A WORLD GONE MAD
A Progressive Liberal News Podcast
Veteran Television, and Radio Broadcaster Jeff Alan Wolf offers his Observations on the issues (many issues) of the week with a fearless liberal bent. His solid delivery, and dry common sense approach sets him apart from other liberals that populate Talk and Commentary Podcasts”
Jeff Does NOT Pull Punches.
He does NOT Make comments that are “SAFE”.
He tells the Truth.
(He Tells It As He Sees It)
He Is Very OPINIONATED!
He says the things Out Loud YOU’RE
already thinking.
Jeff is Unfiltered, Unspun, A little Unhinged, but offers a lot of Common Sense.
This Podcast could make you MAD.
This Podcast could make you SMILE.
Regardless, it WILL make you THINK!
A WORLD GONE MAD
Tariffs On, Off, On, Now OFF AGAIN!, Make Up Your Mind Donald, How Does This Affect Groceries And Us?
Tariffs have become the economic battleground of our time, and their impact is about to hit American households where it hurts most—at the grocery store. Trump's policy whiplash—implementing tariffs, escalating them when countries retaliate, then suddenly announcing a 90-day pause—has created an environment of uncertainty that's affecting businesses and consumers alike.
Food industry experts are sounding the alarm: prices are going up.
Most concerning? The burden will fall hardest on lower-income Americans who already spend a larger percentage of their income on essentials.
What makes this situation particularly challenging is that many affected products simply cannot be produced domestically. The United States imports 80% of its seafood and coffee, 59% of its fresh fruit, and 35% of its vegetables. These imports provide year-round access to foods that climate constraints make impossible to grow locally. Now consumers will face higher prices, "shrinkflation" (smaller products at the same price), and fewer options as companies streamline to manage costs.
Beyond reporting the news, I'm offering practical advice: review your budget (yes, again), consider stocking up on essentials without hoarding, and perhaps start a small garden if possible. While we can't control national economic policies, we can control our preparedness. Taking these small steps can provide valuable buffers against supply chain disruptions and price increases during these economically turbulent times.
Share your thoughts about how tariffs are affecting your shopping habits or any preparation strategies you're implementing. Contact me at wolfpacklistener@gmail.com or leave a message at 833-399-9653. Your engagement makes this podcast possible—let's navigate these challenging times together.
AWorldGoneMadPodcast@gmail.com
This is a world gone mad. This is a world gone mad, mad, mad, mad, mad. This is a world gone mad. Welcome to the Resistance. I'm Jeff Allen Wolfe.
Speaker 1:I give my commentary on national and world news and politics. Here we go. So with each episode, I look at the news 24 hours before I do the episode and also the current day when I do my episode of what's happening in the news. This way, I know what to bring to the Wolfpack listeners on this current episode and I want to tell you, the listeners, that for the last 36 hours with the news today it has been a struggle everyone. So let me put what's happening in the world right now for this episode in a nutshell that we can all understand, with no frills, no ribbons wrapped beautifully around the news, no pixie dust.
Speaker 1:It's all about tariffs and tariffs and tariffs. It's the Donald Trump shit show of tariffs and retaliation back to America rightfully so from the countries who are getting hit with these tariffs. Donald, the delusional dictator, hit those countries back with even higher tariffs, and then those countries hit back America with higher tariffs even above Donald Trump's, to match the tariffs Donald hit them with the second time. This is like a Fellini movie. It's a never-ending battle and it's enough to make you and I choke each day on this ridiculous war of tariffs. And wait? Breaking news this morning Trump says he's applying a 90-day pause on all his new tariffs, except for China, of course, which Donald is raising that number to 125%. Trump's advisors claim that this was Trump's plan all along. I call bullshit on that statement. See, just like I said a few episodes back whiplash. Let's make this crap up about tariffs. As we go along, donald's actions show us. In other news, elon Musk is getting pissy, with Peter Navarro so infighting in the Trump administration. Democrats scrambling to figure out what the hell to do to stop the bleeding in our country. Republicans fighting back against these democratic efforts. I want to drink heavily. I want to go on vacation. I want to punch everyone in the groin on the Republican side for creating this environment we are living through now.
