'Americans would love to pay our supermarket prices - they're being ripped off'
'Irish supermarkets like Dunnes Stores, Tesco, Supervalu, Lidl and Aldi are doing a bloody good job delivering value for money for Irish consumers and are engaged in proper competition'
Welcome to the rip-off world of the United States of America. There is only one issue that is going to decide the one of the closest Presidential elections in history - the outrageous cost of food.
I've spent the past 12 days in the beautiful seaside town of Rockport, Mass, about 40 minutes outside Boston and every American I've spoken to is sick and tired of paying sky high prices for their weekly grocery shopping.
It might seem trivial to you that the future of the world and a possible much feared second Donald Trump Presidency might come down to food prices but trust me it will.
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I went to what is regarded as the cheapest supermarket in nearby Glocester, the biggest fishing port along the east coast of the USA , a place you probably know from the tragic but real life movie, The Perfect Storm. I couldn't believe my eyes the prices Americans are being charged for the basics like breads, dairy, meats, fish and fruit and it is scandalous.
There were six of us staying in a rented cottage near the beach here and remember the Dollar is nearly equal to a Euro. Our shopping for the week here cost 260 dollars which we estimated would be no more than 150 quid at home. There wasn't one drop of alcohol in our trolley. That's a staggering 100 quid at least MORE than what we are paying back in good old Ireland.
Many Americans blame inflation caused in their view rightly or wrongly by President Joe Biden's administration, others believe the retailers are engaged in price gouging.
The people in America are sick of it. The fact is that food prices are 30pc higher here than what they were a year ago and middle class families are struggling to pay for their weekly shopping bills. Inflation here like the rest of Europe hit about 8pc after Covid but has now dropped back to 2.89pc at the end of July and a cut in sky high interest rates is now expected in September which will give people some breathing space.
People are rightly seriously angry that they are being ripped off at the supermarket checkout every week. Unlike Ireland you never see a supermarket add on television about discounts, weekend offers or 20 quid off deals you get for every 100 euros you spend in most Irish supermarkets.
I didn't see any daily cut price offers on specific items that you see in almost every store at home. The grim picture in America tells us that our Irish supermarkets like Dunnes Stores, Tesco, Supervalu, Lidl and Aldi are doing a bloody good job delivering value for money for Irish consumers and are engaged in proper competition.
The Americans would love to be paying the prices we are charged and to get the deals we are always being offered. But the US food scandal also shows that capitalism or the American version of it does not work if there isn't proper competition in a market. Thankfully in the EU strong regulation of various industries like the food sector ensures that this doesn't happen - this is one of the reasons why big business in America hates the European Union.
American Corporations for their own profitable reasons always prefer and lobby for light touch regulation so that they can do what they want. The anger over food prices was the reason you would have seen Donald Trump surrounded by a selection of popular American groceries as he gave a press conference last Thursday about inflation and the state of the US economy.
The very next day his opponent Vice President Kamala Harris came out and promised to end price gouging once and for all.
The actual term price gouging means the practice of increasing the price of goods, services or commodities to a level much higher than is considered reasonable or fair by some. This commonly applies to price increases of basic necessities after natural disasters or in this case the Covid 19 pandemic.
Kamala Harris' view is the big supermarket chains and suppliers are ripping off consumers to drive up profits. She certainly struck a popular note with the public and she pledged to bring in a new Federal law to stop the practice. Trump of course then. angrily responded by accusing her of being a Communist.
A CNN survey over the weekend found that the number one issue with American voters in November's Presidential election is the economy at 83pc followed by inflation at 76pc. The other issues ranked as follows - state of democracy ,74pc, crime,62pc gun policy,58pc, the US-Mexico border , 56pc and abortion, 51pc.
And although the rest of the world is terrified, many Americans are either not too bothered or don't believe that Trump will be able to stop the handover of power if he loses. There is no doubt that President Joe Biden's decision not to run for a second term and quit the race, has changed the whole picture of this election.
Donald Trump is now absolutely rattled and is getting more angry, and unpredictable by the day against an opponent who is smart, energised and at 20 years younger makes him look like an old man. Every time Trump goes into a rant and insults Kamala Harris personally much to the despair of his advisors it is costing him uncommitted and independent voters in the key battleground states as they are called.
Harris is currently two points ahead of him in the race for the White House according to various national polls but there is still a long way to go. Trump is a bit like Lazarus, you can't write him off, and he keeps coming back for more.
This election will go to the wire and will go down to a couple of thousand votes here and there in the key states where there is little between them. But take it for me this is the food election and its yet again the economy, stupid, as Bill Clinton once said.
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