THUNDER BAY – LIVING – Price inflation has increasingly become a factor in the lives of many people in Canada.
The price of gasoline, which was at $1.27/litre a year ago has risen to as much at $2.06/litre in Thunder Bay today.
You can purchase cheaper gasoline on the Fort William First Nation where prices range from $1.65 to $1.75 a litre.
However it is not just at the gas pump where prices have leapt up.
While inflation is officially listed at 6.8 percent, many prices in the grocery stores are up by well over ten percent.
What is equally frustrating for consumers is that a number of products are shrinking in size and in some cases increasing in price too.
Some of the popular brands of frozen pizza have increased drastically. At the same time the size has shrunk.
That is shrinkflation.
Often too, not only will the product size shrink, but the price will increase. Often you won’t even realize it. It could be a few fewer pods in that container of laundry detergent, or dishwasher detergent.
It could be smaller quantities in boxes of crackers. Even bottles of Gatorade are shrinking in size.
Less product for more money.
Inflation is increasingly taking a toll on the lives of ordinary families.
Parts of it are a result of shortages in the supply changes. The Russian invasion of Ukraine is having an impact on the supply of grain globally.
The war in Ukraine is also creating upward pressure on the price of oil and therefore on the price of gasoline at the pump.
While we have politicians promising lower gasoline prices, perhaps the fact is no one is thinking of the reality of the market, higher prices mean lower demand. As demand lowers, prices drop.
Right now the price of a barrel of oil is high. A barrel of West Texas Intermediate is $109.40 US. Brent Crude is at $113.40 a barrel. OPEC is selling a barrel of oil for $114.80 US.
If you are concerned about the condition of our roads and highways, two things could be a factor, political decisions to reduce the gas taxes, mean less money to fix or build roads.
One issue no one seems to be talking about is that in the major efforts toward electric cars, cars and trucks that don’t use gas, but rather electricity to charge the battery are going to see an other revenue shortfall in taxes for roads.
I digress.
The rate of inflation is seeing a lot of politicians offering simple solutions and sound-bite rhetoric as solutions.
Sadly it is likely more reality than anything that for now prices are going up.
Other than complain about it, it is hard to say what else there is people can do about it.
It sure won’t be solved by political rhetoric, no matter what some politicians want you to believe.
