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Thanksgiving inflation myth: Why 2025 holiday dinner costs have dropped · Cultural Wars | America Out Loud News

0:11
You are listening to the Hidden Lightness on America Out Loud Talk Radio.
0:15
I'm your host, Jimmy Hinton.
0:17
As Thanksgiving comes very near, actually, uh tomorrow.
0:22
We're looking at some articles that are just doom and gloom, and it's the most expensive Thanksgiving on record.
0:31
And I quoted an article on Monday that said the exact same thing.
0:35
It was a New York Post article.
0:37
And now there's an NPR article that says Americans could see a big sticker shop for Thanksgiving turkeys this year.
0:45
All right, folks, welcome.
0:47
And what is the truth?
0:51
This is one of the things that we got to be really careful about.
0:54
And this is why people are losing faith in our media.
0:59
Because these articles to get to this conclusion are actually really deceptive.
1:04
And if you remember, President Trump was touting Walmart and their low prices, and they came up with this Thanksgiving basket that's very affordable for families.
1:16
Well, right out of the bat, people were uh they were grumbling and saying that that's not true, and prices are higher than ever before.
1:26
And the question is, where is the truth?
1:31
Because I'll be honest, President Trump brags about a lot of things that just aren't true.
1:39
Uh he the the numbers just aren't there.
1:42
For example, the tariffs.
1:44
He says that we have all this revenue coming in that it's just that we don't even know what to do with all of this money.
1:50
And they're gonna do the $2,000 dividend check.
1:55
Well, that has been math checked, and uh people I respect and I follow people who are a whole lot smarter than I am.
2:06
They've been talking about this, and they they crunched the numbers, and they're like, it's there's no way.
2:12
We've only brought in something like 185 billion dollars in tariff so far, and just to do the $2,000 check to the taxpayers who he proposed it to, which is not all taxpaying Americans, it's just people within a certain tax bracket.
2:32
That comes to a total price tag of 300 billion dollars.
2:37
So we don't even have enough money right now to pay out these dividend checks, let alone have an abundance, like President Trump is talking about.
2:47
You know, he's uh he's like, oh, we have so much money, it's just unbelievable.
2:51
We're gonna give a dividend check to people.
2:54
It's just not true.
2:57
It absolutely 100% false.
3:01
So now the the question is where's the truth when it comes to what we're paying for Thanksgiving meals?
3:10
And the reason I bring this up is not because I think that we can or cannot afford Thanksgiving this year.
3:16
And I'll show plenty of evidence that shows that people they're gonna do Thanksgiving no matter what.
3:24
Doesn't really matter the cost, and and that's fine.
3:26
You know, it's once a year, it's an annual tradition, and I know we put in our budget things that are kind of one time things, big events, um, certain sports for the kids, you know, it's like a one-time thing, and we'll drop money on that, not think twice about it.
3:45
So, you know, Americans are going to do what Americans are going to do, but my question is where's the truth?
3:54
And what's actually happening with prices?
3:57
Now you have to keep in mind inflation is made up of all kinds of different things.
4:01
There's a whole bunch of different factors that go into rating what overall inflation is.
4:08
And right now, energy costs are very high.
4:12
Whether Trump admits that or not, which he does not, he's talking about these record, record low gas prices.
4:19
Well, I don't know about elsewhere in in America, but I can tell you here in Pennsylvania, we're not paying uh we're not paying record low prices on anything related to fuel.
4:31
Our fuel is absolutely insanely expensive.
4:38
Um President Trump first took office, I'd say we're right within just a couple pennies of exactly where it was at the beginning of his term.
4:50
So, no, we have not seen this break in energy costs.
4:54
Our utilities have gone up in Pennsylvania, and I'm sure that's nationwide.
5:00
They keep climbing up and up and up.
5:03
We're paying more now than we were at the beginning of President Trump's term.
5:07
I go back, I look at my bills, I have looked at what we're paying per kilowatt hour, and yes, our energy has increased.
5:18
So, you know, uh that there are lies coming from all over the place.
5:23
And the question is where does the truth lie when it comes to Thanksgiving?
5:30
And how are Americans spending?
5:33
What are they spending it on?
5:35
Are they traveling?
5:36
Are people uh still visiting friends?
5:40
Because that's kind of an indication of how our economy's going right now.
5:45
And as you might know, Verizon just this week laid off, I forget how many, something like 15,000 people or 12,000 people.
5:54
I mean, really big number.
5:55
And it's sad, it's really tragic for those individuals who lost their jobs.
6:02
These are jobs where people provide for their family, and it's you know, uh it's it's always sad when people lose their jobs.
6:11
And I know I talk about there being other jobs out there, but most Americans don't budget emergency funds.
6:24
Most Americans don't have the recommended three to six months of emergency funding set aside.
