Over stimulated

Any day now, Mary and I should be getting our economic stimulus check from the federal government. We’re expecting $1,200, and the patriotic thing to do with this money is go out and buy something to stimulate the economy. For $1,200, we could buy a good laptop, for example, and even one made in America.

But after only a little discussion, we’ve decided to use our money to buy food. Actually, half of it already went to buy a new freezer. When the check gets here, we’ll use the other half to buy food to put in the freezer.

Mmmmm, ice cream.

Buying and storing food now seems to be the best investment by far for families of moderate income. My bank is currently offering 2.44 percent on a CD. It’s hard to get a handle on actual price increases for food, but take one example: rice. The Oregonian reported that the one-year increase in the cost of rice is 300 percent. “What started with a shortage in Thailand and a typhoon in Bangladesh is now putting tremendous pressure on domestically produced rice,” according to one expert. Stores around the West are limiting purchases; Costco, for example, will only sell you one twenty-pound bag, and Costco is still running out. Asian restaurants in Portland report having to go to several suppliers every day to buy enough rice to keep their doors open.

There are food riots in many parts of Africa, and all of this before the typhoon took out the rice crop of Myanmar/Burma last week. But that’s over there.

Back at home, it isn’t just rice that is going up dramatically every month. I figure if we can buy one year ahead on food and other supplies, we’ll be saving, what, twenty percent, thirty percent? Even more?

Around here, lots of farm families and Mormons have always believed in a full pantry and a one-year supply of food. I used to think that was very old-fashioned. Now I think it’s a good investment. It might be more than that.

We did buy an American freezer, though: GE.