SAN ANTONIO – With every scan at the grocery store or click at the pump, everyone’s wallets are hurting from the continued increased inflation.
“I went to Walmart, $56 only for toilet paper, fast food, and that’s it,” Alyne Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez said she is also feeling it at the pump. She said she fills up once a week at almost $50 and budgets based on what she has left for food and other day-to-day items.
Tuesday’s Bureau of Labor Statistics report shows the Consumer Price Index has gone up even higher at an 8.5% increase, the highest since December 1981.
“It’s a big increase, largest in 40 years,” said Dr. David Macpherson, an economics professor at Trinity University. “It’s across the board. Food and energy are the ones that have gone up the most. But even excluding those, it’s gone up 6.5%.”
Juan Molina, the owner of Molina’s Country Store, said business owners have no choice but to keep up with rising costs and raise prices on certain products or fall behind.
“I would like to pay my employees more, Molina said. “The dollar buys less, and everything is more expensive. Everything is going up.”
How long will the rising prices continue? Macpherson said it wouldn’t end by this summer.
“It’s like steering a supertanker, you know, the economy,” he said. “It’s going to take time for the boat to change directions. So no, it will definitely take longer than a couple of months.”
There is a bit of good news for consumers, according to AAA. The nationwide average for a gallon of regular gasoline has gone down.
In San Antonio, the average is $3.59. It was $3.98 last month.
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