6:33
And uh why that is, I I don't know, except that most people have paycheck to paycheck.
6:42
They they're not very disciplined when it comes to budgeting.
6:46
Um, but that's not a judgment.
6:48
That's that's a statement, and that's just kind of where Americans are.
6:51
So yeah, it's sad.
6:53
It's uh it's tragic when people lose their jobs, but some people are gonna point to that and show how the economy is just crumbling all around us.
7:02
But is that actually what's going on?
7:06
And what are the spending habits of Americans?
7:10
And by the way, um Jerome Powell is probably not going to do another rate cut in December.
7:19
And right now the Fed is very divided over whether to do another rate cut or not.
7:25
So they just you know the the markets are kind of they're kind of factoring in that there's not gonna be a rate cut.
7:33
The US dollar has been getting gaining strength in anticipation for the December meeting, and they're just kind of anticipating there not being another rate hike.
7:45
Uh or sorry, rate cut.
7:49
And so the Fed starts to cut rates whenever they think inflation is is under control.
7:55
They ease up on the rates, which opens up uh the market for for housing and lending to businesses, all those things.
8:04
Like it gets the economy going.
8:07
And if you keep inflation high for too long, that can stagnate the economy.
8:14
So the Fed uh is always walking a tightrope.
8:18
And their timing is uh it really matters.
8:22
And of course, President Trump is is very livid with Jerome Powell.
8:27
He's been trashing him this week, saying all kinds, you know, doing his typical trash talk.
8:33
And uh, you know, they're they're in a tough position.
8:37
I I would not want to be the chair for the Federal Reserve.
8:42
I think it's just uh that's a super tough position.
8:46
But at any rate, the way that Americans travel and spend and what we're spending money on and those sorts of things, it it can be an indicator of how the economy's going.
9:00
And yes, inflation is still over 3%.
9:05
Uh the target, I don't know, the targets, I don't even remember what Jerome Powell said, uh, what their exact target is, but it's but but we've overshot it.
9:16
You know, it's inflation's still just a little bit high.
9:20
And a lot of people think that if inflation comes down, that means prices are are just gonna drop back to what they were before.
9:30
That won't happen.
9:33
You know, we we we can't we have to understand when there's inflation, the prices are always going up.
9:42
And every single year, the dollar loses value.
9:46
So, in other words, if you put money in an envelope, that thing that that money, every single dollar is losing value every single year.
9:55
So the worst possible thing that you can do is to talk.
10:00
A pile of uh dollar bills under a mattress to put cash under a mattress.
10:06
It's the worst possible thing you can do.
10:08
Your money is losing value.
10:10
Same with checking accounts.
10:13
You know, we we in our family keep our checking accounts intentionally very low.
10:19
We put our money elsewhere because when you're putting money in a checking account, you're just allowing the bank to borrow that money, and they invest it and they're making money off of it, off of your money, and your money is losing value in the meantime.
10:36
So we put our money in investments.
10:40
You know, where it's at least gaining a little bit of interest.
10:44
And depending on what we what we need it for, you know, we we just diversify and put it in different accounts.
10:51
So uh the point is that inflation is not gonna pull prices back down to to quote unquote normal where they were before.
11:05
And the Trump administration speaks as if we're gonna bring prices back down to pre-COVID prices.
11:14
It's not gonna happen.
11:16
It's just not going to happen that way.
11:20
So, yeah, prices are rising, and that's normal.
11:25
It's normal for prices to go up.
11:27
That's called inflation.
11:29
They have to adjust the prices of goods based on what inflation is doing, and vice versa.
11:36
Inflation also uh determines it sets prices.
11:41
So what is the truth?
11:44
Let me read some of the some of these articles, or at least portions of the articles.
11:47
So here's one from NPR says Americans could see a big sticker shock for Thanksgiving turkeys this year.
11:54
This was just published on November 17.
11:58
Americans will likely face higher prices on items for their Thanksgiving dinners this year.
12:04
Turkey, typically the centerpiece of the Thanksgiving meal, will be one of the biggest sticker shocks for consumers.
12:12
Wholesale prices for a turkey have jumped 40% from a year ago, according to the Department of Agriculture.
12:23
Outbreaks of avian influenza, bird or bird flu, and increased demand have contributed to these higher prices.
12:31
Those opting for beef instead of turkey should also prepare to pay more.
12:37
Beef prices are nearly 15% higher than they were last year, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
12:46
All right, so I I have a good friend and church member who's a beef farmer.
12:52
And he was talking about beef prices this year and how people are absolutely losing their minds over the high beef prices.
13:00
And he's like, but beef farmers have struggled for many, many years because the price of beef has stayed ridiculously low.
13:08
It has not kept up with inflation.
13:11
And so beef farmers were just barely making it.
