ship them directly to her … for only $2,500 (another 400 percent increase). These things are happening so frequently that it seems there’s no end to these escalating prices and it may get significantly worse before there’s any hope of it getting better. Add to this the fact that many long-distance truck drivers are told they cannot keep their jobs if they aren’t vaccinated. This causes even more shortages of drivers. When goods can’t get to the store quickly enough, demand goes up. When demand is high and supply is low, prices rise. This may be wonderful for the store owner or CEO but it is awful for the average consumer, especially when wages are not rising as quickly as prices are. But things have been operating like that for a long time. Every time the cost of gas increases, the price of ALL other goods must rise – because everything we buy is transported by some type of vehicle that uses gasoline. However, when gas prices start to lower, the cost of goods usually doesn’t decrease in proportion. Once you start paying $5 for a bag of chips, it’s doubtful they will ever be $2.49 again. It may not be right but that’s just the way things work. As it is right now, if you don’t make at least $20-30 per hour, you are probably struggling quite a bit. And there doesn’t seem to be any light at the end of the tunnel. High prices are here and so are low wages. The rich are getting richer, the poor are starving and the middle class is carrying much of the burden of everyone’s struggle. Ordinary Americans received a few thousand dollars in COVID “stimulus” checks, but, with these prices, those dollars don’t stretch as far as they used to. Millions were unemployed and received almost $1,000 per week for many months. Hopefully, they saved as much of it as possible. And, understandably, with that much cash in the bank, they’re hesitant to go back to work, causing longer delays in filling those necessary transportation jobs. With new COVID variants emerging, many people are terrified to re-enter the workforce. The fewer people working, the less taxes are being collected. This may eventually affect government pensions and programs that rely on tax revenue to continue payments to those who are retired and disabled. All over the country, we see looters stealing thousands of dollars of merchandise from stores and not being arrested, or even chased by police. We’ve also had burning and destruction in major American cities. Some foolish politicians even started funds to provide “bail money” for these criminals. So, as decent Americans struggle, criminals are being patted on the back and set free (or not even arrested at all). How much longer do you think people will stand for this? What we went through last year, and the decisions that were made, are now affecting all of us. If we don’t change our situation soon, 2021 could end up being the “mildest” year of this ongoing conflict. I pray that is not true but with every day, it seems to be the case. When chaos rules, common sense disappears. We need someone in power to stand up and stop some of the foolishness. I don’t know who that will be but I’m reminded of a story. In Russia in January 1905, the people of St. Petersburg were starving. Work was scarce, it was grueling, and wages were pennies. Father Georgy Gapon gathered together a group of about 3,000 peasants and they approached the Winter Palace to personally complain to the Tsar about the hardships they were suffering. They had no weapons, only copies of the petition they had previously sent to the Tsar. They weren’t there to cause harm. They simply desired answers and they wanted something done to ease their pain. As they advanced toward the palace gates, the Imperial Guard opened fire. Over 400 were killed and injured, their blood soaking the snow-covered ground. One of the guards, seeing a bloody petition one of the peasants had dropped, picked it up. There was a long list of grievances and then he read the last line: “And if Thou dost not so order and dost not respond to our pleas, we will die here in this square before Thy palace.” That is exactly what happened. When told about the horrible event, the Tsar asked his ministers, “WHO is responsible for this?” One of them answered, “YOU are, sire. You have caused the people to starve. You have let them be worked into slavery. You have denied them even the most basic civil rights. And, now, you have massacred hundreds of them. How long do you think the people will just stay quiet, suffer and let you abuse them!?” Unfortunately, the hardships lasted another 13 years, until the people rose up, brutally murdered the Tsar and his family, and plunged Russia into a darkness that it still has not emerged from. Those circumstances are on my mind today. How long will the people be allowed to suffer? I hope not for very much longer. Our current circumstances need to change, and quickly. Someone needs to come to their senses and turn things around. The people are watching and we do not forget … ever. That is why I hope and pray that 2022 is much better than 2021. It can be, if we make it so. I guess the question is … do we have the strength to do what is necessary? I can only answer for myself.
