(The Economic Collapse Blog)—Americans still love hamburgers and French fries, but they sure are a lot more expensive than they once were. In fact, as you will see below, the price of ground beef in the U.S. has risen 16.2 percent during the last 12 months. No matter how you look at that number, it is terrible. Of course just about everything else at the grocery store has been getting more expensive too. These days, a shopping cart full of food is a major expense for most American families. Meanwhile, the global food crisis just continues to intensify. According to a recent report from the UN’s World Food Program, global hunger is “skyrocketing”…
Today, global hunger is skyrocketing as 343 million people face severe food insecurity, driven by an unrelenting wave of global crises including conflict, economic instability, and climate-related emergencies. In 2025, WFP’s operations are focused on supporting just over one-third of those in need – roughly 123 million of the world’s hungriest people – nearly half of whom (58 million) are at imminent risk of losing access to food assistance.
Last year, WFP teams helped feed more than 120 million people in 80 countries, delivering urgent food aid to hunger hot spots and frontline crises around the world.
In 2023, CNN told us that we were in the midst of “the worst food crisis in modern history”. If global hunger has been “skyrocketing” since that time, what are we facing now?
For those of us that live in the United States, the good news is that there is still plenty of food in the stores.
But it sure does cost a lot more than it once did.
According to the New York Times, the price of ground beef in the U.S. has risen 16.2 percent over the past 12 months…
Ground beef was at its highest average price on record in May at $5.98 a pound, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That cost was 16.2 percent higher than 12 months earlier. Other cuts of beef, including sirloin steaks and chuck roast, also reached record highs in the first half of 2025.
The primary reason why the price of ground beef has been soaring is because the number of cattle has been steadily declining.
At this point, the number of cattle in the United States is “the lowest it has been since 1952”…
Prices are up because the number of cattle available for beef is at its lowest level since the 1950s.
The number of beef cattle in the United States is down to 27.9 million, a 13 percent decline since 2019, and the overall cattle inventory is the lowest it has been since 1952, according to the Agriculture Department. Consumer demand has remained steady in recent years.
This is very serious.
In 1952, 157 million people were living in the United States.
Today, 340 million people are living in the United States.
So we have a major crisis on our hands.
Sadly, just about everything is going up in price at the grocery store at this stage.
When I go through my local grocery store, I see many things that have doubled in price and some things that have actually tripled in price.
The “experts” that continue to insist that inflation is “low” are totally gaslighting us.
Of course those that are ultra-wealthy don’t really care about rising food prices because they can easily afford them. Earlier today, I came across an article that discussed the sky high food prices in the Hamptons this time of the year…
It wasn’t even 8:30 on a recent morning when a shopper emptied his basket of dinner ingredients onto the counter of the Farm & Forage Market in Southampton: two king crab legs, two bags of frozen dumplings, two packages of ramen noodles and a bag of dried sea kelp.
The cash register rang up an already eye-popping tally before the customer realized he had forgotten the caviar. He tossed a jar of it onto the counter. The grand total was $1,860.
“I’ll put that on your tab, right?” asked Jonathan Bernard, owner of the tiny, tidy store. The shopper, a private chef who works in a home nearby, nodded and noted he would be back later for truffles.
Are you kidding me?
It must be nice to be able to shell out that kind of cash.
But for the vast majority of Americans, life is a real struggle in this economic environment.
In fact, nearly two-thirds of the country is living paycheck to paycheck…
The latest PYMNTS Intelligence reveals that 65% of consumers are living paycheck to paycheck, with 24% struggling to pay their bills. That’s nearly a quarter of Americans playing an exhausting game of financial whack-a-mole, deciding which bills to pay in full, which to pay partially and which to outright ignore until the next paycheck arrives.
This financial strain has led many to prioritize immediate survival over long-term financial planning, with a significant portion of American consumers adopting short-term, reactive strategies to manage their financial obligations.
It’s not just groceries and gas — essential bills are creeping up, too. The study shows that 78% of consumers have seen at least one essential bill increase in the past year. Electricity (56%), insurance (52%) and gas (51%) have all gotten pricier, leaving consumers with even less breathing room. Renters are especially feeling the squeeze, with nearly half (49%) reporting rent hikes.
The middle class is being absolutely eviscerated, and now mass layoffs are being conducted all over the nation.
Earlier today, we got yet another example. We are being told that UPS has decided to eliminate approximately 20,000 jobs…
UPS is offering voluntary buyouts to its full-time US drivers following its decision to slash 20,000 jobs and close 73 facilities.
The Atlanta-based company will be providing its laid off employees with various benefits, including pensions and healthcare.
The layoffs are part of UPS’s network configuration plan, which also confirms the upcoming closures of over 90 more facilities in the future.
If the economy is in good shape, why are so many large businesses laying off thousands upon thousands of workers right now?
It doesn’t take a genius to see what is happening.
The U.S. economy has been crumbling for years, and now it appears that our problems are poised to go to an entirely new level.
Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.
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