13:14
In fact, a lot of them went bankrupt because the beef prices were they were kept very low.
13:21
So this year, beef prices were actually pretty decent for beef farmers, which means we're seeing an increase in beef in the grocery store.
13:29
But he said if you go back to I forget what what year he said, uh, you know, either late 70s or early 80s, something like that.
13:39
He said every other thing has jumped by something like over four, four, six hundred percent, something like that.
13:48
He said beef has only jumped like a fraction of that compared to everything else.
13:56
Beef has stayed ridiculously low over all those years.
14:00
It has not kept up with inflation.
14:04
And so what that means is we're paying a fraction of what we should be paying for beef prices, and that's hurting the farmers.
14:15
So you know, people look at these kinds of things and they don't understand how inflation works, and then they get mad whenever they see the prices of things going up.
14:25
And then, of course, they blame one president or the other as if they have the power to completely control inflation.
14:33
And part of that belief is because presidents say that they have the power to control inflation.
14:39
So when things are going good, they're like, see, it's my policies.
14:43
We're the best and smartest ever.
14:46
And then when things are bad, what do they say?
14:48
Oh, that previous president, I'm still cleaning up his mess.
14:53
I mean, it's so predictable.
14:56
So, anyway, this article says that according to the Department of Agriculture, turkey prices have jumped 40% since last year.
15:08
All right, and again, I quoted this article on Monday, the New York Post article, rising costs make this year's Thanksgiving the priciest in history.
15:21
I mean, it just sounds like doom and gloom, right?
15:24
Well, let's look at what the Department of Agriculture says.
15:30
You ready for this?
15:33
Are are turkey prices really 40% higher?
15:38
Here we go.
15:38
Let me read this article.
15:41
Cooking a Thanksgiving dinner for your friends and family will cost less than last year.
15:48
Well, wait a second.
15:51
Huh.
15:52
Marking the third straight year of price declines.
15:57
The American Farm Bureau Federation's 40th Annual Thanksgiving dinner survey provides a snapshot of the average cost of Thanksgiving staples that make up a classic holiday feast for 10, which is $55.18 cents or about five dollars and fifty-two cents per person.
16:14
Not bad.
16:15
If you're getting a $5 meal, Thanksgiving dinner with all the fixings, it's not bad, huh?
16:24
This is a 5% decrease from 2024.
16:29
Three years of declines don't fully erase dramatic increases that led to a record high cost of 6405 in 2022.
16:38
See what I mean?
16:39
Like we're never gonna go back to like an original price.
16:44
Even when prices are going down, we're not gonna go back to an original price.
16:50
At least not for very long.
16:51
All right, we're coming up on a break here.
16:53
We're gonna break this apart more after the break here, but I just found this to be fascinating.
16:58
Um, be sure over the break that you check out the America Out Loud store where you'll find incredible deals, and visit America Outloud.news and help us share the out loud truth.
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Well, only when the government vows to the people will America become great again.
19:05
Join me in pushing back against censorship.
19:10
Right at the top of America outlawed.
19:14
Many voices.
19:22
Now is our time.
19:48
Things are good.
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Thumbs up for Americans.
19:50
This is good for your wallet.
19:52
And the criticism is a big fat pushback.
19:56
No, prices are the highest that they've ever been.
20:00
I just read part of an NPR article that said uh Americans could see a big sticker shock for Thanksgiving turkeys this year.
20:09
They say that wholesale prices for turkey have jumped 40% from a year ago.
20:14
Now you hear that, and you're like, oh my goodness.
20:16
And that they say is according to the Department of Agriculture.
20:21
So, yeah, massive price increase.
20:25
Uh what's going on here?
20:29
This is an article from the Farm Bureau.
20:33
Now, earlier I made a mistake.
20:35
I said that it was Department of Agriculture.
20:38
It's not, it's Farm Bureau, FB.org, and they put a news release out November 19th, and it said cost of Thanksgiving dinner declined.
20:51
So they put a survey out, they found out that there's a 5% decrease from 2024.
20:59
And that it says three years of declines don't fully erase dramatic increases that led to a record high cost of $64.5 cents in 2022.
21:10
And how about Turkey?
21:13
Because, right?
21:14
That's what the NPR article says Turkey is up 40% over last year's cost.
21:21
We're paying 40% more.
21:23
Well, is that true?
21:25
Where do they get that data from?
21:28
So the Farm Bureau says the centerpiece on most Thanksgiving tables, the turkey dramatically decreased in price.
21:38
Dramatically decreased in price, which helped bring down the overall cost of dinner.
21:44
The average price for a 16-pound frozen turkey is $21.50.
21:50
That is $1.34 per pound, down more than 16% from last year.
21:58
Well, wait a second.
22:00
Why is it that the MPR article says there's a 40% increase in wholesale price of turkeys?
