Cereal For The Peasants? How The Elites Use “Skimpflation” To Control Our Eating Habits
Cereal For The Peasants? How The Elites Use “Skimpflation” To Control Our Eating Habits
Authored by Brandon Smith via Alt-Market.us
People who have been reading my analysis for a long time are well aware of my expectations on the eventual outcome of the US economic debacle: A stagflationary crisis followed by a massive crash similar to the Great Depression (or worse). I based this prediction on a number of circumstances, but primarily I went back to the history of currency devaluations and central bank policy. These kinds of things have happened before and they tend to follow a pattern that is visible today.
Specifically, I studies the 1971-1981 stagflation crisis for reference and I found some startling similarities. It was one of the worst economic declines in American history next to the depression, and it’s an event that almost no one talks about. A lot of people (specifically Gen Z) believe that our current era is the worst financial era of all time and that their generation has been shafted by previous generations.
This is inaccurate; the stagflation disaster of the 1970s was far worse. That said, it shows us where our country is eventually headed and it’s not looking good. What is a manageable economic crunch today has the potential to become a calamity tomorrow.
One issue that I’m fascinated by that usually isn’t mentioned in mainstream economic discussion is quality degradation – The way in which products, services, construction, manufacturing, style and availability tend to break down when inflation suddenly spikes. This process is known as “skimpflation” and it was rampant in the 1970s and early 1980s. Most Americans today think of the 70s as a happy-go-lucky era of disco, bell bottoms and psychedelics, but in reality it was economically dismal.
Examining real life images and footage from the decade compared to the 1960s, there was a stark shift in the quality of life. From the quality of cars, to the quality of clothes, to the quality of housing. Some US cities (like New York or Philadelphia) looked like warzones complete with rubble strewn slums. After sky-high inflation for several years causes a doubling and tripling of retail prices along with growing unemployment rates, the environment starts to feel real ugly.
Skimpflation And The Food Pyramid Agenda
Another aspect of life that takes a hit is the quality of diet and the ability of families to feed themselves. Most people are familiar with the concept of “shrinkflation” – The habit of companies to shrink portion sizes while keeping their packaging and prices the same in order to offset inflation in production costs without consumers noticing. However, skimpflation is another way in which companies will attempt to avoid raising prices on the shelf, and that’s by lowering the quality of ingredients, along with encouraging the public to eat less nutritious (and less expensive to produce) foods.
The 1970s was the decade that gave birth to the processed food market and the microwave cuisine, at least on a wider scale. This was the decade when American food truly took a nose dive. The ease of processed foods was offset by the poor nutritional content. They were cheaper, but the quality sucked and we are still living with the repercussions of that trend today.
There were, of course, counter-culture movements working against the adoption of processed foods, including “know your farmer” type organizations and organic movements. But as we are all well aware, the cheap processed foods eventually won. Society embraced the market because they had to. Prices were so high that it was the only way they could feed their families everyday.
Interestingly, the Food Pyramid that we were all taught about as children in public schools was introduced to the western world in 1972. The pyramid was actually first used by the Swedish government in direct response to inflation and was designed to encourage the populace to eat cheaper food-stuffs (primarily cereals, dairy products, pastas and carbs). Governments have been using subsidies to promote the consumption of low cost and low quality foods ever since.
I’m recounting these trends from the 1970s because we are seeing a very similar agenda today, though it is far more insidious in nature. Economic decline is a favorite tool for the establishment to control the behavior of populations, including dietary habits.
Dollar Losing Buying Power? Switch To Lab Grown Meat And Bugs…
It’s no coincidence, for example, that there has been a massive push by government agencies and corporations to acclimate the public to the idea of fake lab-grown meat products. For now, fake meats are more expensive than real meats so there’s no incentive for the public to consume them, but if inflation continues to drive prices higher eventually real steak will cost far more than artificial steak and people may be convinced that the fake stuff is a viable alternative.
Then there’s the notion of western consumers eating bugs for protein instead of beef or chicken or pork. Beyond the claims that this will somehow “save the climate” from global warming (which is a complete falsehood backed by zero concrete evidence), the powers-that-be also suggest that bugs will be far more affordable than hamburgers in the near future.
Bugs are traditionally a starvation food. They are only a staple in countries where famine is common or where governments aggressively restrict normal agriculture. Bug protein also has a habit of giving people parasites. The only way westerners could be convinced to eat bugs as a part of their regular diet is if inflation crushes the regular meat market.
Let The Peasants Eat Cereal…
Another form of skimpflation is the shift even further to the bottom of the food pyramid. Recently, Kellogg’s CEO Gary Pilnick suggested in an interview with CNBC that Americans will eventually start ‘eating cereal for dinner’ because the cost is so much cheaper per portion. In other words, cheap processed carbs will become a mainstay of the American diet because a lot of people won’t be able to afford anything else. Pilnick brags that Kellogg’s is well placed for this coming change in the food market…
The marketing for this idea is already well underway. Various companies are promoting an end to traditional healthy homemade dinner habits and a switch to unconventional and cheaper processed foods. The thrust of the Kellogg’s campaign relies on poverty. Meaning, they are banking on the expectation that Americans will be poorer in the near term and that this condition will continue for years to come.
