Round Table is probably the most expensive fast food Pizzeria at least here in the East Bay. I used to work in the Fremont location back in the mid 1980s and even then it was like 50-60% more expensive than Domino's or Straw Hat. I think an extra large Pepperoni is like $50 now (it was $25 back in 1985). I went to a new Cafe here in Berkeley & a small Cappuccino was $6.50, it was like 6 ounce I believe. Before the pandemic it was like $5 for a large Cappuccino (16 ounce). The inflation & shrinkflation is real. I was surprised since I mostly make my own beverages & food since I'm diabetic. One thing I noticed is that if you bought a lot of your food from local grocers especially the Organic dairy & meats the price hasn't risen that much since the pandemic. It seems the inflation is centered around transportation costs. Like regular white eggs went from $1 to $3 but the Organic eggs I use went from $7 to $8. Organic beef went from $8/lb to $9/lb but regular 85% beef went from $4.50 to $7. I heard fruits have gone up a lot but I don't eat fruits or sugary vegetables. I mainly eat green peppers, jalapeno/serrano peppers, mushrooms & zucchini and they haven't gone up much.
My neighbor across the way is getting a new job. Last week he was trucking pizza (cheap) ingredients into the Bay Area at nights from the Central Valley. Next week he will be doing the same (accept picking up from Livermore rather than Tracy). This new job will be with the Teamster, and pay more than $12. an hour better than his current job. Yeah, I know they will take out tons for his union dues (and {cough cough} pension). But hard for him to pass on it... My father-in-law was a vet...He raised dairy calves for the dairies. We would get free meat, milk, cheese from him...Even manure for our gardens and plants. Victory Gardens?? WIN Buttons (whip inflation now)?? Between my rental and my house we have; 3 almond trees, 2 peaches, 1 nectarine, 2 oranges, 1 tangerine, 1 cherry, 8 grapevines. We also have a small raised bed that we play with...Zucchini anyone??
It was three days after the food stamp money was sent out to people in California. I don't know how it all works but maybe there is a delay between the time they issue to the time you can use them?
Yeah, this was different...The food stamps (California) are usually on the first day of the month I think. The first few days are big for the stores. This was the 6th day of the month... This may not have been a lot of food stamps (used up). I'm headed to Costco, I'll see what it's like there today...
EXCLUSIVE Shark Tank star Kevin O'Leary reveals why restaurants are closing down across America and warns MORE closures are on the way By KEVIN O'LEARY FOR DAILYMAIL.COM PUBLISHED: 08:19 EDT, 11 June 2024 | UPDATED: 11:27 EDT, 11 June 2024 The US restaurant industry finds itself on the menu. Seemingly every day, there's a headline announcing a bankruptcy, layoff or store closure impacting one of the country's most beloved brands. Last month, Red Lobster filed for Chapter 11 after closing nearly 100 stores. Cracker Barrel – with restaurants in 45 states – has seen its share value plummet over the last year. The once-booming chain Boston Market, which boasted 1,200 locations in the 1990s, is now reportedly down to two dozen. So, what's behind this fast-casual reckoning? It's proof the inflation virus is still infecting America's post-pandemic economy. Supply chains crippled by the COVID pandemic lockdown haven't recovered. Food costs – especially for proteins like chicken, beef and seafood – are up 30 to 40 percent over the last 36 months. Worst of all for the restaurant industry – customers haven't returned from the shutdowns. Business closures and social-distancing mandates forced people to change the way they eat. Sixty million Americans – a massive chuck of the population that is aged 60 years and above – were forced to use their smartphones to order a 'treat' dinner for the very first time in 2020. But now, these consumers are comfortable requesting Chinese from their living room couches. So, what's behind this fast-casual reckoning? It's proof the inflation virus is still inflecting America's post-pandemic economy. And while Americans rarely worked from their home prior to the pandemic, an estimated 22 millions employed adults (about 14 percent of the workforce) haven't returned to the office, according to Pew Research Center. That means fewer people are going out to lunch or meeting colleagues for dinner after work. This has been devastating to businesses that invested in brick-and-mortar locations. Eateries in urban locations have been hit especially hard as their expensive locations are no longer receiving the footfall they need to meet rent. In order to survive, many have had to transform themselves into commercial kitchens specializing solely in takeout. Some businesses will have to go bankrupt, reorganize themselves entirely and move to less expensive areas. However, there's nothing to be done when consumers simply refuse to spend. In general, wages haven't kept pace with inflation and Americans are seeking out cheaper alternatives. Even high-end casual burger chain BurgerFi is now fighting for survival and considering bankruptcy options amid a punishing sales slump. In this economy, an 'upscale McDonald's' is a luxury that many can't afford. Inflation is devastating for average-income earners (making $68,000 a year) with budgets already tight and hikes in transportation, housing and energy costs. Unfortunately, there's no telling when – if ever – these prices will come back down to Earth. Red Lobster has suffered a business-busting triple-whammy. Volatile seafood prices and costly real estate were likely bad enough. But California's calamitous new regulations may have proven to be too much for the chain that has multiple West Coast locations. Indeed, the restaurant industry's struggles are most pronounced in deep-blue California – where Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom has turned the not-so-Golden State into the closest American facsimile to Venezuela. Newsom signed a law in September jacking up the minimum wage for fast-food workers from $16-per-hour to $20 – making decades-old businesses unprofitable overnight. One California trade group estimated the Maduro-style edict led to the firing of nearly 10,000 workers even before the law went into effect on April 1. A West Coast Burger King franchisee with 140 restaurants announced he'd replace workers with digital order-taking kiosks. A major Pizza Hut operator eliminated delivery services and laid off thousands of drivers. Now, just 90 days into the new regime, businesses are dropping like flies. Earlier this month, beloved Mexican chain Rubio's Coastal Grill announced it was shutting 48 restaurants in the state because of the 'rising cost of doing business.' Blaze Pizza is closing its California locations and relocating its headquarters from Pasadena to Atlanta to reduce its state corporate tax rate by more than a third. Newsom's far-left government is completely disconnected from the reality of inflation – and the Governor has the blood of these failed businesses on his hands. It all adds up to terrible news for the US economy. While major chains Red Lobster and Burger Fi make headlines, mom-and-pop restaurants across the country are facing these same struggles. A staggering 62 percent of jobs in this country are created by companies with between five and 500 employees. But during the pandemic, President Biden only focused on propping up the S&P 500 companies with hulking stimulus packages. Take a look at the Inflation Reduction Act and the Chips and Science Act, which have been estimated to cost as much as $1 trillion and $80 billion respectively. Neither bill included a dime for small businesses. As much as President Biden is desperate to convince the American people that 'Bidenomics is working.' It's not. Perched on his wobbling podium, Biden expounds that he is rebuilding the economy from the bottom up. This evidence suggests otherwise.
Not saying it's totally true... Truth is truth...No matter where it comes from. "The Emperor New Clothes"...
Why are you surprised? "Poor" software developers got their salaries slashed and still make $250k a year: And when a cop is making more than the GDP of a small country, what do you expect the prices to be? Source: https://transparentcalifornia.com/salaries/search/?a=san-jose&q=Police+officer&y=2023&page=9