22:11
But the Farm Bureau says there's an average price of a 16-pound turkey, frozen turkey, that's down 16% from last year.
22:21
Well, which is it?
22:24
Well, the very next sentence, while the wholesale price for fresh turkey is up from 2024, grocery stores are featuring Thanksgiving deals and attempting to draw consumer demand back to Turkey, leading lower retail prices for a holiday bird.
22:43
So the NPR article, I think very deceptively, makes it look, it makes it appear as though we're paying wholesale prices.
22:53
We're not.
22:54
We're the consumer.
23:02
In fact, down 16%.
23:07
So Farm Bureau volunteer shoppers checked prices the first week of November.
23:13
Grocery stores often feature whole turkeys at even lower prices in the days leading up to Thanksgiving.
23:20
So not only is it 16% on average cheaper than last year for a turkey, a frozen turkey, but you can find even more deals the closer you get to Thanksgiving.
23:32
Why?
23:33
Because, well, they're trying to do an inventory dump.
23:37
So in other words, if you're like me, a procrastinator, and you wait until the last minute, you can get even better deals.
23:45
So there's all this panic and all this anger, and people on Facebook are posting, and people on Instagram are posting, and people are just so angry, and it's just it's the worst, and and prices are the highest that they've ever been.
23:59
And we repeat that narrative as if it's fact.
24:05
And just because things feel like they're higher doesn't mean they actually are.
24:09
That's why, you know, when I talk about our electricity, I actually look at our bill.
24:15
And it is.
24:38
Prices are up 40% for a turkey, 40% higher than last year.
24:42
And people are posting this kind of stuff on social media.
24:46
I've seen people post an articles like this, and they're just livid.
24:51
That it's so unaffordable that Thanksgiving, you know, thanks for ruining our Thanksgiving.
24:57
We can't even afford to have Thanksgiving dinner with our family because Orange Man ruined it.
25:04
Well, the reality is that according to the Farm Bureau, prices, especially for turkey are down 16% from last year.
25:16
Stores, retail stores are doing these packages.
25:20
That's what Trump was talking about with Walmart.
25:24
Walmart's doing a package deal where you can get a box of there's a turkey, there's a frozen turkey that's a specified size, uh, stuffing.
25:33
Um I don't know what all they throw in there.
25:38
I didn't really look because I just I don't buy food for Thanksgiving.
25:43
I just show up.
25:45
Very fortunate, very blessed.
25:48
And um, yeah, so I don't buy the food, so I don't know.
25:55
But it's fascinating to me.
25:58
There's that narrative that Thanksgiving is just absolutely unaffordable, that prices have skyrocketed, we're paying 40% more.
26:09
And folks, it's just not true.
26:15
It turns out prices are 16% lower on average just for a turkey over last year.
26:23
It turns out that you can get a whole box full of food, and retailers are marketing these boxes, and they're trying to absorb some of the cost.
26:34
Uh tariffs have come off of certain items to help make Thanksgiving cheaper, affordable.
26:43
So uh AFBF Economist Faith Parum, PHD, says it's encouraging to see some relief in the price of turkeys, as it is typically the most expensive part of the meal.
26:57
Farmers are still working to rebuild turkey flocks that were devastated by avium influenza, but the overall demand has also fallen.
27:07
The combination will help ensure turkey will remain an affordable option for families celebrating Thanksgiving.
27:15
Wait, she used the E-word.
27:17
It's encouraging, it's encouraging to see relief in the price of turkeys.
27:24
Well, that's not what we're being told.
27:26
This the media, they're talking about how it's absolutely unaffordable.
27:30
Don't even think about going out and getting a getting a turkey because you just won't be able to afford it.
27:36
You got to be one of those one percent to actually be able to afford a turkey for Thanksgiving.
27:43
So it's just not true.
27:47
All right, well, what about the White House?
27:49
I'm going to look at the White House's website.
27:55
Because sometimes I read things on that, and it's I just I get a nosebleed.
27:59
I cringe because I'm like, oh my goodness, like the inflation of the numbers is absolutely astounding.
28:07
So I wanted to go there and I just wanted to see what is the White House saying about Thanksgiving.
28:12
Well, here we go.
28:15
Get ready for this.
28:17
Hold on to your hats.
28:20
President Donald J.
28:22
Trump promised to crush inflation and lower prices, and he's delivering this Thanksgiving with a classic, it's like Santa Claus, right?
28:31
It's like they're painting him as the Santa Claus.
28:34
With the classic holiday feast, about 3% cheaper than last year, according to a brand new report.
28:43
Americans are seeing across the board price declines for the holiday staples with dinner rolls down 22%, frozen vegetables down 15%, and items like turkeys, stuffing, gravy mix, fresh cranberries, and pumpkin pies all costing less.