Just as we saw during the 1970s stagflation crisis, there is a rush to cut quality in all goods and services, but food is a major target. Today, it’s about convincing the market to consume more carbs and processed foods and less protein. Tomorrow, it will be about abandoning established agriculture altogether and having all our food manufactured in labs. The elites seem to be planning for a significant financial crisis beyond what we have already dealt with and this is evident in their efforts to sell the reconstruction of our dietary habits based on poverty rather than prosperity.
Tyler Durden
Tue, 03/19/2024 – 00:00
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Pundits Say American Political Realignment is Real – Democrats Are Losing Support of Minority Voters
In the 2020 election, Trump did better with minority voters than he did in 2016. In 2024, the shift is expected to be even bigger.
For several years now, pundits have suggested that minority voters are drifting away from Democrats but a significant change has failed to materialize.
This year, pundits on both sides are saying the shift is real.
Conservative columnist Matthew Continetti writes at the Washington Free Beacon:
America’s Political Realignment Is Real
If Donald Trump is elected president in November, he will have assembled a coalition unlike any Republican nominee in my lifetime.
For decades, GOP success has depended on support from college-educated white voters in the suburbs and non-college-educated white voters in manufacturing centers and rural areas. Republican candidates tried to maximize turnout among this electoral base, while adding a majority of independent voters to the GOP column. Presidents Nixon, Reagan, and the two Bushes used this strategy to great effect. Donald Trump did, too…
My colleague at the American Enterprise Institute Ruy Teixeira, as well as GOP pollster Patrick Ruffini, have storehouses of data that show Democrats losing non-college-educated minority voters—Hispanic voters in particular—to Republicans. Each new survey confirms their findings. The evidence is overwhelming…
“The migration we’re seeing today is not so much natural Democrats becoming disillusioned,” writes Burn-Murdoch, “but natural Republicans realising they’ve been voting for the wrong party.” That has made Trump’s GOP more diverse, more non-college, and more conservative.
On the liberal side, pollster Nate Silver writes at Substack:
Democrats are hemorrhaging support with voters of color
Earlier this week, John Burn-Murdoch of the Financial Times posted a thread that purported to show substantial losses for Democrats among non-white voters, which he termed a “racial realignment”. If you’re an election data junkie, you’ve probably seen it; it’s been viewed more than 7 million times on Twitter. Here is the graphic that kicked it off:
It’s worth reading the whole thread. There’s a lot of data, and Burn-Murdoch notes that the problems are particularly bad for Democrats among working-class voters of color, and younger ones. Many Black, Hispanic and Asian American voters have long identified as moderate or conservative rather than liberal, and Burn-Murdoch theorizes that Democrats’ tilt toward more liberal policies (though I’d prefer to call them “left” or “progressive” rather than “liberal”) is catching up with them, especially as memory of the Civil Rights Era fades.
This is the graphic that Silver is referring to:
NEW :
American politics is in the midst of a racial realignment.
I think this is simultaneously one of the most important social trends in the US today, and one of the most poorly understood. pic.twitter.com/QeRsuMSKaL
— John Burn-Murdoch (@jburnmurdoch) March 11, 2024
The real danger for Democrats is that it won’t even take a massive shift to destroy their coalition. If Trump takes even 15 to 20 percent of minority voters, it’s over.
The post Pundits Say American Political Realignment is Real – Democrats Are Losing Support of Minority Voters appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
Group of Republicans calls for colleagues to wield power of the purse, reject the funding of ‘disastrous policies’
More than three dozen House Republicans signed onto a letter calling upon colleagues to leverage the power of the purse to fight for border security and against the “radical politicization” of the Pentagon.
“How many more millions of illegal aliens must be released into America? How many more American lives must be lost at the hands of an illegal alien – like 22-year-old student Laken Riley?” the letter asked. “Is there a point at which we will refuse to let this happen on our watch, or is there no threshold of harm to our nation for which we would refuse to fund the government perpetrating the invasion?”
“The House must put forth an appropriations measure that forces the inclusion of the core elements of H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act, ends funding of trafficking, and prohibits non-citizens from voting in federal elections, otherwise Republicans will be actively funding Biden’s ‘open borders’ policies,” the letter states. “Even setting aside the border, the power of the purse should also be used to stop the radical politicization of the Department of Defense.”
“Therefore, we ask you to join us in rejecting the appropriations package (or anything similar) slated to be before the House that will directly fund these disastrous policies, and choose instead to stand against this assault on the American people and use the power given to us by our founders,” the letter notes.
House Freedom Caucus chair Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) and GOP Rep. Chip Roy of Texas led the group of lawmakers in the letter, according to a press release. In addition to those two congressmen, 41 other lawmakers joined the letter.
