The Taste of an Economic Downturn

[Viscore]

I'm sorry to hear about how the current situation and exploding inflation is effecting you and your family.  I think the truth is, however, that it's effecting people a lot more than they realize or are currently willing to realize.  Most of my clients understand the impact inflation is having on their bottom line, but really only so in the very short term, and they simply aren't making changes that are necessary to not effect their long-term.  What I mean is most are willing to spend more than they should be, and it will effect them hard in the long term, in my opinion anyhow. 

I would say that in every changes, the effects will also be visible. But when it comes to increasing prices of these basic commodities, no matter what we do, we cannot avoid it but rather adopt it instead. And maybe saving some extra money could also help, and not buying those that are not of high essentials. It’s okay to spend, but make sure to spend it wisely.

[mvdheuvel1983]

I wonder, especially in other countries, how drastic is the change in your daily life that's brought about by this economic downturn?

It takes guts to survive these times. So many people are suffering and struggling. The stress and strain it causes in family relationships shouldn't be overlooked.
Someone who was recently affected by the downsizing in his company has turned to alcohol to ease the pain as he has to deal with a nagging partner each day supplies in the home depletes with little or no hope to restock. He has taken to doing odd jobs just to make ends meet. Yet the jobs are nor regular. I hope this ends soon. 

[Gyfts]

I think regardless of the issue of onions and incompetent local politicians, the price of consumer goods has gone too high beyond reach.

The '08 global economic meltdown was self inflicted and really was fault of financial giants gaming the housing market until it came crashing down. Inflation wasn't as high back then as it is now so entering a period of stagflation with most currencies inflating beyond wage growth just means the upcoming recession will probably be more painful.

Why most economists predict a recession: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/recession-coming-2023-economist-predict-nabe/

Recession is one thing. Recession with food shortages is deeply concerning.

[Bttzed03]

There are various reasons cited. Again, there's the decision not to import. Another is hoarding and price manipulation. There's also the fact that it's holiday season, although the price has already been rising for months. As a matter of fact, just 6 months ago, a kilo is only around $2. But of all the reasons cited, none is convincing enough.

This of course shouldn't be the reason but it would be for sure the cure!

To officially insist not to import even if the sufficiency level right at the source itself is 0% is absurd. That's an insensitive decision. Well, the rich leaders up there can't feel the shortage because they can have much of it regardless of the price.

Of course, importation would have to be balanced. Importing onions, which are much cheaper, could significantly affect local onion farmers. But at this time when even local producers have zero supply? When the price per kilo more than doubles the price of pork, beef, and whatever meat? This is simply ridiculous!

If memory serves me right, limiting importation during (or right before) harvest seasons to help out local farmers is one of the campaign platforms of the incumbent President.

There are some stores (Gov't Project) in the Metro called KADIWA that sells red and white onions for ~$3. Those came directly from the farmers and that's why they're cheaper. That's still a short-term solution and one politician (Pres. sister) claims that the farming system and the distribution methods needed to change. She's probably right about the farming system but I don't know about the distribution. From what I know, the farm-to-market roads have greatly improved the past few years.

[My ThuiHa]

I haven't felt it yet. But food prices are rising fast. If possible, I really want to have a piece of land where I can grow some vegetables for myself. Seems like the price of anything keeps going up right now. There is nothing we can do. Our purchasing power is gradually declining. Someone is working three jobs a day to make ends meet, and I'm thankful I still have some savings.

[AicecreaME]

I wonder how ordinary people around the world felt the worsening economic situation in their respective countries. I know that although many are very much aware of the soaring inflation, nothing has changed much in their day to day lives. I can observe that in some families. They seem oblivious of how the prices of basic goods and services are rising in double digits.

From my household, however, we can literally taste the economic downturn. It feels odd and sad that we have to sacrifice taste in order to somehow cushion the impact of the economic problems my country is facing. Onion here is already hitting $12.57 a kilo. Depending on the size, that's about $0.63 apiece. Cooking an ordinary dish for a small family requires a bulb or two. During this holiday season especially, we normally need tens of onions. That's not affordable anymore. So we had to greatly reduce the use of onions and try not to care about how the dish would turn out. On ordinary days, onions are even removed from the ingredients.

I had to share this here because it feels like the economic situation has already affected the most basic need of everybody. It seems insignificant because it's only a spice, but I thought that if the economic situation is already affecting everybody's taste buds, it could mean things are getting pretty serious.

