We scoured the internet for the most heartbreaking cases of inflation that had gotten out of hand. Continue scrolling, upvoting the photographs that speak to you the most, and leaving your opinions in the comments! Check out our latest article on shrinkflation if you’re seeking for more price-gouging insanity.
Inflation has driven up the cost of groceries, household items, cosmetics, gas, services, and pretty much everything else individuals buy. It is causing an increasing number of Americans to alter their shopping habits. And who are the folks who are the most affected by this? Low-income households are facing the effects of rising income and wealth disparity.
Price spikes, according to Rachel Siegel and Andrew Van Dam of The Washington Post, are especially damaging to people with already tight budgets. The main reason for this is because they spend the majority of their money on necessities like food, electricity, and housing, all of which have suffered significant price rises in the last year.
“Of the 10 categories with the highest levels of pandemic inflation analyzed by The Washington Post, lower earners spent a greater share of their total spending on most of them, from natural gas to beef,” they wrote, adding that the highest earners outspent the lowest on cars and furniture.
As a result, lower-income workers are usually only affected by inflation on the negative side. “Their rent will increase. Their heating oil prices are increasing. Their grocery costs are increasing. And they don’t have room in their already tight budgets for greater prices. Furthermore, many people have depleted their cash reserves due to the expiration of stimulus benefits and child-tax credit payments.”
According to Xavier Jaravel, a professor at the London School of Economics, a minor increase in disposable income is difficult for low-income Americans to live with. “Every additional percentage point of inflation diminishes purchasing power,” he noted. “Losing some of your purchasing power is not a major cost if you have a large income, which often goes hand in hand with a lot of saving.”