29:03
It's proof that under the under President Trump's leadership, America is winning the war on high prices, even as Democrats grind the country to a halt with their deranged, reckless government shutdown.
29:19
So you listen to this and you're like, man, this is like a campaign speech here.
29:24
This is it's it's an advertisement.
29:28
It's like, look at how amazing we are, and how terrible the Democrats are.
29:33
We're the best, they're the worst.
29:36
So I'm reading this, and I'm like, okay, it's kind of slimy.
29:40
It's clearly written by a politician.
29:44
You can tell.
29:45
You can tell by the language.
29:48
But is it true?
29:50
And that's the question.
29:52
And I'm gonna, I'm just gonna kind of tuck that under my hat for now.
29:56
I'm gonna read a couple of the bullet points here, and then we'll get back to.
30:00
To fact checking.
30:03
It says meanwhile, retailers are offering their cheapest Thanksgiving meals in years.
30:10
And then it lists all the different retailers.
30:12
Walmart's Thanksgiving meal costs 25% less than last year, with its lowest turkey price since 2019.
30:23
The meal feeds 10 people, which works out to just under $4 per person.
30:31
Letles Thanksgiving meal.
30:33
I'd never heard of Letles, by the way.
30:36
Letles is a grocery store.
30:38
I guess they do a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables.
30:43
Letles Thanksgiving meal costs $10 less than last year.
30:48
The meal feeds 10 people, which works out to just $3.60 per person.
30:54
That's cheaper than Walmart.
30:57
They're feeding 10 people for $3.60 a person.
31:02
Again, think about what people spend at fast food.
31:05
Think about what people spend on a cup of coffee.
31:09
A Starbucks cup of coffee is what, like six, seven bucks.
31:16
You get a whole full meal for $3.60.
31:21
Aldi's Thanksgiving meal costs $7 less than last year.
31:27
It's lowest price since 2019.
31:29
The meal feeds 10 people, which works out to $4 per person.
31:34
Target's Thanksgiving meal is at its lowest price ever.
31:45
How do you define that?
31:46
Anyway, uh sounds like marketing to me.
31:50
Target's Thanksgiving meal is at its lowest price ever.
31:53
The meal feeds four people, which works out to less than five dollars per person.
32:00
Schnux is selling frozen turkeys at the lowest price in over 15 years.
32:06
The retailer is one of the largest privately held supermarket chains in the nation.
32:13
All right.
32:29
They put a link to every single claim that they put here, and the links go to each of the each of the department's uh websites.
32:41
So Walmart.
32:43
Walmart's Thanksgiving meal, 25% less.
32:45
I clicked on it.
32:46
It brings you to Walmart.com.
32:50
They have the deal.
32:52
It's right there.
32:53
It's literally right there.
32:57
Ladles Thanksgiving meal, $10 less than last year.
33:02
$3.60 per person.
33:04
That by the way, that's the cheapest out of all the retailers.
33:07
Letles is the cheapest.
33:09
So I might start shopping at Letles.
33:11
I have no idea where to find a Letles, but I may be going there.
33:17
They're the cheapest.
33:19
Right there it is.
33:20
There's a link.
33:22
Links right to Lidl's website.
33:25
Aldi's Thanksgiving meals, $7 less than last year.
33:28
Right there's the link.
33:29
Brings it right to Aldi.
33:32
Target, same thing.
33:34
Right there's the link.
33:36
Schnux.
33:37
Lowest price in over 15 years.
33:39
There, I'll click on the link.
33:42
Here it is.
33:44
Schnux announces lowest frozen turkey prices in over 15 years.
33:50
Right here it is.
33:54
St.
33:54
Louis, Missouri, Schnock Markets will have its lowest price on frozen Thanksgiving turkeys in over 15 years.
33:59
On Wednesday, the market announced that the turkeys would be on sale and limited to one turkey with an additional 25 purchase.
34:09
To see the exact pricing for your area, click here.
34:14
There it is.
34:17
Who knew?
34:19
Who knew that the government can tell the truth?
34:23
They can do it.
34:24
I'm going to cheer them on.
34:26
You can do it.
34:29
So that's pretty cool.
34:31
It's actually kind of neat that you can shop for Thanksgiving on the White House's website.
34:41
Like they literally have links where you can go and you can bargain shop and you can price compare.
34:48
I think that's actually impressive.
34:52
I don't think I've ever seen a government website that actually works, let alone has external links, and they all work.
35:00
And it brings you right to the deals.
35:04
So we can either make excuses and talk about how bad it is and share these articles that talk about it's the highest cost in history and turkey prices are up 40%.
35:14
We can either do that and share, and I think that's part of why Trump gets so frustrated.
35:20
And I'm not defending him here, but he really does get frustrated with fake news because it is frustrating.