Speaker 1:I'm ticked off, pissed off, fed up and ready to scream nonstop for a day, and that's just basically, in a nutshell, how I feel today, and I'm sure a lot of you are feeling the same way. Look, I know from the listeners, with texts, emails and phone calls that I've received, that that's the prevailing mood. That that's the prevailing mood. Listeners also sent me article upon article and video upon video, and podcaster videos and other advocate videos and memes ad nauseum. Stop everyone, please stop. Some of you are spiraling down into a pit of despair. Please stop. Step outside your house, look at the beautiful sky or the flowers in your yard or your neighborhood or whatever makes you smile and take a big, frigging deep breath. That's what I did this morning.
Speaker 1:A lot of us need to get a grip, so this episode is going to be a little different. We need to refocus and for those of you that listen, I have no clue how many people even care at this moment in time. So I'm going to focus on something this episode, and not all the stupid bullshit from Donald with tariffs and the back and forth between Donald and the world. Now, don't get me wrong. These are damaging and dangerous, these tariffs, but let's focus on how tariffs affect us. Hopefully that'll be okay with you. Here's which grocery store items will get more expensive because of those tariffs. I'd like to drill down on this one area of news today about grocery store items. So please pay attention if you care. And this information is just as relevant if Trump decides to go back again in the opposite direction tomorrow and resume his tariffs again. I'm going to go with the premise that Donald will change his mind again about resuming his tariffs. There's a strong possibility here. We know how he operates.
Speaker 1:President Donald Trump, during his announcement last week of sweeping tariffs on countries around the world, called groceries an old-fashioned and beautiful term, but his policies will make America's groceries more expensive. Today, supermarket executives and food industry experts say supermarkets sell imported items in every section of the store, from fresh and packaged foods to household basics. Trump instituted 10% tariffs across all countries last Saturday and slapped higher reciprocal tariffs on 60 countries and trading blocks today, and after that Trump paused those tariffs for 90 days. Businesses in the US shipping goods from overseas will pay for those tariffs if they resume again and they will pass some of the higher costs down to consumers. Shoppers can expect to see prices rise on seafood, coffee, fruit, cheese, nuts, candy bars and other imported foods. According to experts, now, items that contain ingredients and packaging like plastic and aluminum from other countries will also be hit, like plastic and aluminum from other countries will also be hit. Perishable food prices will rise first, followed by shelf-stable goods. Now customers may also see smaller-sized products this is known as shrinkflation and find that certain versions of items have been eliminated as companies try to offset their cost hikes from tariffs.
Speaker 1:Customers can expect grocery prices to increase in the next couple of weeks, said John Ross, the CEO of IGA, a chain of independent grocery stores. Shoppers will start seeing it at scale across the store in the next 90 days. Food prices will rise 2.8% overall from Trump's tariffs and, if he resumes again, definitely including 4% for fresh produce. Yale University's Budget Lab estimates the cost burden will hit lower-income shoppers who spend a greater share of their income on essentials. They're going to get hit the hardest. The scale of the price hikes will also depend on the size of the companies. Now prices at smaller grocers, which have less flexibility to absorb higher costs than giant chains like Walmart and Costco, may rise faster. Big food suppliers such as Campbell and Kraft Heinz also have more flexibility to manage tariffs than smaller producers, but few companies will be spared from the effects of tariffs.
Speaker 1:It appears that the small distributors are reacting a lot more quickly, said Steve Schwartz, the director of sales and marketing at grocery chain Morton Williams. Now small distributors have less supply on hand will raise prices first, while larger companies with more inventory and warehouses can wait longer, schwartz says. For example, one Italian importer that supplies olive oil and balsamic vinegar notified Morton Williams of a 20% price increase next month. Randy Arsenault, the CEO of Affiliated Foods, a wholesaler in Amarillo, texas. The CEO of Affiliated Foods, a wholesaler in Amarillo, texas, servicing around 700 independent grocery stores in eight states, said that most suppliers are still waiting to see what happens next with tariffs. Remember listeners, donald could change his mind at the drop of a hat. So this information is pertinent. Whether you think, oh, tariffs are over, don't kid yourself. That's not the case. With all affiliated food suppliers, several have already notified the company of price increases because of tariffs, including bananas, canned tuna, as well as plastic utensils. Affiliated food sources bananas from Guatemala, where Trump implemented a 10% tariff. Affiliated Foods distributors notified the company that a 10% price increase will go into effect next week. Now this will increase Affiliated Foods' cost by $0.04 per banana case from $1.80 to $1.84, which will be passed on to shoppers.
