18 minutes ago, Taco said:

Back home Chicago now and it’s getting insane expensive to do anything fun. Going out drinking, concerts, golf all through the roof. I paid $23 for one draft beer at a concert at Wrigley field last week. America sucks now, glad I experienced it when it was genuinely fun, reasonable, and not run by a con man.

Next, you will tell us that airport food is expensive.

7 hours ago, wwest5829 said:

And Covid supply chain interruption had nothing to do with the inflation, which was lower at the end of the Biden term than it is today.

Joe Biden and the Dems added 4% with their foolish spending spree after COVID.

https://www.vox.com/policy/385932/biden-inflation-record-worse-unpopular-mistakes

7 hours ago, Srikcir said:

Under DonFlation costs are in the Outer Limits.

Really?

13 hours ago, Dcheech said:

Wow, you spent 60 baht

Edited June 17Jun 17 by Celsius

2 hours ago, fredwiggy said:

I wouldn't think they would use a Chinese Junk to cross the ocean. How could i board a Junk if I've only been to Beijing by airplane?

This is YOUR problem, and not mine.....

Figure it out for yourself.....

Do I need to tell you EVERYTHING.....???

16 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

I am in America right now and have been for the last couple of months, unfortunately.

Haven't seen anything resembling a food shortage, but I have seen prices skyrocketing

That's because MIKE, US wages are outrageously high. Just found out that average salary for UPS driver is 150k with healthcare fully covered.

In Canada UPS drivers make 50k which is about... what....36k USD?

You will notice i never bash Americans here because it is a great country. We in canada don't have these opportunities. My wife in canada has zero opportunities.

I think in the end I will just sell my property, move to Thailand and invest everything in US equities.

3 hours ago, Celsius said:

You will notice i never bash Americans here because it is a great country.

This is your gravest error.

I have never heard such nonsense in all my born days.

7 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

This is YOUR problem, and not mine.....

Figure it out for yourself.....

Do I need to tell you EVERYTHING.....???

Nothing actually. Some of us already know.

On 6/15/2026 at 8:30 AM, Yagoda said:

food is plentiful and cheap, although the fab sweet corn at 5 for a buck sold out fast,

On 6/15/2026 at 8:30 AM, Yagoda said:

food is plentiful and cheap, although the fab sweet corn at 5 for a buck sold out fast,

On 6/15/2026 at 10:36 PM, MIke B Bad said:

Yikes

You pay what you voted for.

12 hours ago, TedG said:

Next, you will tell us that airport food is expensive.

As we speak I am eating 4 lbs of crawfish Cajun style in Thibodeau (LA) for $16.00. Same price as last year. Went shopping at Rouses Supermarket, milk is $2.89 a gallon. Last year it was $2.79 in specials.

Poultry, Dairy products and a few other items are almost the same as last year. Beef went up but you can get deals on certain types of steak, sirloin, ribeye, tenderloin or T.bone if you check the flyers.

The items that went up are the organic products and there are many more than before.

Prices depend on location; much cheaper in the southern states than in the Great Lakes area. One reason is the cost of doing business in the blue states versus the red states.

I just fill up my tank at $3.39/gallon at Marathon in Donaldsonville OLA). Two weeks ago I paid $4.29 in Cleveland (OH). Meanwhile Indiana was much cheaper than Ohio (around $3.59/gallon).

Prices in good restaurants have gone up since 2020 (at least 15% without wine and 20% with a bottle of wine included). Also waiters expect a minimum tip of 18% when it’s not 25%.

Honestly the food inflation is not more in the USA than in Thailand.

The wages have gone up much more in the US than in Thailand.

One has to compare the same social class with the same type of job to make a comparaison.

On 6/15/2026 at 12:02 PM, Priorexpat said:

No food shortages, but food prices are way over the top due to tariffs and cost of fuel to transport.

To say the food prices are about the same is complete B.S.

12oz bag of coffee I used to get at $5.99 is now $10.99.

Loaf of Orowheat bread I used to get at $3.59 is now $5.49

My big 2lb Quaker Oats old fashion cut was $4.99 now $6.49

My N.Y. steaks bone in, used to be $12.99 a lb, now $19.99

The MAGA types will always come up with an alternative reality to cover for their guru. Ridiculous.

Off to Costco to get a giant bag of coffee to try and save there.

On 6/15/2026 at 12:02 PM, Priorexpat said:

No food shortages, but food prices are way over the top due to tariffs and cost of fuel to transport.