35:29
It's frustrating when there are really good deals out there.
35:33
People can buy very, very affordable Thanksgiving meals.
35:39
And what's the media do?
35:41
Instead of announcing that, they post articles like this.
35:47
Rising costs make this year's Thanksgiving the priciest in history.
36:00
That's just not true.
36:02
Well, how do they get to that number?
36:05
Well, that was a survey that went out to 2,000 U.S.
36:08
adults.
36:09
And listen to this.
36:11
Results found that those pulled will spend on average $175 on food alone.
36:17
That's not a turkey.
36:19
That's that's literally not a Thanksgiving meal.
36:23
What the heck are they buying?
36:26
What in the world are they buying?
36:29
It doesn't say.
36:38
Interesting.
36:41
Interesting.
36:43
Listen to this.
36:45
The survey goes on.
36:46
On average, Americans pulled will spend $83 on decor.
36:55
The highest prices ever.
36:57
Maybe they just surveyed people that just don't have a lot of sense.
37:03
You're spending $110 on drinks and almost $100 on decor.
37:11
That's crazy.
37:13
Crazy town.
37:14
Anyway, we're coming up on a break.
37:16
Uh we'll talk more about this after the break, but all of our shows do go to podcasts the next day after the broadcasts heard on talk radio.
37:24
You can find them on your favorite podcast app.
37:26
Make sure to subscribe, rate the show, share it, and again, visit AmericaOutloud.news, visit the store, and use the code out loud.
37:36
When we come back, we'll talk more about the affordable Thanksgiving that's being labeled as unaffordable.
37:45
We'll be right back.
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39:32
While people are talking about by people, I mean the media.
39:36
Mainstream media, they're talking about the most unaffordable Thanksgiving ever.
39:40
It's the most expensive ever.
39:41
It's it's the worst.
39:43
Inflation is absolutely skyrocketed.
39:45
Uh, people are basically gonna have to just lock their wallets down because they're not going to be able to afford Thanksgiving.
39:52
You know, they paint this doom and gloom picture, and we find out that the reality is it's actually the most affordable Thanksgiving.
40:00
That's been around in a very long time.
40:01
And I actually had to fact check because I gotta be honest.
40:05
When I heard President Trump talking about, well, not talking, bragging about how he personally drove prices down.
40:13
You know, it's it's his genius, and it's his, you know, his plan, his idea.
40:19
I'm like, yeah, he's he's full of it.
40:22
But then I went on the whitehouse.gov website, and again, it's very braggadocious, and uh then I look and they provide links.
40:36
There are actual links to everything.
40:38
And I was like, oh, well, let me let me actually look.
40:41
Let me fact check.
40:42
Let me let me see where these links bring me.
40:45
Sure enough, Walmart.com.
40:48
It's exactly how they stated on the White House.gov website.
40:54
And I was just reading from this New York Post article, which is very, very misleading.
41:01
Very misleading.
41:03
It's a terrible article.
41:07
Um offense, but this is not very good journalism.
41:13
Um it says rising costs make this year's Thanksgiving the priciest in history, according to a survey.
41:23
Well, how big of a survey was this?
41:26
They only surveyed 2,000 people.
41:28
That's not a very big survey.
41:31
2,000 people.
41:34
And that's supposed to be representative of the entire nation.
41:39
And then you find out, okay, well, what are they spending money on?
41:42
Well, here's the breakdown.
41:44
175 on food, 110 on drinks, 83 on decor, 291.
41:54
Listen, I can't make this stuff up.
41:57
Another 291 on miscellaneous items, such as, you're ready for this.
42:08
I am not making this up.
42:11
I am reading this verbatim.
42:13
On average, Americans pulled will spend $83 on decor for the holiday and another $291 on miscellaneous items, such as fixing a broken appliance or purchasing a new outfit.
42:37
And this article is how prices are up.
42:42
This Thanksgiving's the most expensive ever.
42:44
It's hurting Americans.
42:46
On average, they're spending a thousand dollars for Thanksgiving.
42:52
I'm sorry, broken appliances and lingerie are not that that's not Thanksgiving.
43:04
I threw in the lingerie part.
43:06
It's it's on new clothing, a new outfit.
43:10
But you may as well throw in lingerie, right?
43:13
I mean, this is ridiculous.
43:15
It's so misleading.
43:19
And though one third of respondents aren't planning to spend anything on travel for the holiday, those who are plan to spend on average 293 dollars, bringing the Thanksgiving spend total to $952.
43:36
And with the average person hosting eight different people, each plate will total an average of $21.88.
43:46
That's you're you're coming up with that number based on people buying clothes and fixing appliances.
43:54
It's so misleading.
43:57
And then it goes on.
43:58
I mean, it does it doesn't stop there.
44:00
I'll link to it in the show notes, but it doesn't stop there.
