Pinch of rising prices, outlook on inflation differs among area shoppers
Jaclyn Thomas of Southwest Greensburg and Tim Taylor of Sharpsburg are feeling the economic pressure of rising costs in different ways.
“Being on a low income, it’s very hard,” said Thomas, 46, who is a food stamp recipient. “There’s a lot of things I had to cut out.”
Taylor, 41, said that with rising costs, he’s concerned he’s not able to put as much money as he’d like into his retirement savings.
“The goal is to retire as early as possible, so I’m trying to spend as little as I can,” he said while shopping Wednesday at the Walmart in the Village at Pittsburgh Mills in Frazer.
Thomas’ and Taylor’s concerns were among the mixed opinions area shoppers shared about the economy and the cost of living in the wake of President Donald Trump’s remarks Tuesday night that inflation is no longer a problem and that Democrats had used the term “affordability” as a “hoax” to hurt his reputation.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for urban consumers in September were up by 3% from the same time the previous year.
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday reduced its key interest rate by a quarter-point for the third time in a row — to about 3.6%, the lowest it has been in nearly three years. Lower rates from the Fed can bring down borrowing costs for mortgages, auto loans and credit cards over time, though market forces can also affect those rates.
December’s meeting could usher in a more contentious period for the Fed. Officials are split between those who support reducing rates to bolster hiring and those who’d prefer to keep rates unchanged because inflation remains above the central bank’s 2% target.
Unless inflation shows clear signs of coming fully under control, or unemployment worsens, those divisions likely will remain.
Trump attributed his 2024 victory over Joe Biden partly to his pledge to bring down the cost of staple household items. But, according to a Politico poll conducted in November by Public First, half of the 2,098 U.S. adults surveyed said they find it difficult to pay for food and 55% blame the Trump administration for the high prices.
Taylor said rising costs haven’t affected his standard of living, but he added that he is not one to splurge and buys only what he needs.
Thomas had to weigh her choices carefully while shopping for groceries Wednesday at the Shop ’n Save supermarket on Greensburg’s North Main Street.
She said she focuses on items that are cheaper and that she can stretch out across as many meals as possible, including noodles and family-size boxes of cereal.
“You try to eat healthy, and you can’t,” she said. “I end up getting the boxed stuff, which is not good for you.”
Thomas said she’s hoping things will get better for her.
“When the government shut down and programs were shut down, that was very hard,” she said. “We’ll see if it gets better. It’s too early to tell.”
‘The reality is prices are higher’
Shop ’n Save customer Mark Latshaw, 63, of Salem said he’s “still doing OK” by working two jobs. A truck driver for four decades, he also delivers home heating oil.
As for the president’s statement about inflation, Latshaw said, “I’m thinking it probably isn’t going as good as he says it is.”
He added, “Trucking is kind of slow. Back when things were good, you could pick and choose what loads you wanted (to haul).”
Maryann Dick, 69, of Greensburg, who also visited the Shop ’n Save , disagreed strongly with the president’s take on inflation.
“It’s just not reality,” she said. “The reality is prices are higher. A lot of people are struggling.
“I’m comfortably retired, but I feel bad for people who have big families.”
Still, Dick said she visits several local grocery stores and makes use of loyalty programs to find the best deals on select items. She’ll also choose a store-brand product over the name-brand equivalent to save money.
She said she also shops around to get the best rates from electricity and natural gas suppliers but has not been able to avoid rising costs for public water.
“We’re using the same amount of water, but the bills are going up,” she said.
Mike Douglas, 73, said his shopping trips to the Frazer Walmart have been unaffected by rising prices. He said he’s been able to offset those increases with falling gas prices.
“I buy what I need and mostly what I really want,” he said. “Extravagant items, I’ve never bought.”
The biggest blow to his budget is the jump in electricity prices.
“I don’t know why electricity is going up like it is,” he said.
Blame Trump? ‘Come on’
Vern Flack, 70, a retiree from Greensburg, said he has two pension accounts to fall back on but he still practices frugality. With rising prices, he has shifted much of his grocery shopping to Aldi in search of better deals.
“I watch my money,” he said, opting to cook his meals at home instead of dining out.
“As far as the economy, it could be better,” Flack said. He said he enjoys traveling but may have to forgo any trips for now.
He drives a high-mileage car and is concerned about the prices if he has to shop for a replacement.
“I keep it maintained,” he said, “but if I did have to get another vehicle, I’d probably get the cheapest one I could get my hands on.”
Flack, who voted for Trump, doesn’t agree with those who fault the president for rising prices.
“They’re blaming everything on Trump,” Flack said. “Come on.”
Shop ’n Save customer Susan Shaw also agreed that Trump shouldn’t bear the blame for inflation.
Shaw, 70, of Plumcreek Township in Armstrong County, was in Greensburg to pick up groceries for her mother-in-law.
“Things are more expensive, and they’re getting more expensive all the time,” Shaw said, adding: “They’ve been that way. When Biden was president, they were terrible, too.
“They’re working on it. They’re getting better, but they’re not where they need to be.”
Shaw said food prices are her primary concern.
She said she may not keep her pantry as fully stocked as before. And, she said she’s cut back on sweet treats, “but I don’t need them anyway, so that’s OK.”
At a Giant Eagle store across town, Joyce Lloyd was filling her cart. Lloyd, 83, lives with her daughter, son-in-law and two grandchildren in Unity and usually lets other family members shop for groceries.
She’s resigned to higher prices when she goes to the supermarket.
“I can’t say they’re coming down, but I never expected them to,” she said. “Prices go up, and they stay up.”
She cited rising stocks and falling gas prices as bright spots in the economy.
“I personally think Trump is doing a good job,” Lloyd said, adding that inflation “didn’t start with him. It started with Joe Biden.
“Now I think it’s kind of stabilized, but people are blaming (Trump) because it hasn’t come down. But it will never come down. Just so it doesn’t keep going up.”
Jeff Himler and Haley Daugherty are TribLive staff writers. Jeff can be reached at jhimler@triblive.com, Haley at hdaugherty@triblive.com. The Associated Press contributed.
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