(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) Despite the leftist obsession with abortion as a primary issue heading into the midterms, Americans still see inflation as their top concern in life and are feeling the hurt on the holiday front with Halloween and its accompanying prices hitting record highs.
One of the ghoulish gains has come from pumpkins, which have carved out a 15% increase in price, according to Spectrum News.
The Biden administration’s inflation economy has forced one fourth-generation family of farmers in California to increase their pumpkin prices and, reluctantly, pass the hit to consumers.
“Labor has gone up, water has gone up, all the materials that go into it have gone up significantly,” Kenny Tanaka, the family patriarch, said.
Because of that, the family needed to raise the prices of their products.
“At the Tanaka Farms Hana Field Pumpkin Patch, which opened last weekend, pumpkin prices are up 15% this year,” Spectrum News reported. “That means that a 15-pound pumpkin now costs close to $20.”
Candy prices have also hit new highs, jumping 13.1% from last year, according to the latest inflation numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, reported NPR.
“It’s the largest yearly jump in candy prices the CPI has ever recorded [it took nine years — from 1997 to 2006 — for candy prices to rise 13%],” NPR reported.
“And the price of candy… has risen 2% since August, one of the largest monthly increases of any food in the report.”
The reason why the prices for sweets are so high is because of the increased prices for sugar and flour, with persistent supply chain issues that the Biden administration has been unable to fix playing a factor.
“Sugar is up over 17% since last September. Supply chain disruptions and a poor beet sugar production year have all helped contribute,” according to NPR. “Flour prices have risen even more at 24%.”
Because of that, other sweet and baked goods have gone up in price, too.
“That’s helped drive up the costs of cakes, cupcakes and cookies by 16% since last September,” NPR reported. “Frozen and refrigerated baked goods are up more than 20%.”
Putting on a Halloween costume will also be pricey.
“While the CPI report does not specifically track costumes, the price of clothing has jumped 5.5% since last year,” NPR reported.
“Those crafty enough to make handmade costumes will feel the pinch even more: sewing machines, fabric and supplies are up 11% since last September.”
