Pizza and beer now cost an arm and a leg

If you’re looking for a sure sign the U.S. economy is headed in the wrong direction, all you need to do is look at the skyrocketing price of “recession-proof” foods: pizza, hot dogs, bagels and beer.

For many Americans, the credit crunch and the mortgage mess have left their pocketbooks – and their cupboards – bare. These same consumers, many living paycheck to paycheck, have relied on these cheaper foods to keep their expenditures down. Not anymore.

In the past few months, the news has gone from bad to worse:

Pizza makers have seen their cheese costs soar this year from $1.30 a pound to $1.76 a pound. Even worse, the flour used to make the dough has gone from $3-$7 dollars a bushel to $25 a bushel in less than a year.

Beer makers have been forced to raise their prices because of the skyrocketing price of hops – one of the principle ingredients. The price of hops has gone from about $4 a pound in September to $40 a pound. The price of barley, beer’s other main ingredient, has nearly doubled.

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This article is especially true anywhere you go you can hardly find a good meal that won't empty your wallet. This inflation is largely due to rising oil prices since the trucks deliver the cheese, flour, sauce, and beer not to mention the custom napkins. The increased prices will cause a decrease in demand which will cause owners to stopping buying as much cheese and such, then causing truckers to deliver less and finally have cheese makers to make less. All owners, truckers, and cheese makers will then need to cut their costs of production. The situation is an example of wage price spiral largely due to oil as an increasing factor in costs of production.

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