I wonder, especially in other countries, how drastic is the change in your daily life that's brought about by this economic downturn?

Government can fight inflation if they want, however the Government in where we live doesn't really care about its citizens suffering from inflation, all they care is how to make more wealth from their citizens by creating laws and projects that are not even related to solve the current problem, (no offense if you're an apologist), just stating facts.

May God helps us all. 5 years until the election will happen again, so I hope we learned something and not keep on being close minded.

[OsipBabin]

I wonder how ordinary people around the world felt the worsening economic situation in their respective countries. I know that although many are very much aware of the soaring inflation, nothing has changed much in their day to day lives. I can observe that in some families. They seem oblivious of how the prices of basic goods and services are rising in double digits.

From my household, however, we can literally taste the economic downturn. It feels odd and sad that we have to sacrifice taste in order to somehow cushion the impact of the economic problems my country is facing. Onion here is already hitting $12.57 a kilo. Depending on the size, that's about $0.63 apiece. Cooking an ordinary dish for a small family requires a bulb or two. During this holiday season especially, we normally need tens of onions. That's not affordable anymore. So we had to greatly reduce the use of onions and try not to care about how the dish would turn out. On ordinary days, onions are even removed from the ingredients.

I had to share this here because it feels like the economic situation has already affected the most basic need of everybody. It seems insignificant because it's only a spice, but I thought that if the economic situation is already affecting everybody's taste buds, it could mean things are getting pretty serious.

I wonder, especially in other countries, how drastic is the change in your daily life that's brought about by this economic downturn?

My area has experienced too much in the past two years, and I spent a lot of time avoiding viruses. To be honest, we dare not talk about the economic situation that is too big, because we are not economic experts after all. Personally speaking, the past few years have been really difficult. I have fewer and fewer business customers, and product sales have encountered difficulties that I have not encountered for many years. Many foreign customers have gradually disappeared. I have to say, I hope there will be a good change in 2023.

[MarjorieZimmermanGinger]

I wonder how ordinary people around the world felt the worsening economic situation in their respective countries. I know that although many are very much aware of the soaring inflation, nothing has changed much in their day to day lives. I can observe that in some families. They seem oblivious of how the prices of basic goods and services are rising in double digits.

Almost all countries have experienced an increase in the price of goods as a result of inflation or recession, even the worst is in the sector of basic food needs and almost everyone is aware of this, because when they shop on the money market they no longer have enough value to spend.

In fact, this was quite felt when Covid-19 hit, but until now the world economy has not fully recovered after the outbreak has slowly disappeared.

From my household, however, we can literally taste the economic downturn. It feels odd and sad that we have to sacrifice taste in order to somehow cushion the impact of the economic problems my country is facing. Onion here is already hitting $12.57 a kilo. Depending on the size, that's about $0.63 apiece. Cooking an ordinary dish for a small family requires a bulb or two. During this holiday season especially, we normally need tens of onions. That's not affordable anymore. So we had to greatly reduce the use of onions and try not to care about how the dish would turn out. On ordinary days, onions are even removed from the ingredients.

If everyone can take advantage of a small piece of land in the yard of the house, then these needs can be met independently, everyone must have a piece of land that can be used for growing vegetables and other needs related to kitchen needs. Even in some countries people do not need such a large area of land to simply grow vegetables for their family's needs.

Unfortunately, today's people are too dependent on the government system in providing solutions to these problems, even though we can solve them independently in a simple way.

I had to share this here because it feels like the economic situation has already affected the most basic need of everybody. It seems insignificant because it's only a spice, but I thought that if the economic situation is already affecting everybody's taste buds, it could mean things are getting pretty serious.

To solve economic problems, each individual must play a small role in solving his family's problems, really hoping that the government will never provide a full solution. Small things can be started from meeting the needs of food that is grown independently and by utilizing the empty land in the yard of the house.

In my opinion, this is more optimal for a solution, compared to waiting for the government to solve it, moreover they think about many things, so they will never be optimal for the solution we want.

[fuguebtc]

I wonder how ordinary people around the world felt the worsening economic situation in their respective countries. I know that although many are very much aware of the soaring inflation, nothing has changed much in their day to day lives. I can observe that in some families. They seem oblivious of how the prices of basic goods and services are rising in double digits.

