As the rising price of groceries continues to affect families across the country, there have been countless internet posts of half-empty grocery carts and high receipts on social media.
The imagery rarely fails to rile up internet users and stoke finger-pointing. While the reasons behind the higher food costs are complex and affected by multiple global forces, the current administration is often the easy scapegoat many turn to in attempts to find blame.
DON'T MISS: Two Other Baking Staples Replace Eggs as Leaders in Food Inflation
The latest outcry occurred when Rep. Stefani Lord (R-New Mexico) posted a photo of her Costco (COST) receipt on Twitter.
Here's Why This Lawmaker's Costco Bill Is Causing So Much Outrage
"Thanks, Joe Biden!" Lord wrote in the caption to a June 20 Costco receipt that does not shows the total charge of just under $800 but does not display an itemized list of groceries. "$799.38 for ONE full cart at Costco with 58 items and only 9 non-food items like paper towels, plastic bags, trash bags, and razors."
Lord's tweet quickly caught the attention of the social media platform, gathering more than 5.8 million views and 840 likes in the 12 hours after posting.
While some commenters echoed Lord's sentiment on rising prices, the majority questioned what conclusions could be drawn without Lord sharing the exact items that she bought.
"This comes out to about $14 per item at Costco," wrote Twitter user Mark Jarman. "Given that almost everything they sell is in bulk, it doesn't seem like that much. [...] This just reeks of using $800 spent there as political opportunism."
Lord, in turn, doubled down and wrote that her shopping cart did not include alcohol or junk food, sweets, vitamins, soda, medicine or anything else other than basic groceries and "9 small purchase items like paper towels [and] razors."
What's Actually Going On With Grocery Prices
Calling those who questioned the veracity of the claims "triggered progressive left-wingers," "silly people" and "toddlers," Lord eventually disabled the replies on her post after being "ratioed" (having more negative replies and retweets than likes.)
While Lord's post appears as an effort to divide and stir up controversy, grocery prices have been a serious concern for families across all income levels.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics recently reported that grocery prices rose by 6.7% in May 2023. This is a significant drop from the peak 14.3% inflation seen in September 2022 but the stabilization is not happening fast or strongly enough for many consumers to feel less strained at the grocery store.
The prices of food staples most affected has also been shifting around — while the price of eggs fell by 13.8% (at one point in 2022, they were 70% more expensive), margarine and flour prices rose by a respective 22.5% and 17.1%.
As a result, dissatisfaction about finances and how much one can afford amid a looming recession is also on the rise. One recent Bankrate poll of 2,000 Americans found that 43% feel that their financial situation is worse now than it was two years ago.
More than half of Republicans said their situation got worse while only 30% of Democrats did so while 93% of Republicans said Biden was in some degree responsible for the current outlook — Lord's Costco bill post plays into a well-worn trope of Republicans "blaming Biden" for the cost of food.
