High prices to hold sway over midterms

The hits keep on coming — for both American consumers and Democrats hoping for victory in the midterm elections. ¶ As the nation gears up for Memorial Day, the celebratory cookout will lose some flavor as families face rising beef prices.

As Bloomberg reported, National Beef Co., controlled by the Brazilian giant Marfrig Global Foods, said shoppers can expect pricier steaks and burgers in the coming months.

“Cattle prices will go up, and beef prices will go up with them,” Tim Klein, who heads Marfrig’s U.S. operations, said during an earnings interview

The average price for ground beef in American grocery stores has jumped 18% from a year ago, according to government data.

It’s not just beef prices that are spiking.

“We have somewhere in the double digits of gasoline, and other fuel price increases. The conflict going on in Ukraine, which is contributing to higher wheat, higher flour and higher downstream prices. We have an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza, and that specifically affects the prices of poultry, meat and eggs,” USDA economist Matthew MacLachlan told the trade magazine National Hog Farmer.

Summer menus will feel the heat of inflation, and after that back-to-school costs will weigh on Americans’ wallets. Prices will be top of mind for a good long while.

To hear Democrats, however, abortion is the issue to spotlight as midterms loom.

According to NBC, soon after a Supreme Court draft decision on rescinding Roe v. Wade was leaked, attacks on Republican candidates were launched, as well as pleas for donations. Social media is abuzz with ads defending abortion rights, and the Democratic National Committee launched a text messaging campaign to move people to the streets.

It’s true that many are outraged at the reversal of Roe v. Wade and the prospect of states deciding whether to legalize abortion.

But many are not. And as Democrats learned in the 2020 election, there are some 72 million voters with conservative views who don’t march to the beat of progressive drums.

If abortion rights are to be the linchpin of Democratic messaging leading up to November, it’s not the slam-dunk they’re hoping for.

Even among those who are pro-choice, there are divisions according to the timing of abortions. A 2021 Gallup poll found that 41% of those questioned favor a ban on abortion after the 18th week of pregnancy (56% oppose, 3% had no opinion), and 38% favor a ban on abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected (58% oppose, 4% had no opinion).

And as Democrats ramp up the charge to reinstate abortion rights, American voters will bear the up-close-andpersonal burdens of trying to stretch a paycheck to buy groceries.

When Sen. Elizabeth Warren appeared on CNN’s State of the Union last month, she was gung ho about easing the sticker shock across the country.

“Families are paying more at the pump, they’re paying more when they go to the grocery store, they’re paying more when they try to buy a hamburger,” Warren said. “So it’s the responsibility of Congress, of the president, to get out there and make the changes we need to make to bring down those prices for families”

Short of blaming corporations for price gouging, Congress and President Biden have yet to bring home the bacon to help Americans.

Abortion or inflation — which will matter more in November?