Thought of the Day - November 15 2021 - La Raison d'Être

You'll never guess what today is? It's National Raisin Bran Day in the US.

For years, like Sadam Hussain, my go-to breakfast of choice has been a bowl of Raisin Bran. This cereal mix was first invented by Skinner Manufacturing of Omaha, Nebraska, nearly 100 years ago. During World War II both Kellogg and Post started making their own versions of the cereal.

As you may have heard, the Kellogg Company has had an ongoing labour dispute in the US. The strike, that has shut down production at its four US cereal plants, is still unresolved. There are two issues on the table, the first is Kellogg wants to introduce two tiers of workers (titled Legacy and Transitional), and of course wages. Kellogg was hoping to settle the issue with a 3% pay increase for Legacy workers, however with US inflation at 5.4%, the highest in 30 years, this is unlikely.

The net result of the strike, which is now going into its second month, is that the cost of my favourite morning cereal has jumped from $6 a box to $9 - up by 50% on speculation there will now be a "cereal shortage". All this just before its annual day of glory!

I provide this simple example, to illustrate the COVID-induced inflationary spiral that we are now in - lest we forget ( Thought of the Day - November 5 2021 - The Economic Impact of COVID ).

Cheers

Cliff