Good for our Souls

It wasn’t that long ago that we bought a 50-lb. bag of calrose rice---a nine-month’s supply for our family---for $10. But the saving from buying in bulk wasn’t worth the hassle of storage, so we switched to smaller quantities. We also began to alternate our diet with brown rice, which has more fiber and nutrients than white.

The rice shortage finally floated to the top of American media consciousness this week when Sam’s Club and Costco restricted purchases in markets with a high percentage of Asian buyers.

Anticipating this development and feeling slightly guilty about caving in to hoarding mentality, I bought a couple of 20-lb. bags on Tuesday. I didn’t like spending the $26, but it’s a mild comfort to realize that this amount of money doesn’t even buy a half-tank of gas. Food is more important to life than fuel, and food is comparatively a bargain.

The price of rice is twice (per WSJ it's doubled in a year)

The explosion in worldwide demand and various supply constraints have resulted in skyrocketing commodities prices. Yet in this political year the complaining, at least to this observer, seems to be muted. Perhaps decades of preaching about Americans’ overconsumption have finally taken hold in the zeitgeist; a little austerity, though the cause may be more circumstance than choice, may be good for our souls.