- CNN aired a segment about how one family was managing the rising price of groceries.
- A quote about the family's weekly milk expenditure went viral and was widely mocked on social media.
- But the ridiculed numbers make sense in context, and show how unevenly distributed inflation can be.
A recent CNN segment about inflation has become the target of ridicule on social media over a quote that includes some eyebrow-raising numbers.
"A gallon of milk was $1.99. Now it's $2.79. When you buy 12 gallons a week times four weeks, that's a lot of money," said Krista Stotler, who walked through one of her weekly shopping trips with CNN's Evan McMorris-Santoro.
-Brianna Keilar (@brikeilarcnn) November 4, 2021
To start with, commenters dismissed 48 gallons of milk per month as implausible, but in the context of the segment that number is more reasonable than it sounds. Krista and her husband Larry are parents to eight children and fostering one more, most of whom appear to be in their teen growing years. They can also be seen in the clip buying five boxes of cereal for the week.
Other more economically savvy commenters dismissed the idea of 40% inflation, which would indeed be far higher than is being recorded in Texas or anywhere else in the US.
The US Department of Agriculture report on prices in the Dallas metro area this year show the average gallon of whole milk ranging from a low of $2.82 in May to a current high of $3.29 – a 16% increase in just five months. The average across all US metro areas is currently $3.69.
But again, in the context of Stotler's quote, she didn't specify when milk was at $1.99, but it's entirely possible that she was used to paying that amount - perhaps at a different grocery store.
Insider checked the current price of a gallon of store brand whole milk at the Kroger near Kennedale, Texas, that was featured in the segment, and the cost was $3.09, which would mean the Stotler's milk expense would be more than $148 per month.
The CNN segment also illuminated some important economic realities about inflation.
First, prices and their fluctuations are often local phenomena - a fact that can get lost in the average measurements that business leaders and policymakers rely on. This episode is a reminder that the effects of things like inflation or supply-chain problems or labor shortages are far from evenly distributed around the country.
And second, there is a profound psychological aspect to inflation that can have a very real effect on individuals' perceptions of the changes, especially when those changes happen quickly, even if they are relatively small. Krista Stotler may have overestimated the current rate of inflation, but it's certainly believable that she and her family are feeling a very real squeeze.