Tuesday, February 10, 2015

COTW: The High Cost of Eating Right

Look at this chart. What's wrong with it?

credit: Economix
Fresh vegetables and fruit, the stuff that is good for you, has gotten steadily more expensive since 1978 based on Bureau of Labor statistics. The stuff that is bad for you, such as sodas, butter and beer have remained fairly steady. Fruit has increased 46%. Vegetables are 41% more expensive. An 18 year old today is 15lbs heavier than an 18 year old in 1978. A 60 year old adult is 20-25lbs heavier. Go figure.

Here some more good news: Between 2007 and 2013 median wealth in this country has dropped 40%. That means wealth distribution is tremendously skewed. Sixty percent of households own in total about as much as the country's 94 richest individuals. What do they do with their surplus funds? A lot of it goes to buying politicans; just ask the Koch Brothers. They have pledged $900 million to support 2016 political campaigns for right-wing politicians. Plutocrats spend $777,600 per person annually to buy the loyalty of a government that was supposed to be "for the people" View this video to understand just how bad things are.