Inflation hitting the Valentine economy hard, too

NEWS AND OPINION:

“Valentine’s Day is returning to its romantic traditions, with total spending on significant others for the holiday expected to reach a record $14.2 billion,” reports an annual assessment of the heartfelt trends released Jan. 29 by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics.

But wait. Inflation has also arrived for the holiday.

“Valentine’s Day themed candies can cost up to 251% as much as their non-themed counterparts. A box of 12 Ferrero Rocher chocolates in a Valentine’s themed box costs $11.20 more than the same 12 chocolates packaged in a regular box. That’s a 251% price increase per ounce,” PantryandLarder.com says.

According to a mission statement, Pantry and Larder is a research and interest group that tracks culinary expertise, experimenting and data analysis “to explore the world of food.”

INFLATION, BIDEN STYLE

Hopeful headlines and certain political operatives insist that the U.S. economy is in a happy and promising place. Not so, says the Republican National Committee, which has reviewed the damning numbers.

“Inflation was ‘hotter than expected’ in January, with prices increasing 3.1% year-over-year, while core inflation — stripping out food and energy costs — shot up to 3.9% year-over-year. Overall, prices have risen 17.9% since President Biden took office — with electricity up 28.6%, food prices up 21%, and rent up 19.4%,” wrote Jake Schneider, director of rapid response for the committee.

Meanwhile, Americans have seen a 2.1% pay cut under Mr. Biden as real wages remain lower than when Mr. Biden took office and real average weekly earnings decreased by 0.3% last month.

Mr. Schneider cited current numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics here and noted that CNBC called the situation “lousy” in a report on Monday. Then there’s the credit card situation. Our nation’s credit card debt stands at $1.13 trillion, according to data released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York earlier in the month.

“No wonder credit card debt just hit a new record high. This latest ‘lousy’ report is the complete opposite of Biden’s assertion that ‘inflation is coming down’ — but vindication for the two-thirds of Americans who disapprove of Biden’s handling of the economy. Just don’t expect relief anytime soon,” Mr. Schneider said.

‘HOT AND HOTTER’

Persistent inflation in the U.S. at least gave the press something to do Tuesday. A few headlines of note from the last 24 hours:

“January CPI report: Inflation comes in hotter than expected” (MarketWatch); “Dow tumbles more than 400 points on hot inflation data” (CNN); “U.S. inflation hotter than anticipated in January” (Investing.com); “Dow falls more than 500 points, on pace for worst sell-off since March on heels of hot inflation data” (New York Post); “Stock market today: US stocks fall after inflation cools less than anticipated” (Yahoo Finance); “A key inflation gauge came in hotter than expected last month” (The New York Times); and “Inflation hit hotter, faster than expected in January” (Inc.com).

VALENTINE’S DAY, REAGAN STYLE

Ron and Nancy: The 40th president and his wife were known for their affection for each other — perhaps an inspiration for the Valentine’s Day Sweetheart’s Dinner and Dance, which takes place on the big day at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Foundation in Simi Valley, California.

Guests will dine — literally — under the wings of Air Force One. Yes, the presidential aircraft of that era is part of the display at the spectacular site.

The invitation, meanwhile, is embellished with a phrase, this from Ron to Nancy: “You are my valentine, not just on February 14 but forever.”

And verbatim from the menu: Guests will begin with an appetizer of jumbo shrimp cocktail followed by a salad of baby mixed greens, California strawberries, glazed walnuts, goat cheese crumbles and a dressing of blood orange shallot vinaigrette.

Then the sweetheart diners can choose between a trio of meal menus.

That includes chicken with a white wine reduction, orzo pasta, sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms, peas & crispy pancetta. Or braised beef short ribs, with wine reduction sauce, baby carrots and garlic whipped mashed potatoes. For vegetable fans, there are harissa-roasted cauliflower steak, French green beans with roasted brussels sprouts, and white bean, garlic and herb puree.

And for a fancy dessert? That would be “cocoa bulce de leche” and “mango coconut passion fruit mousse dome.”

FOXIFIED

In the week of Feb. 5-11, Fox News remained the most-watched news network in the cable TV realm, both in prime time and throughout the day — and for the fourth consecutive week.

Fox News had a daily average of 2.1 million viewers in prime time and 1.4 million viewers during the day, according to Nielsen Media Research. The network also aired 77 of the top 100 cable news telecasts for the week. As usual, “The Five” was the most popular presentation, averaging 3.1 million viewers.

Fox News daytime programming continued to surpass broadcast programs. “Outnumbered,” “America’s Newsroom,” “The Faulkner Focus,” “America Reports” and “The Story” all outranked NBC’s “Today With Hoda & Jenna,” ABC’s “GMA3” and CBS’ “The Talk.”

POLL DU JOUR

• 55% of U.S. adults have had a “serious romantic relationship” with someone who was five years older or younger than they were.

• 53% have had a serious romantic relationship with someone who was much more or much less educated than they were.

• 46% have had a romantic relationship with someone who was much more or much less wealthy.

• 45% have had a romantic relationship with someone who practiced a different religion.

• 40% have had a romantic relationship with someone in a different state or country.

• 39% have had a romantic relationship with someone of a different race or ethnicity.

• 32% have had a romantic relationship with someone who was 12 or more inches taller or shorter.

• 31% have had a romantic relationship with some affiliated with a different political party.

• 8% have had a romantic relationship with someone of the same sex.

SOURCE: A YouGov survey of 1,000 U.S. adults conducted online Jan. 26-29 and released Feb. 9.

• Contact Jennifer Harper at jharper@washingtontimes.com. And have a pleasant Valentine’s Day.