Transcript: Barbara & Richard Picard, residents of North Merrick

Transcript:

BARBARA & RICHARD PICARD,
RESIDENTS OF NORTH MERRICK

Amanda J. Rhodes, NassauNews.org: Have you noticed the increasing prices at the grocery store?

Richard Picard: (referring to wife) That's why you should talk to her. Yes, yes.

NassauNews.org: What have you, and have you noticed anything particular? Has it changed your shopping strategies at all?

(muffled voice in the background of Barbara Picard)

NassauNews.org: (laughing) Get on over here! Get on over here. Can you say that again?

Barbara Picard: Yea. We stopped buying produce here. We found a cheaper place for that.

NassauNew.org: Okay, so you've changed your shopping strategies.

BP: Yea.

NassauNews.org: Tell me what you think about the increasing prices. What do you think is the cause?

RP: I think part of it goes back to the increasing cost of gasoline and petroleum products, it's just raising everything.

NassauNews.org: What do you think you should be done about it? Do you think there should be any government intervention?

RP: I really don't know, because I'm a believer in free markets. I really don't know.

NassauNews.org: What have you done other than go somewhere else? Do you cut more coupons, or what are your strategies?

BP: I think that's about it.

NassauNews.org: So just price shop.

BP: Yea.

RP: Well we've always used coupons.

Transcript: Hofstra University Professor of Economics Martin Melkonian

Transcript:

MARTIN MELKONIAN,

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR AT HOFSTRA UNIVERSITY

Amanda J. Rhodes, NassauNews.org: Can you state your name and your position for me?

00:00:03

Martin Melkonia, Adjunct Associate Professor of Economics, Hofstra University: Martin Mekonian, Adjunct Associate Professor of Economics

00:00:07

NassauNews.org: Okay, and can you explain to me a little bit why we’re noticing all the price increases at the grocery stores?

00:00:15

MM: Well we’re suffering a general rise in inflation and one of the aspects of inflation are food prices. And food prices in turn are being affected by the particularly sharp rise in energy costs. See, food is transported from lots of different areas and with gasoline and other fuels rising in price that’s raising prices to the truckers and so on, and they passing on these rising costs to the consumer. That’s one reason. The second reason, I think, relates to also energy. The fact that congress has decided to subsidize ethanol, and that in turn is meant farmers are switching from grain crops, that are provided for food, to producing fuel. And the result is, that switch has meant, that there is less a supply of grains, which in turn is resulting in higher prices in grains. So, people who are growing these grains are now getting much higher prices and that’s being reflected in the final cost of almost everything that’s made with grain, ranging from bread to meat.

00:01:37

NassauNews.org: What are our options? Is anything in site, I mean, are prices going to go down ever? What does the future hold?

00:01:47

MM: Let’s put it this way, prices haven’t gone down in any systematic way since the 1930’s. They’ve either gone up a little bit or gone up a lot. We’re in a position now where they’re beginning to go up a lot more than normal. So, we’re facing inflation. As again, the reason I think, has to do with both higher energy costs, but also certain other costs that continue to push up prices, like medical costs, cost of education, food costs. All of those are pushing prices upward. And there’s one other factor that’s important, and that is the rising cost of imports, which are related to the weakening of the US dollar on the international scene. So, all of these combined suggest to us that food prices and prices in general will go up. In my mind there are ways of reducing this and one way would be to begin to focus in on finding substitutes for oil and perhaps the most efficient substitute for oil is efficiency. By that, I mean finding more efficiency ways to run our vehicles and run our appliances.

00:03:05

Transcript: GM Associated in Long Beach Omar Rodriguez

Transcript:

OMAR RODRIGUEZ,

GENERAL MANAGER of ASSOCIATED LONG BEACH

Amanda J. Rhodes NassauNews.org Staff Writer: Have the increases had an impact on your store?

00:00:06

Omar Rodriguez, General Manager of Associate Long Beach: Being that it’s so broad, because of the, you know, you have different areas and departments inside a super market. You really can’t say which one is effecting the store, but as a whole it has. It has.

NassauNews.org: Okay, have you heard anything from your consumers?

00:00:23

OR: Not much. You know, only if they’re picking up particular items. Like anything pertaining to wheat which has gone out the roof lately. I’m sure you’ve probably heard bagels going up to a dollar fifty. In the dairy section, the milk price is going up. In the meat department, certain chickens and beef going up. So, it’s definitely all over.

NassauNews.org: Has the store changed any of its ordering policies because of the pricing?

00:00:50

OR: Not much. But, you know, we haven’t really felt the full impact on it yet.

NassauNews.org: Do you expect to feel it more in the future?

00:00:55

OR: Oh yea. It’s going to get worse before it gets better.

NassauNews.org: As a consumer, have you changed any of your shopping habits or noticed any differences in your own consumerism.

00:01:04

OR: I haven’t yet. Not much. I don’t really shop that much though.