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Inside Out

Small businesses are hurting too

Jeanne Sager
Posted 7/12/22

Who’s ready for a quick dive into the economy. I’ll keep this one simple, I promise. The Consumer Price Index is a measurement of the change in prices consumers are paying for common …

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Inside Out

Small businesses are hurting too

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Who’s ready for a quick dive into the economy. I’ll keep this one simple, I promise.
The Consumer Price Index is a measurement of the change in prices consumers are paying for common goods in the US. Calculated by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the index tracks everything from the price of coffee to the cost of fuel. In May, the index showed a 40-year high with the costs of shelter, gas and food contributing the bulk of the increase.
Sound familiar?
The effects of the war in Ukraine, pandemic-created supply chain disruptions, and the altering of our typical supply and demand structure haven’t just hit us all right in the pocketbook. They’re absolutely slamming us.
And the same exact thing is happening to all of our county’s small businesses.
The price of butter and eggs — why a local baker said she increased her prices this year.
The price of fryer oil and chicken wings — why a restaurant increased its prices and went viral on Facebook for admitting it.
The price of gasoline — why my photography business has had to add a surcharge this year.
No one is immune to inflation.
It’s a fact worth remembering before rushing to Facebook, Yelp, or that Google Business post to slam a small business for its prices.
That electrician charging extra for showing up at your home this year? She’s got to fill a diesel truck to get her crew to your house.
That deli charging more to make your sandwich? They had to spend more on the hard rolls and cold cuts to put it together.
That farmer adding on to the price of your tomatoes and kale? They had to fuel up tractors on the farm and a truck to get your produce to market.
Small businesses are the core of our communities. They’re also hurting.
Your wallet may be hurting too much to do business with them. But it won’t hurt you to simply be kind.

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