From my household, however, we can literally taste the economic downturn. It feels odd and sad that we have to sacrifice taste in order to somehow cushion the impact of the economic problems my country is facing. Onion here is already hitting $12.57 a kilo. Depending on the size, that's about $0.63 apiece. Cooking an ordinary dish for a small family requires a bulb or two. During this holiday season especially, we normally need tens of onions. That's not affordable anymore. So we had to greatly reduce the use of onions and try not to care about how the dish would turn out. On ordinary days, onions are even removed from the ingredients.

I had to share this here because it feels like the economic situation has already affected the most basic need of everybody. It seems insignificant because it's only a spice, but I thought that if the economic situation is already affecting everybody's taste buds, it could mean things are getting pretty serious.

I wonder, especially in other countries, how drastic is the change in your daily life that's brought about by this economic downturn?

Government can fight inflation if they want, however the Government in where we live doesn't really care about its citizens suffering from inflation, all they care is how to make more wealth from their citizens by creating laws and projects that are not even related to solve the current problem, (no offense if you're an apologist), just stating facts.

May God helps us all. 5 years until the election will happen again, so I hope we learned something and not keep on being close minded.

Yes, governments are greedy because they are human like us, but not all governments do anything to stop inflation. You should know that a developed, rich and strong country is a country where people have a stable and full life, if people have difficulties, that country will soon default and collapse.

The current crisis or inflation is caused by the pandemic and the effects of the war in Russia and Ukraine, all of which are in the same situation, so the government cannot be blamed. And fix it takes time, you can't ask them to fix it quickly.

[xSkylarx]

I wonder, especially in other countries, how drastic is the change in your daily life that's brought about by this economic downturn?

It takes guts to survive these times. So many people are suffering and struggling. The stress and strain it causes in family relationships shouldn't be overlooked.
Someone who was recently affected by the downsizing in his company has turned to alcohol to ease the pain as he has to deal with a nagging partner each day supplies in the home depletes with little or no hope to restock. He has taken to doing odd jobs just to make ends meet. Yet the jobs are nor regular. I hope this ends soon. 

But drinking alcoholic things is not the solution. Yes, yes most of us do this drinking when we are in pain or loss. I also do this when I lose my job due to a pandemic. My mind was very negative at that time, and I was drinking a lot, but I just realized that it was useless. I need to find a job that is better than my previous work. That is the time when new doors open to me, and yes, it is better than my previous work. I know it hurts, but we need to stand up and look for other opportunities, as there are many out there just waiting for us.

[Silberman]

It takes guts to survive these times. So many people are suffering and struggling. The stress and strain it causes in family relationships shouldn't be overlooked.
Someone who was recently affected by the downsizing in his company has turned to alcohol to ease the pain as he has to deal with a nagging partner each day supplies in the home depletes with little or no hope to restock. He has taken to doing odd jobs just to make ends meet. Yet the jobs are nor regular. I hope this ends soon. 

But drinking alcoholic things is not the solution. Yes, yes most of us do this drinking when we are in pain or loss. I also do this when I lose my job due to a pandemic. My mind was very negative at that time, and I was drinking a lot, but I just realized that it was useless. I need to find a job that is better than my previous work. That is the time when new doors open to me, and yes, it is better than my previous work. I know it hurts, but we need to stand up and look for other opportunities, as there are many out there just waiting for us.

And not only that alcoholic drinks are very expensive, and while it could be understood that sometimes people need to let go of their negative feelings in some way or another, it is a mistake to use alcohol for this as it will only make your problems much worse, the truth is that even if you have the best intentions and the majority is willing to work hard to get through the crisis, there are not enough jobs or the pay is nowhere near to sustain yourself and your family, so it is easy to see why some people are getting desperate as there does not seem to be a solution to their problems.

[xSkylarx]

You are from Philippines? The price of onions is unreasonable, and they take advantage of the holiday season. Though some experts believe it is due to a lack of supply and rising demand, others believe it is due to a large number of storage facilities hoarding it, which is causing a lack of supplies. However, as the farmer stated, the price is rising because it is not onion season and also because of the recent typhoon that hit them, but not to $55 per kilo. Retailers and suppliers are really controlling the price, as the farmer only increases a small amount.