To say the food prices are about the same is complete B.S.

12oz bag of coffee I used to get at $5.99 is now $10.99.

Loaf of Orowheat bread I used to get at $3.59 is now $5.49

My big 2lb Quaker Oats old fashion cut was $4.99 now $6.49

My N.Y. steaks bone in, used to be $12.99 a lb, now $19.99

The MAGA types will always come up with an alternative reality to cover for their guru. Ridiculous.

Off to Costco to get a giant bag of coffee to try and save there.

It has nothing to do with MAGA but with taxes and cost of energy;

Fuel is $2.00 more per gallon on the west coast than in the southern states.

Cost of electricity is 11.95 cents per kWh in North Dakota, 13.01 cents in Idaho, 14.81 cents in Florida, meanwhile it’s 35.85 cents in Maryland, 33.35 cents in California, 30.47 cents in Connecticut and Massachusetts, etc…and Louisiana is 14.16 cents per kWh.

It tells the whole story about the cost of doing business on the west coast, New England and the southern or upper midwestern states.

14 hours ago, TedG said:

It's pathetic that people like you act like 21% cumulative inflation under Joe Biden never happened. This was devastating to the common man.

Bro, i am the common man here. In laying stuff at Biden's feet you are missing the previous admins huge mistakes. Lo and behold we live it again Iran gets 300 billion we could have used shoring up Social Security?

No better the Iranians get our dough.....

Back to Biden after Trump's Covid ineptitude:

Inflation surge was driven by a collision of rapid consumer demand, severe supply chain bottlenecks, and the lasting effects of massive pandemic-era fiscal and monetary stimulus.

As the economy reopened, consumers unleashed a massive wave of pent-up demand. This was fueled by excess savings accumulated during lockdowns and extensive federal stimulus payments.

Supply and demand Ted G, do you follow?

Factories and ports worldwide struggled to resume normal operations as they dealt with lingering virus-related shutdowns, shipping container shortages, and labor scarcity. These constraints severely limited the supply of available goods.

While the trillions of dollars in government aid and near-zero interest rates from the Federal Reserve successfully prevented a deep economic depression, they poured immense amounts of money into an economy that was struggling to produce enough goods

22 hours ago, KhunLA said:

Not sure what you're trying to say and inflation goes up every year, so yeah, it would be lower at the end of Biden administration than it is today.

And for the past 25 years according to the cost of living adjustments for social security, Biden had over 20% inflation during his administration, the highest of any administration.

Covid? His administration was the only one to have to deal with the economic effects in the past 25 years.

7 hours ago, Nid-Noi said:

You pay what you voted for.

You mean ham, and more ham?

13 hours ago, Nid-Noi said:

It has nothing to do with MAGA but with taxes and cost of energy;

Fuel is $2.00 more per gallon on the west coast than in the southern states.

Cost of electricity is 11.95 cents per kWh in North Dakota, 13.01 cents in Idaho, 14.81 cents in Florida, meanwhile it’s 35.85 cents in Maryland, 33.35 cents in California, 30.47 cents in Connecticut and Massachusetts, etc…and Louisiana is 14.16 cents per kWh.

It tells the whole story about the cost of doing business on the west coast, New England and the southern or upper midwestern states.

add geographical distance from the source of supply. apples are cheaper in new england, oranges in florida. like coconuts in thailand

9 minutes ago, Yagoda said:

add geographical distance from the source of supply. apples are cheaper in new england, oranges in florida. like coconuts in thailand

There's no iceberg and even if there was the ship is unsinkable. Kiss me Hardy !

12 hours ago, Priorexpat said:

Bro, i am the common man here. In laying stuff at Biden's feet you are missing the previous admins huge mistakes. Lo and behold we live it again Iran gets 300 billion we could have used shoring up Social Security?

No better the Iranians get our dough.....

It's going to take millions to shore up Social Security. I posted this a while back.

The largest driver of the growing debt is the social programs. The issue with SS/Medicare is the ratio of people paying into the system vs receiving benefits. In 1960, the ratio was 5:1; now it's 2.7:1. The average SS payout is $24,852/year. Which means the people paying into SS are paying $9,024/year to support retirees. Then add in Medicare, which is about $15,000 per person per year. $15,000/2.7 =$5,555.56. Which means the taxpayer is paying a significant amount to support retirees. In reality, these programs are cash flow negative. 