Speaker 1:The foods Americans eat are part of a complicated global supply chain, with much of the growing impossible to replicate stateside because of climate and crop conditions. Food that can't be grown locally will see the biggest rise in prices. Currently, the US imports approximately 17% of all food and beverages consumed by Americans, but it varies dramatically by category. For example, around 80% of seafood, 80% of coffee, 59% of fresh fruit and 35% of vegetables consumed in the United States are imported. According to the Department of Agriculture, our food system is intricately linked with global markets, including products not grown in the United States like bananas or seasonal items, which helps keep prices down while providing American shoppers year-round access to safe, nutritious food, Leslie Saracen, the president of Food Industry Group FMI, said in a statement last week. But one major factor that could limit price increases is that Mexico and Canada were left off Trump's latest tariff list. Mexico and Canada are two of the biggest agricultural suppliers in the United States, according to the Agricultural Department Department. Now the White House has slapped 25% tariff on those countries, but most food and agricultural products were exempt from tariffs under the existing USMCA free trade agreement between the United States, mexico and Canada.
Speaker 1:Shoppers are pulling back Grocery prices already frustrated customers before tariffs. Trump said he won the 2024 election in large part due to the price of groceries. Grocery prices overall have increased around 23% since 2021, with prices on individual items like coffee and chocolate rising much faster. That's caused shoppers to pull back. Pepsico Campbell JM Schmucker, reported weak sales of their snack brands in recent earnings announcements and tariffs will likely only accelerate the slowdown. Pepsico, the owner of Frito-Lay, said last month that people bought 3% fewer snacks last quarter. Salty and savory snack categories underperformed the broader packaged food industry. Pepsico said, citing the cumulative impacts of inflationary pressures and higher borrowing costs on consumer budgets. Household staples such as dish detergent, paper towels and cosmetics have also seen a slowdown in recent weeks.
Speaker 1:According to market research firm Cercana, now some consumers are moving away from discretionary spending at the grocery store, said Sally Lyons-Wyatt, cercana's chief advisor for the consumer goods and food services industries. More shoppers are taking quicker, smaller trips to the stores, switching to stores cheaper private labor brands. She said these are signs that customers are watching their budgets more carefully. Customers are still showing that willingness to spend, but they're being very choiceful where they're spending. Costco finance chief Gary Milachep said last month, said last month. So I wanted to focus on that one particular news story about how the tariffs, whether they're on or off, could affect us, the consumer, us the citizens in America, and some of my final thoughts on groceries and shopping.
Speaker 1:So if some of you, the Wolfpack listeners, have the means to spend a little bit I know that's not a lot of people, because most of us are caught in a situation of worrying about day-to-day, you know, living and bills and whether it be medical mortgages or food. But if you can go over your budget, look at your budget. I just heard a couple of people through the magic of the internet say Jeff, I've done that already. That's old. Yeah well, jeff's telling you to do it again. I'm telling you to do it again. Trust me, I don't think a lot of you have actually looked deeper. Those who have looked at their budget Bravo, if you have. I think most of you could find even better details if you go over your budget again and find a little extra money.
Speaker 1:I really believe a lot of you, the listeners, can do that. There are things each month that you can do without, and I'm not talking to you. That's right. You right. There is giving me the eyes about me asking you to cut back, and you're saying, jeff, cut back on what I can't to cut back and you're saying, jeff, cut back on what I can't. I know that, whether it be a handful of you or one of two of you who can't trim anything from your budget. I got that. I'm understanding of that. But a good percentage of you the listeners can find a little extra money by eliminating crap that you don't need each month. Okay, try it. We've done it, my friends have done it. You'd be surprised at what you can find and put it to something more useful.
