Comments due by Nov . 29, 2014
From negotiating family politics at the dinner table to managing the misery of holiday travel, the entire Thanksgiving enterprise is fraught with challenges for which we're supposed to be grateful. (And, of course, we are.)
Even the annual traditions, like the constant of the Thanksgiving dinner, is subject to the whims of the universe. On Thursday, for example, the American Farm Bureau Federation announced that the price of Thanksgiving dinner is going slightly up this year. Using an informal survey of typical Thanksgiving offerings, the group determined that "the average cost of this year’s feast for 10 is $49.41, a 37-cent increase from last year’s average of $49.04."
And while price increases seem to be a steady part of the tradition too, this year's presumptive Thanksgiving feast offers an interesting insight into how the economy is functioning. According to the U.S. Bureau of Statistics, turkey is actually 13 percent cheaper this year, despite the rising cost of most other meats. As the Columbus Dispatch noted, "at $1.58 a pound for a frozen bird at retail in September, the latest data available, turkey was 24 cents per pound cheaper than at the same time in 2013."
The greater trend though, it adds, snaps the wishbone less in favor of the consumer: In 10 years, the per-pound price of turkey has risen 50 cents.
So if falling fuel prices are dovetailing with a drop in corn and soybean prices (making turkey a bit cheaper), why is the overall cost of Thanksgiving dinner going up? The AFBF says prices for other staples like "sweet potatoes, dairy products and pumpkin pie mix" all jumped up in price.
Meanwhile, in terms of actually getting to the table, driving seems to be the way to go. As the AP reported:
Amtrak says its ticket prices have increased an average of 2 percent over last year. Same goes for flying. The average price of an airline ticket for travel this Thanksgiving is $307.52, not including an average $51 in taxes and fees, according to the Airlines Reporting Corp.
The secret may be out though. According to AAA estimates, over 46 million Americans will drive 50 miles or more to their Thanksgiving gatherings. That's 4.2 percent increase from last year and the highest number since 2007. (The Atlantic)
12 comments:
This article explains what is happening in the economy for Thanksgiving. According to the U.S. Bureau of Statistics, turkey is 13 percent cheaper this year, but the cost of other meats are rising. Both the price for an Amtrak ticket and plane tickets have increased. According to AAA , over 46 million Americans will drive 50 miles or more to their Thanksgiving destinations. That is a 4.2 percent increase from last year and the highest number since 2007. National holidays do a lot of good for the economy.
This article talks about the economics of Thanksgiving dinner. Recent numbers have indicated that the price of Thanksgiving dinner is increasing each year. Although the increase is very modest, it is still something to take a look at. Gas prices are going down as of late which would indicate that the price of Thanksgiving is going down. The problem with this, however, is that so many people are driving such long distances to get to their Thanksgiving dinners.
-Nick Bellantese
Thanksgiving like every other holiday is filled with joy but also brings a price. Travel, food and other expenses over the years have seem to been at a constant rise. The price of turkey might of decreased this year but all the other foods on the table have increased once again. Along with the food prices, the price of travel has been increasing. With this information on the economics of thanksgiving people have been driving more often then other sorts of transportation due to gas being the cheaper option.
Colleen Carroll
This article explains about the economy of Thanksgiving. The price for Turkey this year has gone down but almost every other food price has gone up. Also speaking on how expensive gas is these days, people are still spending a lot of money to get their dinner or to get to the place where their dinner is being served.
Marissa Cotroneo said......
This article discuses the price fluctuation of a typical Thanksgiving dinner. For this year the average price of a Thanksgiving dinner as increased by 37 cents. Another thing that has increased this year is Amtrak tickets and plane tickets by a decent amount. Although it has increased, the price of turkey has decreased by 13% this year.
This articles says that the price of thanksgiving is going up even though the price of turkey is dropping (the first time in 10 years). According to this article this is due to the fact that other foods like sweet potatoes, dairy products, and pumpkin pie prices are rising. Also, this article touches on the fact that travel becomes more expensive but travel around any holiday (not just thanksgiving) will always increase due to the fact that demand increases.
This article discusses the price changes that will effect thanksgiving this year. Turkey prices this year decreased, but according to the AFBF other foods such as sweet potatoes dairy products and pumpkin pie mix have all increased in price. Besides food prices, travel expenses for the holiday have gone up as well. Train tickets and flight prices have increased, causing an increase in the number of people driving to their thanksgiving plans. The holiday season and these minor increase in prices help the economy.
This article talks about the financial side of the annual Thanksgiving feast. The price of the big dinner has gone up ten cents compared to last years. The crazy part about this stat is that the big turkey everyone is eating actually has gone down in price. It is the other parts of the dinner like the dairy and pumpkin pie mix that are causing the rise in price. Also the article states that more people are driving on the big day than any other way of transportation.
This article explains what is happening within the economy in terms of the Thanksgiving holiday. According to the US Bureau of Statistics, turkey prices have decreased about 13 percent this year while prices continue to increase for other meats. What is baffling to me is how they came up with 50 dollars to feed 10 people. In my opinion, with the prices of other meats rising along with sweet potatoes, dairy products, and pumpkin pie mix, I believe 50 dollars feeding 10 people in unrealistic. Not only does the Thanksgiving holiday bring about an increase in grocery prices but also an increase in transportation, including Amtrak and airline tickets. In conclusion, the holidays bring about a well-needed boom in the economy for the time being.
This article informs readers about the economics of a Thanksgiving Dinner. Apparently, although the price of a turkey has been noticeably decreasing over the years, the overall price of a Thanksgiving dinner has been steadily increasing over the years. This shows that the condiments that are necessary for the holiday has been very popular throughout the years and the markets think wisely and aim to increase their profits. Knowing how the demand for these products increase around that time of year, they increase the price. Same thing goes for plane tickets airplane companies notice that people spend more on plane tickets around Thanksgiving since the holiday is a family oriented event and some have to travel to meet up with their loved ones. So they increase the prices of the tickets because the demand for them are higher. This leads to Americans to drive instead of using air transportation, a smarter and affordable approach.
This article talks about thanksgiving and how the price of thanksgiving is increasing. I think that is very interesting because the food that people eat during thanksgiving does not change, but the price total of travel and food for thanksgiving increases. To answer the question in the blog about falling fuel prices and the price of turkey dropping, why is thanksgiving prices increasing? I believe it is because more people travel for thanksgiving than in the past.
Bryan Rivers
the article talks about the economics of thanksgiving dinner as recently the price of thanksgiving dinner has gone up by 37 cents even tho that the price of turkey has gone down and the reasoning behind that is that other ingredients like potato has gone up. they even discuss how gas has become cheaper yet air travel and trains have become more expensive
karthik
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