‘Cheaper Than You Think’: Washington Post Writer Pens Bizarre Piece About The Soaring Price Of Eggs

To explain why, a Washington Post columnist did a surreal exercise of absurdity this week. eggs — which have soared 138% in price — are “cheaper than you think.”

Well, they’re not, really. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, large Grade A eggs cost $4.25 per dozen in December. This is up from $1.79 a year ago. A dozen eggs will cost you just $1.33 in August 2020.

Advanced mathematics shows that eggs cost $2.46 higher in December than they did one year ago.

Megan McArdle (Post columnist and author of “The Up Side of Down: Why Failing Well Is the Key to Success,” Her magic math skills were evident. She did not blame President Joe Biden, unlike the other presidents. “Putin’s price hike,” but explained that chickens have gotten sick and that’s leading to the higher price.

“The truth is that U.S. egg production is still recovering from a bout of avian flu that has devastated flocks in the United States and Europe,” She Submitted. “And while activists and senators are puzzled by how a 29 percent decline in egg production can lead to a much larger increase in the price of eggs, agricultural economist Jayson Lusk says that’s exactly what you would expect with a product for which demand is relatively insensitive to price changes.”

Right. Production drops by 29 percent, prices rise by 138% This makes perfect sense. Not. But hey, I’m not an agricultural economist.

Of course, everything’s more expensive due to inflation (McArdle points out a dozen eggs cost 25 cents in 1901). She notes, however, that modern production has helped to reduce costs.

“Almost all food items have gotten much cheaper, relative to our incomes, than they were a century ago. But some food prices fell faster than others, and chicken and eggs were among those that saw the greatest improvements, thanks to a combination of agricultural innovations,” She wrote.

Higher production can be achieved by moving chickens indoors in order to keep them safe from predators.

Finally, she concludes with this statement: “But the benefits of this revolution have also been enormous. In 1905, an average male factory worker older than 16 took home $11.16 a week, enough to buy about 41 cartons of eggs. Today, the median man earns $1,176 a week, enough to buy more than 275 cartons of eggs, even at today’s elevated prices.”

She concludes: “If you can’t help cringing when you see the cashier ring up eggs that cost twice as much as they did a year ago, it might help to remember that however poor you feel, your ancestors would have taken one look at your grocery cart and declared you rich beyond their dreams,” She wrote.

Now, the Post’s motto is “Democracy Dies In Darkness,” but it’s hard to see the light in this argument. Yes, my great-grandfather would’ve marveled at the convenience of buying a bag of Doritos Flamin’ Hot Limon chips, but he would in fact cringe at the $5.59 price.

Farm Action, a group that advocates for farmers, has a different theory about the price hike. According to the group, “real culprit” The secret to sky-high prices lies in a “collusive scheme” The top U.S. egg farmers fix their prices in order to deceive consumers.

You can find out more at Letter Farm Action reported to the Federal Trade Commission last month that the alleged collusion helped egg producers. “extract egregious profits reaching as high as 40%.”

The letter stated that avian flu was not to blame.

“Examining publicly-available financial data from the egg industry, the letter determines that the supply disruption caused by the avian flu outbreak had an ‘apparently mild impact on the industry,’” In a press release, the group said.

The group also stated that egg producers such as Cal-Maine are making a lot of money.

“For the 26-week period ending on November 26, 2022, Cal-Maine reported a ten-fold year-over-year increase in gross profits — from $50.392 million to $535.339 million — and a five-fold increase in its gross margins,” The letter contained the following:

The group also says “the real culprit behind this 138 percent hike in the price of a carton of eggs appears to be a collusive scheme among industry leaders to turn inflationary conditions and an avian flu outbreak into an opportunity to extract egregious profits reaching as high as 40 percent.”

“In the end, what Cal-Maine Foods and the other large egg producers did last year — and seem to be intent on doing again this year — is extort billions of dollars from the pockets of ordinary Americans through what amounts to a tax on a staple we all need: eggs,” The letter contained the following: “They did so without any legitimate business justification. They did so because there is no ‘reasonable substitute’ for a carton of eggs. They did so because they had power and weren’t afraid to use it.”

Eggs, that’s it!