Speaker 1:Another suggestion for you, the Wolfpack listeners and I've said this several times in other episodes and it bears repeating, especially with what Trump's doing on a daily basis Get some food supplies, canned goods, paper items. Yes, I'm saying to stock up. I'm not saying to hoard, I'm saying to stock up. Other countries are telling their citizens to do it. I'm telling you from this podcast, from me, jeff, to stock up. Protect yourself, give yourself a little buffer. Don't be caught short. I'm pleading with you to listen to me. We've been doing that, natasha and I, my girlfriend, for a long time and we're in decent shape because we've done that for a while.
Speaker 1:I'm talking about stocking up For those of you who are just starting. Get a little buffer. Like I said, a week to three weeks worth of food, canned goods, basic foodstables. Put it away. Start with cans of fruits, vegetables, rice, tuna, chicken. These last for a couple of years if you peep them inside, away from the heat. Don't forget the dog and cat food. That's important because if supply lines go down, your furry animals will be left without any food.
Speaker 1:Do this if you have the space and your health is good and if you have a little bit of extra money from going over your budget. Do this If you can't or you don't, obviously this is not for you. If you don't have the wherewithal, start a garden, no matter how small. Natasha and I did this in our backyard a couple of weeks ago. We now have 40 to 50 plants of fruits and vegetables that we're growing. This is not going to feed us for life, but it's a little extra buffer. When things go up in price even higher and things get tighter, look, we have to do what we can for ourselves and our families and stop getting caught up in this daily crap of what's going on. From Donald. I'll offer you another health tip. Hopefully you trust me enough after all this time listening to my podcast.
Speaker 1:Cut back on your social media people. A lot of you are spending hours upon hours on multiple Facebook groups I see you and watching videos and posting memes. Stop. Breathe, smile more, read a book. Some of you are probably pissed off at me for preaching this long in this episode. It's okay, but it's my podcast, my rules. But seriously, my philosophy has always been control what you can control and unfortunately we can't control a lot right now. Don't know if that will change in the near future, if ever, but right now we need to find a little peace and quiet and sanity in our lives.
Speaker 1:Look, like I told you at the beginning, I'm doing this episode a little differently. Hopefully you found this informative. Hopefully you found this important enough to want to share with others. If you have any comments on this or anything that I've talked about today or any time in the last couple of episodes I've said this over and over again and it's falling on deaf ears Say hello, hello, it's Jeff. You can say hello back. Take a minute out of your day to send me a text and an email or a voice message. I'm not asking for a lot, a lot of you. You know, it's true, spend hours on social media, like I said. So please give me the courtesy of spending a minute of your time during the week and saying hello. Give me your thoughts, your comments.
Speaker 1:I do like hearing from people. I do not like doing this podcast just for myself and feel like I'm wasting time. The email is wolfpacklistener at gmailcom. Wolfpacklistener. 833-399-9653, toll-free voicemail box. Leave me a comment on Blue sky. If you're over there, you know I've been doing this for over a year now and I truly sincerely convey to you how much I like your feedback.
Speaker 1:When I hear from people like yourself, who've written and texted me, etc. I like to hear what you, the listener, is going through, to hear your ideas and solutions that I could share with other listeners like yourself. That would help them Contact me. Send me your comments on this. Look, your positive comments will never make me egotistical. Your negative comments will never hurt me. What hurts me the most is apathy, crickets, silence. I adore conversation. Also, please check out my Substackack. You can find it on substack search under jeff allen wolf, the wolf's den. It's not about politics. 99 of it is about different things, different ideas about life, liberty, health, fun, arts, crafts a little bit of everything. Or you can contact me about the Substack link and I'll send that directly to you to make it easier. I'll be back again in two days.
Speaker 1:This is A World Gone Mad. I'm Jeff Allen-Wool and without your comments, your feedback, your engagement, I'm sitting in a room talking to myself. I hate talking to myself. The silence is deafening at times and people can walk into my room and see me doing that and think I've lost my mind and they'll want to commit me. Stay hopeful, can't you see? And we need to stand up and preserve our democracy. This is a world gone mad. This is a world gone mad.
