President Joe Biden might want to rethink the annual Thanksgiving turkey pardon with Americans paying almost $2 a pound for whole birds.
SO WHAT
There are plenty of reasons to be grateful this Thanksgiving, but the high inflation during Biden’s presidency isn’t one of them.
THE FOWL MATH
In keeping with a 59-year-old White House tradition, Biden on Tuesday pardoned the national turkeys, Chocolate, 46 pounds, and Chip, 47 pounds.
The two birds would together cost $168 at the grocery store.
- That’s because the average price for a whole turkey is Thanksgiving-record $1.81 per pound.
- That’s 70% more than two years ago, the last Thanksgiving before Joe Biden took office, according to American Farm Bureau Federation data.
- Back then, Chocolate and Chip were worth less than $100 combined.
LET’S TALK TURKEY
Overall, the cost of a traditional Thanksgiving meal has spiked 37% during Biden’s presidency, including 20% since last year, per the AFBF.
- According to Federal Reserve economists, inflation spiraled out of control in 2021 due in large part to federal COVID-19 spending like the American Rescue Plan, passed by congressional Democrats and signed into law by Biden in March 2021.
- The USDA, echoing White House officials, has blamed Russia’s war in Ukraine and bird flu.