If you are really interested in the long-term outlook of Social Security, you should check out this site.

https://crr.bc.edu/social-securitys-financial-outlook-the-2026-update-in-perspective/

Social Security is nothing but an intergenerational wealth transfer. The younger generations are going to be soaked.

12 hours ago, Priorexpat said:

As the economy reopened, consumers unleashed a massive wave of pent-up demand. This was fueled by excess savings accumulated during lockdowns and extensive federal stimulus payments.

Which is why Larry Summers warned the Biden admin to stop spending.

Vox

The debate over how big to go on the economic recovery, e...

Biden believes the risk is doing too little on the economy. Larry Summers says the risk might be going too big.

You can also read this if you sign up for a free article.

Joe Biden is more responsible for high inflation than for abundant jobs

The main effect of the president’s economic policies has been to boost prices

https://www.economist.com/leaders/2023/05/11/joe-biden-is-more-responsible-for-high-inflation-than-for-abundant-jobs?utm_campaign=shared_article

12 minutes ago, beautifulthailand99 said:

There's no iceberg and even if there was the ship is unsinkable. Kiss me Hardy !

well i see that booze is cheap near you

24 minutes ago, Yagoda said:

add geographical distance from the source of supply. apples are cheaper in new england, oranges in florida. like coconuts in thailand

We used to have apple trees, a few, that were truly delicous and tart and sweet at the same time.

Now, so many good local varieties have bit the dust.

It's wonderful to have an apple tree in one's yard when one is young.

Eat as many as you like, and there are still more.

Make pies, and there are still more.

Just don't eat a pound of the seeds, or you will die, most likely....IDK....

The apples I see in stores are not as good, but maybe only in my view.

Cold apple cider is great.

And, if you have a press, you can have it for free.

Well, mobile services are getting cheaper in Canada. I think it's on par with Thailand now. I get true unlimited 5G with Rogers (no cap, no throttling) for around 90 bucks tax included and this includes a brand new s26 financing for 2 years. So a brand new phone, unlimited 5G for about 2100 baht per month. This phone in thailand costs 34,000 baht. Cheap internet and faster speeds than Thailand.

Also McDouble combo is still 5 bucks.

No such prices in Thailand.

And the best part.... wifey and I just got approved for free dental! Thank u Canada take care and billing expat pensioners in Thailand to meke benefit of glorious nation of Canada and its struggling citizenry. I will make sure every dollar goes towards my mouth.

6 hours ago, Celsius said:

Well, mobile services are getting cheaper in Canada. I think it's on par with Thailand now. I get true unlimited 5G with Rogers (no cap, no throttling) for around 90 bucks tax included and this includes a brand new s26 financing for 2 years. So a brand new phone, unlimited 5G for about 2100 baht per month. This phone in thailand costs 34,000 baht. Cheap internet and faster speeds than Thailand.

Also McDouble combo is still 5 bucks.

No such prices in Thailand.

And the best part.... wifey and I just got approved for free dental! Thank u Canada take care and billing expat pensioners in Thailand to meke benefit of glorious nation of Canada and its struggling citizenry. I will make sure every dollar goes towards my mouth.

Your intelligence shines on this post. The S26, and my wife's newest (to her) Xiaomi phone, are about the same spec wise. Xiaomi's display & camera being superior, and a priority, along with costing <฿10,000.

Not only does she save ฿24k on buy in cost, but my internet package only cost <฿350 a month, and more than I can use in a month.

฿2100 X 24 = ฿50,400 - ฿34,000 = ฿16,400 ÷ 24 = ฿683 a month for internet

Not even close to cheaper, and your phone cost ฿24k more

Why she owns house, land lots, and BEV, and you rent.

TH doesn't even sell a McDouble Combo. If want to compare same items ...

... "The Big Mac is cheaper in Thailand than it is in Canada.

According to global data collected for the Economist Big Mac Index: [

• Thailand (TH): A Big Mac costs roughly $4.30 USD (~145 Thai Baht).

• Canada (CA): A Big Mac costs roughly $5.53 USD (~7.55 Canadian Dollars)." ...

Edited June 19Jun 19 by KhunLA

@Celsius You seem to have left a tidbit of info out, big surprise ...

... "In Canada, the McDouble McValue Meal (which includes a McDouble, small fries, and small drink) is often on special promotion for $5.00 CAD.

At regular menu pricing, that same McDouble Extra Value Meal typically costs between $6.30 and $6.50 CAD (depending on your province), though exact costs vary by location." ...

Edited June 19Jun 19 by KhunLA