44:05
It just goes on and on and on.
44:19
It's crazy.
44:22
Um it's funny reading the comments here, because people are calling them out on it, which is good.
44:31
So he said, that's odd.
44:32
Just a week or two ago, Walmart CEO was proudly saying the price of Thanksgiving turkey or Thanksgiving dinner was at pre-COVID prices.
44:41
So which is it?
44:45
Somebody um somebody else says the article says nothing about priciest in history.
44:52
But the title does.
44:53
That was their point.
44:55
You know, the title says it's the priciest in history, but the article never says anything like that.
45:02
So what were last year's and last four years numbers use an identical methodology surveying people before Thanksgiving?
45:11
You know, so uh like just reading the articles, people are smarter than we give them credit for, and I think that's why people are losing trust in the media.
45:22
You know, they're they're really losing faith in the media because they're so stinking dishonest.
45:30
The NPR article is no different.
45:34
You know, talking about the the wholesale prices for a turkey have jumped 40% from a year ago.
45:42
All right.
45:43
Who who pays wholesale prices?
45:46
We don't.
45:48
What about the retail prices?
45:51
What are the retail prices?
45:52
What are we paying?
45:53
Oh, it turns out we're paying a lot less over last year.
45:58
There's been a three-year decline in the price of Thanksgiving meals.
46:04
So then I look at this.
46:06
I see another thing, and I'm like, okay, well, what else is an indicator of of how people feel about Thanksgiving?
46:14
You know, because the articles want you to think that every everybody's hunkered down in their house, they have the doors locked, they have the blinds shut because they're so embarrassed, they can't invite anybody over because they just can't afford it, and they're so ashamed, and life is just really tough for them, and and you know, life is absolutely unaffordable.
46:33
They're spending a thousand dollars on Thanksgiving for crying out loud.
46:40
Well, right here, hot off the press.
46:44
And you see these articles every single year.
46:48
Record Thanksgiving travel expected for planes, trains, and automobiles across tri-state area.
46:57
Well, wait a second.
46:58
I thought I thought Thanksgiving was unaffordable.
47:04
I thought people couldn't afford to put food on their table at Thanksgiving.
47:10
Record Thanksgiving travel expected for planes, trains, and automobiles across tri-state area.
47:20
This is written in New York.
47:24
ABC 7 New York.
47:28
Record travel is expected over the next week and a half as travelers descend on airports nationwide.
47:36
The holiday travel rush gets underway Friday, and nearly 82 million people are expected to travel over the Thanksgiving week.
47:46
Many people are opting to fly this Thanksgiving.
47:50
Airlines for America says um US Airlines will carry an all-time high of 31 million passengers from now until December 1st.
48:07
In the history, they're reaching an all-time high of number of passengers during this same time period.
48:18
People are so strapped just nationwide.
48:21
It's everybody's hurting, nobody can go anywhere, nobody can feed their families for Thanksgiving.
48:27
The turkeys are the highest that they've been in in history.
48:37
That's just not true.
48:40
People are still traveling.
48:41
People are not only are they still traveling, they're breaking records traveling.
48:46
And this is coming directly from the airlines.
48:52
This actually is an honest news story here.
48:57
The Sunday after Thanksgiving, November 30 will be the busiest day to fly, according to Hopper.
49:03
The cheapest day to leave for your your Thanksgiving trip or Thanksgiving Day or three days earlier on Monday, November 24, Expedia said.
49:15
Cheapest day is to fly home, Black Friday, or travel uh Tuesday, travel Tuesday, Tuesday, December 2nd.
49:25
New Jersey Transit is adding additional service for the Thanksgiving weekend for the rush of travelers.
49:34
On and on it goes.
49:39
Wednesday, November 26th, the L I R, Long Island Railroad, will run on a regular weekday schedule.
49:48
Alcohol will not be allowed on trains or stations from 8 p.m.
49:52
Wednesday through noon Thursday.
49:56
Thursday, November 27, it'll run on a weekend schedule.
50:00
Extra trains will run to and from Manhattan on the Babylon, Port Jefferson, and Roncomama, however you say that branches before and after the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade.
50:16
Metro North, on and on.
50:18
Road travel, a record.
50:20
73 million people are expected to travel by car for Thanksgiving, up by 1.3 million people from last year.
50:30
Huh.
50:32
Interesting, isn't it?
50:36
I mean, that's why I say all the time be careful about the doom and gloom.
50:40
We hear so much doom and gloom.
50:43
And what they do is they focus on one small number, and then they paint this picture like that's representative of the entire nation.
50:52
It is not.
50:55
We need to be very careful about how we read the news, where we get our news sources from.
51:07
He would give a zero on our research papers if we didn't give original sources.
51:15
He's like, don't be lazy.
