You have good points and I agree with you! But but you only looked at a small portion of the cycle of a loaf of bread. The expenses of the farmer that grows the wheat and other products that go into that loaf, have more than doubled, including fuel, fertilizer, and herbicides to plant, raise and harvest those crops!

Next, transportation of the raw product to processing is nearly double do to high fuel cost, tires, and maintenance of the trucks and trailers.

Next, processing the raw materials into what the bread maker uses has increased. Energy to run the mills, maintenance of equipment (parts cost has more than doubled), cost to transport whatever waste by-products, etc.

Next, we have transportation to the bread maker, again, higher fuel and maintenance cost of the equipment!

The bread makers cost has increased, again, to higher energy cost and maintenance of production equipment, etc!

Then, deliver of the product to the local grocery store, yes, some areas are blessed that this occurs locally and the product is fresher, but many do not have that luxury and the cost on proportionate!

No, the grocery store - higher cost to have the product brought in, energy to run the lights, etc.

Then, the end user - you, me, and every other consumer! It cost a bunch more for use to get in whatever vehicle and make that trip to go to the grocery store to buy that one loaf of bread that started as a seed in a farmers field way back up the line!

Apply this cycle of thought to every single item we as consumers on a daily basis, and the increase is not just pennies as you have stated! It is many, many dollars more! The process of the economy is not simple at all!

Oh, and the wasteful attitude of the majority of the American is either equal too or a close second to the high cost of fuel.

Have a great day, off to the road we go!

 

I'd say the erosion of the dollar has a lot more to do with the increased price of flour then oil prices. Oil prices have been high for a few years now, yet flour has tripled in 2 years in some places. There's also an apparent flour shortage.

http://kingscorecord.canadaeast.com/news/article/243319

Her suppliers indicate it could go to $30 per bag by April a 300 per cent increase in price since last summer, when it was under $10 a bag.

There's no way you can tell me that's because of fuel. There's just no way.

 

One good thing- The Farmers that grow crops are making ou quite well with these higher commodity prices, the investment bankers who shuffle paper are getting the screws put to them. There's some poetic justic in that.

 

Here is something we do not realize also alot of the fertilizers and pesticides andherbicides are OIL based and in the last 2 years they have Doubled in price also and REV these prices are direct from 10 farmers who buy them by the 1000 gallon lots EACH.

 

You guys are behind us in the economic cycle. If you get hit with the same issues, it won't happen at the same time. Where I live, we started experiencing the housing downturn two years ago. The issues that we started seeing then are just now cropping up in out neighboring state to the north. Plus, your economy is much more levered to commodities than the U.S. That will provide support or as long as the commodities complex stays strong.

As for different attitudes, you could be right. Although I was up in the Okanogan Valley last summer and the housing market there looked awfully familiar. Vancouver is the same way. As for your local market...well, they do say real estate is local. Time will tell.

 

I can tell you Ontario is not doing so great, but Alberta and actually all of western Canada is doing fantastic. Manitoba is said will grow 3.5% in 2008. Our housing prices has always been low, so a crash really cannot happen. Might happen in Vancouver, or Toronto. You can still get a decent 1000 sq ft home for 150k here.

 

I know Vancouver's the highest market in Canada. When I was up in Kelowna, their housing prices were similar to the high prices on the West Coast here :shock: Man, I love that area though. When the crash comes I'm buying a vineyard :lol:

 

the average American drives 12,000 miles a year (based on the insurance standard) if the average car gets 19 miles to the gallon at an average of 3 dollars a gallon you are looking at $36 dollars a week just in gas. now I can assure you most people spend more than that a week in gas. the other thing you have to look at is the fact that a lot of other things are effected by the rise in crude oil. all petroleum based products are affected.

 

But here's the thing:

Oil is an international commodity. If there was a "cap" on oil, as soon as the international price went above that "cap" price, we'd have ZERO oil.

 

The farmers are doing no better today than they were ten years ago! They do not get a FSC, so the higher commodity prices, and just keeping things close to even, in some cases not!

Now, if you want too look at the decline of the American dollar, where most try to blame government, they need to look in the mirror at the cause! Wasteful attitudes of Americans - well, the whole industrialized world is following suit now! And the Keeping Up with the Jones' Syndrome - having to have everything bigger and better than the next guy, and pushing those credit cards to the max! Ooops! What do you mean it is maxed out, and oh, you want a payment! Oops!

Oh well! Maybe someday we will learn!