The meat counter at Diablo Foods in Lafayette, Calif. Food prices are up 27% compared to April 2019, according to the Public Policy Institute of California.
In 2018–19, PPIC reported, “these necessities cost California’s low-income households about $26,000, on average; by 2024, these households would need to spend over $32,000 on the same goods and services. By comparison, the top income group spent on average $82,000 on these basics in 2018–19, which would now cost nearly $100,000 in 2024.”
Obviously those on the lower rungs of the economic ladder have more difficulty adjusting to increases in living costs. It’s not hyperbole to say that inflation is a major reason why so many Californians cannot move up that ladder. Inflation also hits the public sector, increasing the costs of providing services and wreaking havoc on state and local government budgets. It’s one of the reasons the Opinion Columnists |By happenstance, the PPIC issued its report on inflation on the same day that BravoDeal, a website devoted to helping consumers find bargains, released its