“#NoSecurityNoFunding – we should not fund open borders and mass releases of dangerous illegal aliens by DHS, a woke Pentagon, the UN, the WHO, massive foreign aid, and more… we should use the power of the purse to force change,” Roy tweeted.
GOP Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, retweeted Roy and wrote, “Republicans must not capitulate on border security. #NoSecurityNoFunding”
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The Guardian asks people to share how the ‘climate crisis’ has impacted their relationships
The Guardian is inviting people to detail how the “climate crisis” has impacted their relationships.
“As the climate crisis increases the frequency and severity of extreme weather events like floods, heatwaves and storms in Europe, it is also having an emotional impact on people,” the outlet claimed. “We would like to hear how climate change has affected your relationships – with romantic partners, family or friends.”
“Perhaps the stress of fleeing extreme weather events like wildfires or floods has impacted your budget and put strains on your relationships. Or perhaps different ideas about carbon footprints and child-rearing have caused tension in your relationships,” the outlet suggested.
The climate alarmism-promoting outlet provided a form on which people can describe how their relationships have supposedly been impacted.
Over on X, one response to the Guardian read, “My wife of 35 years joins me in uproarious laughter when we envision these young mental lemmings experiencing an event like the Blizzard of 1978. We hug, kiss, and thank God we are rational adults who know giving more power and money to a government will not change the weather.”
“My wife and I agreed to buy a hybrid SUV last year. (Sorry I don’t have anything more dramatic to report.),” another account wrote.
The Biden administration and Democrats have been beating the climate alarmism drum. The president has referred to the supposed “climate crisis” as “the existential threat of our time.”
Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island has claimed in a tweet, “Republicans blame inflation on Joe Biden, but in fact it’s Republicans’ fossil-fuel-funded climate denial that is driving this key inflation measure. Insurance is skyrocketing because climate disasters are worse and more unpredictable.”
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Ajay Devgn’s NY VFXWaala Acquires Stake in Sweden’s Goodbye Kansas, Launches Joint Venture Studio in India
Top Bollywood star Ajay Devgn’s Indian visual effects studio NY VFXWaala has set a strategic partnership with Sweden’s Goodbye Kansas Studio. NY VFXWaala has secured a major stake in Goodbye Kansas, through an offshore subsidiary, while simultaneously launching a joint venture studio in India. “Shaitaan,” starring Devgn, is currently in cinemas and is one of […]
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Ilya Sorokin was never going to repeat last year’s brilliant Islanders campaign
Ilya Sorokin’s 2022-23 campaign, in which he posted a .924 save percentage over 62 games and hauled the Islanders into the playoffs, was not just worthy of the Vezina Trophy for which he finished second to Linus Ullmark in voting.
Bank Of Japan (Finally) Kills The World’s Last Negative Interest Rate, Yen Weakens
Bank Of Japan (Finally) Kills The World’s Last Negative Interest Rate, Yen Weakens
As has been thoroughly warned, straw-manned, leaked, and hinted at over the past few weeks (here, here, and here for example), The Bank of Japan hiked interest rates tonight for the first time since 2007. This move ends the world’s last negative interest rate policy.
The vote, at 7-2 to scrap the negative interest rate, was closer than many expected with olicy board members Nakamura and Noguchi dissented.
Source: Bloomberg
The BOJ will continue to purchase JGBs with “broadly the same amount as before,” but buying of ETFs and J-REITs has apparently been scrapped.
In terms of forward guidance, Bloomberg notes that the bank isn’t offering much. It says it will continue to pay attention to developments in financial and FX markets, and their impact on Japan’s economic activity and prices.
But the previous pledge to “not hesitate to take additional easing measures if necessary” has been removed.
This was all in line with what had leaked out in domestic media reports over the past week but USDJPY still rose on the news (yen weakness)…
The BOJ actually downgraded its assessment of consumer spending and production, so there’s still a sense of caution.
The BoJ’s move comes as inflation has gradually returned to the nation with the most immediate catalyst being last week, when Japan’s largest union announced its biggest annual wage hike in three decades.
Despite the runway having been heavily foamed ahead of tonight’s decision, Veteran market commentator John Authers warns of significant implications for the rest of the world:
“Waiting over the years for Japan to beat deflation and raise rates has been rather like hoping for Lucy to let Charlie Brown kick the football, but if the BOJ is briefing the press like this, it must be a very real possibility,” he writes.
“There are implications for carry traders, and for Japan’s giant neighbor, China.”
Finally, even with the decision to pull the trigger, we note that the debate over whether the BOJ has met the supposedly main condition for raising rates – stable 2% inflation – is hardly over.
As Bloomberg reports, inflation may slow as the impact of imports-driven price gains wears off, meaning that if officials go ahead and change policy, they could end up facing criticism in the future that they’ve passed a premature judgement on prices, former BOJ board member Takahide Kiuchi recently wrote. “And that in turn could become an obstacle to smooth policy normalization,” he said.
Tyler Durden
Mon, 03/18/2024 – 23:45