Cash-strapped New Yorkers hunt bargains as feds report worst inflation in 40 years — prices up 8.6% over a year ago

The view from Coney Island as the first day of summer nears is no different than anyplace else: Expensive.

The ever-escalating cost of everything from gasoline to meat to diapers left a neighborhood construction worker coping with his second full-time job Friday, traveling in hopes of finding bargains as inflation nationally peaked in May at 8.6% ― a level unseen since the early days of the Reagan Administration.

Eugene said he’s traveled from his Coney Island home regularly to Far Rockaway and as far as Connecticut in his search for bargains.

He and his wife listed the prices they’ve seen change: Chicken has gone from $2 a pound to $3 or $4. Beef has more tan doubled, from $3 a pound to $6 or $7. A pack of Pampers was $20 pre-COVID, and about $40 now.

“I don’t know who to blame it on. I don’t know who owns everything,” said Eugene, 41, a father of eight and grandfather of three who didn’t give his full name.

“I just know that we got to pay for it.”

President Joe Biden speaks about inflation and supply chain issues at the Port of Los Angeles, Friday, June 10, 2022, in Los Angeles. (Damian Dovarganes/)

President Biden offered some ideas Friday regarding who to blame ― he said some corporations are at fault for seeking to maximize profits, particularly oil and gasoline marketer ExxonMobil.

“Exxon made more money than God this year,” Biden said. ExxonMobil responded that in fact it is producing more oil and expanding refining operations in the U.S.

Some other culprits: Rising food costs caused by reduced exports from Ukraine, a major grain producer. The Ukraine war has also factored in higher energy prices. Data show that housing, airfare and medical service prices also rose significantly in May.

Taxi driver Marc Dussuau fuels his cab at a Shell gas station. Inflation hit a new four-decade high last month as the increased costs of costs of gas, food and other necessities pounded American households. Consumer prices were up 8.6% in May compared to one year earlier, outpacing April’s year-to-year surge of 8.3%. (Brittainy Newman/)

Taken together, the increases pounded American households from coast to coast ― and the numbers were ugly, the new data from the Labor Department showed Friday. The 8.6% hike in consumer prices from May 2021 to May 2022 outpaced April’s year-to-year surge of 8.3%.

Another sign of high prices: AAA reported that the average cost of a gallon of gas hit a record $4.99 a gallon

“Virtually every sector has higher-than-normal inflation,” said Ethan Harris, head of global economic research at Bank of America. “It’s made its way into every nook and cranny of the economy. That’s the thing that makes it concerning, because it means it’s likely to persist.”

The new inflation numbers led to bad news on Wall Street, where hopes were high that Friday’s report would offer good news that could give the markets a much-needed boost.

Instead, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 880 points amid the soaring inflation, a drop of 2.73%. The S&P 500 gave up 117 points for a drop of 2.9%, closing out its ninth losing week in the last 10 and posting its worst week since January.

The Friday June 10, 2022, report on consumer prices is expected to show that annual inflation slowed ever so slightly to 8.2% in May from 8.3% in the prior month. (Alex Brandon/)

Biden responded to the latest inflation figures in a speech at the Port of Los Angeles, which is now moving a record amount of cargo under an agreement the White House has shepherded. Yet even as the number of ships waiting to unload at the port has dropped sharply, inflation has not.

In particular, rising gas prices were crushing the finances of millions of Americans. The average $4.99 price of gas represented a 4% increase over the last month, and is now near the inflation-adjusted record of $5.40 reached in 2008.

“Prices at the pump are a major part of inflation, and the war in Ukraine is a major cause of that,” Biden said. “The United States is on track to produce a record amount of oil next year, and I am working with the industry to accelerate this output.”

Other elected officials say they’re doing what they can to ease the pain.

Gov. Hochul, after a meeting with the full cabinet and top state officials in Albany, said recent actions by her administration will help New Yorkers even as prices and the cost of living continue to climb.

“I am continuing to push our administration to find any way we can to take steps to alleviate the crushing burdens our residents are living under right now,” she said. “And we’re going to continue to do that.”

Hochul said she had also advised state officials to “moderate expectations” for spending next year due to rising inflation and a less than stellar stock market, which will impact tax receipts across the board.

In this Nov. 23, 2020, file photo, a Wall Street sign is displayed outside of the New York Stock Exchange in New York. (Seth Wenig/)

While economists expect better news ahead on inflation, no one is predicting a huge swing. The consumer price index, cited by the government report on Friday, could drop below 7% by year’s end, economists say — down from March’s 8.5% CPI, the highest rate since 1982.

Recent national surveys indicated two things: Americans see high inflation as the nation’s top problem, and most disapprove of Biden’s handling of the economy as Congressional Republicans blast the Democrats on the issues as midterm elections loom this fall.

The cost of groceries were up nearly 12% in May from one year prior, the biggest jump since 1979, the new Labor Department data shows. Restaurant prices climbed 7.4% in the past year, the largest 12-month gain since 1981, a reflection of higher costs for food and workers.

The soaring costs are cutting into every family’s discretionary spending ― and the problem is particularly acute for lower-income and Black and Hispanic Americans because a larger proportion of their income is on average spent on necessities.

Eugene said hunting for discounts amid the inflation crisis is a necessity almost as important as a regular paycheck.

“Just because it gets more expensive doesn’t mean their appetites are going to change,” he said of his family.

A person shops for groceries at Lincoln Market in the Prospect Lefferts Garden neighborhood of Brooklyn. (Michael M. Santiago/)

A Coney Island Home Depot corporate merchandiser recounted finding rising prices Friday at every turn: Food, cleaning supplies, medical supplies and rent.

“Everything around you is very, very expensive,” said Tramell, a 37-year-old Brooklynite. “Apartments. Food. Everything.”

Tramell, who also didn’t give his full name, described himself as “a big couponer.”

“I will shop in other neighborhoods,” he said. But Tramell saw little reason for optimism as he prepared to look for cheaper prices in Park Slope and Greenpoint.

“Years ago, you could take $20 and go into a supermarket and come out with a cart full of things,” he said. “And now, $20 almost seems like nothing.”