[m2017]

Inflation has always existed and we have always had to watch it. Prices are constantly rising. For some products faster and more, for some less and less noticeable, but the trend has always been. What is happening now doesn't surprise me, because this is not the first time and, of course, it doesn't please me. What can be done about it? Angry and grumbling? This is not a solution. If we can't influence these processes, then we need to come to terms and accept what is happening, and then adapt and start looking for options on how to compensate for this price increase difference by increasing our budget. You will need to look for alternative sources of income. Of course, you can cut your costs and this is a reasonable decision, but the question is how much and for how long you can do it. Therefore, I believe that it is necessary to focus on obtaining additional income in order to more easily endure the economic downturn.

[Jawhead999]

This is why plant your own food is really important, you can grow a small garden if you don't have vast lands. Every year the food price always increase and you're being forced to buy it because if you not buy it, you can't survive which mean there's no other choice. Bitcoin is a good investment that could be used to hedge against inflation, but invest in agriculture is never a wrong decision. You can use it to feed yourself and your family, at the same time you can sell it.

[Darker45]

There are various reasons cited. Again, there's the decision not to import. Another is hoarding and price manipulation. There's also the fact that it's holiday season, although the price has already been rising for months. As a matter of fact, just 6 months ago, a kilo is only around $2. But of all the reasons cited, none is convincing enough.

This of course shouldn't be the reason but it would be for sure the cure!

To officially insist not to import even if the sufficiency level right at the source itself is 0% is absurd. That's an insensitive decision. Well, the rich leaders up there can't feel the shortage because they can have much of it regardless of the price.

Of course, importation would have to be balanced. Importing onions, which are much cheaper, could significantly affect local onion farmers. But at this time when even local producers have zero supply? When the price per kilo more than doubles the price of pork, beef, and whatever meat? This is simply ridiculous!

If memory serves me right, limiting importation during (or right before) harvest seasons to help out local farmers is one of the campaign platforms of the incumbent President.

As much as possible we should be avoiding importation. That's understandable. We should instead strengthen our own local production. However, self-sufficiency can't be achieved overnight. So, while we are trying to achieve that, we shouldn't also allow the supply to fall down so low that the price would reach the heavens. Insisting on cutting imported goods while the prevailing problems on local production remain unsolved is ludicrous. That's what also happened to sugar recently. 

There are some stores (Gov't Project) in the Metro called KADIWA that sells red and white onions for ~$3. Those came directly from the farmers and that's why they're cheaper. That's still a short-term solution and one politician (Pres. sister) claims that the farming system and the distribution methods needed to change. She's probably right about the farming system but I don't know about the distribution. From what I know, the farm-to-market roads have greatly improved the past few years.

The Kadiwa system is good, although the program is highly subsidized by the government, and it's also mostly focused on the national capital region. In which case, it isn't a sustainable solution. It still doesn't address much of the root causes of high production cost, among others. It has eliminated middlemen, though. That's enough to trim down the prices. I hope this program will continue and improve. But since this is more of a system for end consumers, I hope there will also be steps taken for the farmers themselves.

[Republikcoin.com]

I haven't felt it yet. But food prices are rising fast. If possible, I really want to have a piece of land where I can grow some vegetables for myself. Seems like the price of anything keeps going up right now. There is nothing we can do. Our purchasing power is gradually declining. Someone is working three jobs a day to make ends meet, and I'm thankful I still have some savings.

If you haven't felt the sense of the economic crisis at this point, it means that it's only natural that you are still grateful because the savings are still there. But you have to be able to increase your income better when the price of food rises so fast, because over time you will also feel how the economic crisis is in your life. And owning a plot of land to grow crops is a good idea even though it is an old method of farmers to live more comfortably and also frugal.

But it would be much better if you set up a better business than farming on the piece of land that you want to own, with bigger and better income opportunities. But if you still don't have the land to do this, I think there are other better ideas such as renting someone else's land to be able to run your own business. Whether it's for farming or other things that can support your income at this time and it can also help you fight the feeling of an economic crisis that you don't feel right now.

[virasisog]

I wonder how ordinary people around the world felt the worsening economic situation in their respective countries. I know that although many are very much aware of the soaring inflation, nothing has changed much in their day-to-day lives. I can observe that in some families. They seem oblivious to how the prices of basic goods and services are rising by double digits.