51:18
Don't quote somebody who's quoting somebody else.
51:22
You always cite the original source, or I will give you a zero on your research paper.
51:27
He's like, do it one time and you'll get a zero.
51:31
And so that always made me kind of uh paranoid to begin with, but it makes you responsible.
51:39
It makes you realize that oh, he's not playing around.
51:45
Like the sources of of the material actually matters.
51:49
And that's actually what I like about the White House is they linked to the original sources.
51:53
It's not just because a lot of times you can't tell.
51:55
Like you hear politicians talk, and they they just talk, they literally talk out of both sides of their mouth.
52:01
And uh, you know, they they don't back it up.
52:04
Look at what Jasmine Crockett did.
52:06
My re my research team, my team, they instantly went out and found all these ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
52:14
Well, yeah, Dr.
52:16
Jeffrey Epstein.
52:20
He's not Jeffrey Epstein, not the pedophile.
52:26
And she's doubling down on it.
52:29
She's doubling down on that claim because she thinks the American people are stupid.
52:34
It doesn't matter what the truth is.
52:37
She wants that public perception that Republicans are in bed with Jeffrey Epstein.
52:45
You know, that's why I said with the the Epstein report, let the facts speak for themselves.
52:52
We don't need dumb politicians like Jasmine Crockett out there spreading all kinds of lies and rumors, ruining people's reputations who who never talked to the man a day in their life.
53:07
They had no affiliation with him whatsoever.
53:10
So yeah, be careful about our news sources.
53:12
And I I would say that, you know, as far as our economy, there are definitely slowdowns within the economy.
53:20
We can't get around that.
53:22
I mean, it's like the layoffs and uh Verizon just laying off whatever 12,000 people, whatever it was.
53:32
Uh, that's a big deal, you know, and that's definitely a sign of a slowdown in certain sectors, but that doesn't mean the entire economy is shutting down.
53:41
But they're gonna paint that story.
53:43
You watch, that's that's gonna be the narrative.
53:45
Right before Thanksgiving, Trump fires, you know, or Trump's economy.
53:51
That's how it's going to be painted.
53:54
All these people, all these poor people laid off right before Thanksgiving.
53:58
Well, then they're gonna make that representative of the entire economy, and it's not.
54:04
Are there certain sectors that are doing bad?
54:07
Yeah.
54:09
There always are.
54:11
There are always certain sectors that are some do better, some do worse.
54:17
There's an ebb and a flow, there are always fluctuations, but we can't make that representative of the entire nation.
54:25
And right now, the patterns show that because of the record travel and and uh, you know, people spending, people are still spending tons and tons and tons of money.
54:37
And that's part of why the Fed is probably not gonna drop rates.
54:44
You know, the economy's not slowing down to a point, at least it's not evidenced in the way people are spending.
54:51
The economy hasn't slowed enough that warrants another uh drop in the in the interest rates.
54:59
So we'll see, we'll hang on there, but uh yeah, be encouraged.
55:03
It's uh enjoy your Thanksgiving.
55:06
I'm so grateful.
55:07
I'm grateful for this nation.
55:09
I'm grateful that uh that prices are coming down, prices are affordable.
55:13
Uh we're taking our Thanksgiving break, and uh we're not looking back.
55:16
We're gonna prop up our feet and enjoy family.
55:21
Enjoy your family, enjoy your friends.
55:24
Hang out with them.
55:26
Turn off the TV, forget about politics, forget about all the stuff that the media is talking about that's doom and gloom for for a few days, and just enjoy your family and uh block out all that noise.
55:40
Be the hidden lightness, and I would even say take your family out and bless somebody.
55:46
Do something for somebody over Thanksgiving and make their day.
55:52
Um, the reward for that is just so great.
55:57
We need more people to just forget about the media and go out and bless people.
56:04
I love Thanksgiving.
56:05
I love what it represents.
56:06
I love what it stands for.
56:08
Uh I just love everything about uh being able to give thanks to our God and to give thanks for our great nation, to give thanks for um our pilgrims and uh all the people who've gone before us who have made this the greatest nation on earth.
56:30
It's absolutely a blessing to live here.
56:34
The freedoms that we have, um, the ability to worship God.
56:39
It's just incredible.
56:41
We are very, very truly genuinely 100% blessed.
56:45
In spite of the flaws within this nation, we are blessed.
56:50
Have a blessed Thanksgiving and uh enjoy your family this week, and we'll catch you on the next show.
56:58
You can find more out about my show and get all the latest podcasts if you go to the menu navigation bar at America Outloud.news under our show's worst schedule.
57:06
There is a hidden lightness that shines inside of all of us.
57:10
When there's so much darkness that envelops the world, remember that it doesn't take much light to expose that darkness and to ultimately inspire other people.
57:18
Join me in being a light.