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Early on in the pandemic, a lot of New Yorkers got major deals on apartments. Now the landlords are striking back. Even though rats are popping out of toilets, hedgehogs are escaping through holes in walls and my own ceiling rains sewage on me (really!), the rent is still going up by percentages your paycheck can only dream about. Add a war to the mix, and you’ve got the recipe for rampant inflation, or even stagflation, the word suddenly on everybody’s lips, Mark Gilbert notes.
If your current landlord were to, say, bump the rent on your apartment by 48% (which is a thing that happens), you’d have no choice but to start hunting for a new apartment. Then you’d have to deal with real estate agents, many of whom behave as if they’re on the pilot episode of some cringey reality TV show. “This place is actually sick,†one will tell you, gesturing to some stranger’s unmade twin bed that takes up half the floor. You don’t really want to trust this man who probably spent 18 minutes meticulously applying carrot oil balm to his hair this morning, but you have no choice but to sign the lease.
Anyway, as much fun as it is to complain about rent, it’s actually being outdone lately by other life expenses: food and fuel. Andrea Felsted writes rising prices for these commodities could lead consumers to get thrifty with their grocery shopping. Ironically, I’m writing this on World Consumer Rights Day, which feels oddly fitting. As prices rise, some people might head to Kroger, which rewards shoppers with discounts on gas. Others may skip the car altogether, choosing to carry their groceries on foot. Soon enough, TikTokers will probably start TikToking about $27 cucumbers and $400 gas receipts instead of their $4,950 apartments.
In times like these, it’s natural to wonder where all the profits go. Could farmers get any benefit from higher food prices, for example? Adam Minter spoke with a farmer named Rob Tate and found out the answer to that question is most certainly no. Tate is paying as much as 242% more in 2022 than in 2021 for the key nutrients he needs to grow corn. “If the Ukrainian situation drags on, the greater the impact on next year’s crop,†he told Adam.
Meanwhile in Ukraine, farmers are casually trucking around loads of rockets that were abandoned by the Russian Army. “Their farmer’s market must be incredible,†Rob Cromwell tweeted. But is it worth the gasoline to drive there?
—Bloomberg