From my household, however, we can taste the economic downturn. It feels odd and sad that we have to sacrifice taste to somehow cushion the impact of the economic problems my country is facing. Onion here is already hitting $12.57 a kilo. Depending on the size, that's about $0.63 apiece. Cooking an ordinary dish for a small family requires a bulb or two. During this holiday season especially, we normally need tens of onions. That's not affordable anymore. So we had to greatly reduce the use of onions and try not to care about how the dish would turn out. On ordinary days, onions are even removed from the ingredients.

I had to share this here because it feels like the economic situation has already affected the most basic need of everybody. It seems insignificant because it's only a spice, but I thought that if the economic situation is already affecting everybody's taste buds, it could mean things are getting pretty serious.

I wonder, especially in other countries, how drastic is the change in your daily life that's brought about by this economic downturn?

I think we are living in the same country where there is an onion outage. They are saying that businessmen are just taking advantage of the situation as well as the government to make oney from it. They are hiding onion products so there will be a lack of supply. I wonder why they are still taking advantage of it while people suffer. The crisis is being felt by everyone in our community. Everything is getting more expensive each day but the salary remains the same. Nowadays, a single job isn't enough anymore so we have to double or triple hustle. Worse might still happen but I know for sure that we will still be able to deal with it.

[cabron]

I wonder how ordinary people around the world felt the worsening economic situation in their respective countries. I know that although many are very much aware of the soaring inflation, nothing has changed much in their day-to-day lives. I can observe that in some families. They seem oblivious to how the prices of basic goods and services are rising by double digits.

From my household, however, we can taste the economic downturn. It feels odd and sad that we have to sacrifice taste to somehow cushion the impact of the economic problems my country is facing. Onion here is already hitting $12.57 a kilo. Depending on the size, that's about $0.63 apiece. Cooking an ordinary dish for a small family requires a bulb or two. During this holiday season especially, we normally need tens of onions. That's not affordable anymore. So we had to greatly reduce the use of onions and try not to care about how the dish would turn out. On ordinary days, onions are even removed from the ingredients.

I had to share this here because it feels like the economic situation has already affected the most basic need of everybody. It seems insignificant because it's only a spice, but I thought that if the economic situation is already affecting everybody's taste buds, it could mean things are getting pretty serious.

I wonder, especially in other countries, how drastic is the change in your daily life that's brought about by this economic downturn?

I think we are living in the same country where there is an onion outage. They are saying that businessmen are just taking advantage of the situation as well as the government to make oney from it. They are hiding onion products so there will be a lack of supply. I wonder why they are still taking advantage of it while people suffer. The crisis is being felt by everyone in our community. Everything is getting more expensive each day but the salary remains the same. Nowadays, a single job isn't enough anymore so we have to double or triple hustle. Worse might still happen but I know for sure that we will still be able to deal with it.

If you are living in a country where the soil is not barren and does not have winter like Thailand, you're all gonna be fine compared to those people who will have to keep storing supplies for winter. The worst-case scenario for us during this economic recession is that you end up being homeless which many have been there already. Today we may struggle to pay our bills or to afford basic necessities like mentioned Onions.

Lucky for some who may just see the value of their investments decline only. The working class may have to delay retirement plans. I have also seen my uncles just plan to go back home while younger men are crossing borders to find greener pastures. In general, this recession can lead to a decrease in the overall quality of life for all of us.

[Findingnemo]

That's really too high for onion, recently I bought a kg for a dollar and that's pretty good deal.

But clearly I know the prices of groceries are higher than what it used to be which is even beyond the inflation rate, for example cooking oil doubled in price when I compare the price of 2020 and fuel almost 40% hike, milk 30%, rice 40 to 50% and etc so this isn't good for middle class especially one who earn money via salary.

[Fatunad]

That's really too high for onion, recently I bought a kg for a dollar and that's pretty good deal.

But clearly I know the prices of groceries are higher than what it used to be which is even beyond the inflation rate, for example cooking oil doubled in price when I compare the price of 2020 and fuel almost 40% hike, milk 30%, rice 40 to 50% and etc so this isn't good for middle class especially one who earn money via salary.

There are commodities which are really depending on overall market trade which it would be basically be depending on that usual supply and  demand thing, there are just things which are isolated type of problems
basing up on a particular country but in overall it would really be just depending on how these suppliers or main sources would really be jacking up their prices and for retailers then they would really be just
simply adjusting into that and it would be passed up into us consumers which is really just a typical chain which it isnt really that something new on facing up these challenges as we do live.
Middle to low class people would really be able to be hit up with these changes.