The Price of Eggs in Norfolk

Someone recently asked if I am stressed. Considering I refer to my situation as a stressful one that is a fair question, one which needs clarification. Though most people would consider the situation of a long term caregiver for a loved one stressful, I have not felt stressed in a long time. I am mindful of this now as some folks are confessing to be stressed over the price of eggs.

The last time I experienced unhealthy chronic stress was when the combination of mortgage and maturing home equity payments almost equaled our total fixed income. That was an unsustainable problem that would have ended up with losing the house and my ability to care for Cindy. Some folks reading this may remember my grasping at straws to remedy the problem. Fortunately, the bank manager lived two houses up the street at the time and persuaded the bank board to make an exception to their rules for refinancing a home.

From the time of the refinance up until the pandemic our total monthly debts and income were about equal. Friends and family also came to the rescue over the years with donations, providing an occasional cushion and opportunities to give local eateries some business. Then came the pandemic.

The pandemic benefited us financially. Global inflation rose dramatically during the post pandemic due to a variety of factors that included supply chains, lagging work force and even war in Ukraine. Our country provided helpful stimulus checks while still keeping inflation well below the global average, partly because we stimulated resumed production of the work force better than any other advanced country. In addition to that, Social Security is indexed to the inflation rate, which meant our monthly income went up significantly during the post pandemic years.

During the post pandemic we even had enough of a cushion to engage in some much needed home improvement projects. However, our situation differs from the next household. The lower the household income and the less that income keeps up with inflation, the combined consequence of people who earn minimum wage, the more that something like the price of eggs matters. We receive well under the median household income, but people receiving the minimum national wage earns less than us, even with two people working full time.

You read that right. Two people working full time at the national minimum wage receives less than half the median household income. Another way to look at this: four people in a household would need to work 40 hours a week at the national minimum wage to approach the median household income for this country. While people with our household income or greater should have the means to avoid unhealthy stress from the price of eggs, I am not insensitive to the plight of the lowest wage earners in our country.

Political pandering and news media increase the stress felt by the price of eggs even for those who have the means to mitigate that. People who watched one type of news media was more stressed by the price of eggs during this past election year; people who watch another type of news media may be more stressed this year. Inflation turns out to be a reliable issue for stress-inducing pandering, since our investment economy ultimately depends on growth and a small amount of continuing inflation for everything except minimum wages.

You read that right as well. In a shareholder driven economy a modest level of inflation is viewed as a necessary corollary to investment growth, though shareholders are not wage earners and the “inflation” of minimum wages is considered counterproductive. Since modest macro inflation is a desired goal for a corporate economy, the micro inflation of goods such as eggs almost always exists as a political issue. Much of the same demographic that views macro inflation as necessary finances the stressful pandering over micro inflation.

The more that politicians or news media can stress their base, the more they gain their support. The why and how of this is something my ten year Unenlightened Wisdom Project focuses on, though I realize my modest platform does not compete with these national panderers. For now allow me to make two observations which may make a difference in stress for you as a caregiver, or just a household striving to get by.

Alleviating stress requires the ability to act on what matters most. Costs such as housing, health care and education far exceeds the price of eggs. Global factors do not inflate these costs as much as a shareholder driven economy, a reason why panderers focus on getting us angry over the price of eggs instead. The electorate has a little more ability to act in regards to shareholder inflation, though the way our system works makes this difficult as well.

Community helps us to act against a stacked deck, like the bank manager who lives two houses up the street, or the friends, family and neighbors that help in a variety of ways. Maybe you are not in the situation we were once in, maybe you are not a caregiver for a loved one, but in well functioning communities everyone assumes a caregiver role to some extent. Being a neighborly caregiver provides a double benefit, since the biochemicals released by “helper’s high” enhances brain health. Resist the stressful messaging by national panderers and tune in to your most important needs and those of your local community.

What is the price of eggs in Norfolk? I do not know. I look at my overall grocery bill each week and reflect on whether or not the cost remains within our means. Thanks to the inflation of our “fixed income” and the help of others we are fine and relatively stress free, immune to the pandering on the national stage. I hope you find the way to be relatively stress free as well, for the sake of your brain health and the well being of those around you.

For those feeling stressed about the amount of snow we are getting lately, here is a photo of our house from 2011.