China News Service, February 16 (Reporter Meng Xiangjun) "Don't be surprised if you find yourself paying a premium for chicken wings this Super Bowl season."

　　It is a tradition for American fans to eat chicken wings while watching the Super Bowl.

However, it is not only the price of tickets for the Super Bowl that has skyrocketed. NPR pointed out in an article that the demand for chicken wings in the United States is also high, and it is necessary to pay more to eat the same chicken wings as before.

The price increase of chicken wings during the US Super Bowl has attracted the attention of the US media.

Image credit: NPR

【Meals on the table are expensive and auto parts are in short supply】

　　Americans will consume about 1.42 billion chicken wings during the Super Bowl season, matching last year's record.

　　But this year, many restaurants and companies in the United States said that the cost of chicken wings is high, and the purchase price has even risen to 100%, and there is a shortage of fresh chicken wings.

Some businesses are supplementing with frozen "party wings" to keep their business going, but even with frozen wings, prices are rising...  

　　Labor shortages, shipping delays and inclement weather have made table food more expensive for Americans.

A cheap restaurant decided to reduce the number of products. In the past, you could buy 10 wings for $7.99 (about RMB 50) for takeout, but now you can only get 8 wings.

On January 29, local time, protests broke out in Canada against the government's new crown epidemic prevention measures.

　　Prices of food, electricity, housing and other fields have risen, and there have also been problems with the supply of auto parts.

　　Recently, Canadian truck drivers launched anti-vaccine demonstrations, blocking transportation routes along the US-Canada border, and many US automakers' parts could not be transported smoothly.

Statistics show that goods with an average daily value of about 300 million Canadian dollars need to pass through the ambassador bridge connecting the border between the two countries.

　　Car companies have been forced to adjust their operating plans or even close down, and the lives of a large number of American workers have been seriously affected.

However, with Canadian officials stepping in, the situation will ease.

　　However, this cannot solve the fundamental problem. On the whole, the supply chain and economic operation of the United States continue to face severe tests.

[Inflation hits a 40-year high, public confidence is low]

Data map: People walk through the New York Stock Exchange in the United States.

　　Ma Xue, an associate researcher at the American Institute of the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, told a reporter from Chinanews.com that since the new crown epidemic, the US economy has rebounded strongly since the recession, mainly driven by consumption.

The government's large-scale economic policy stimulus has increased people's cash income, and the consumption that was suppressed in the early stage of the epidemic has been released.

　　The U.S. is increasingly leaning toward a consumption-led economic model, but its supply chain has yet to recover, said Zhao Xijun, deputy dean of the Chongyang School of Finance at Renmin University of China.

　　Affected by rising supply chain, prices, energy and commodity prices, etc., the domestic supply in the United States is insufficient.

Data map: People in Houston, the United States queue up to check out at a local supermarket.

　　The analysis said that at a time when inflation reached the highest level in nearly 40 years, the contradiction between supply and demand in the United States was prominent, and the labor market was tight.

Manufacturers who want to expand their production scale are constrained by capacity and have to spend more to retain employees, resulting in the largest increase in U.S. employment costs in 20 years in 2021.

　　American Cable News Network (CNN) believes that rampant inflation has made Americans worry about their household finances.

Between the Fed's announcement of its intention to raise interest rates and the White House's efforts to cut prices, confidence that economic policy will actually work remains low.

U.S. consumer confidence index hit a 10-year low.

Image source: Screenshot from the Washington Post report.

　　The Washington Post pointed out that many Americans refuse to believe that the US economy is "good."

According to a Gallup poll, 82 percent of Americans surveyed believe their country is "not on the right track."

The University of Michigan's preliminary U.S. consumer confidence index recorded a 10-year low of 61.7 in February.

[The Biden administration's "midterm exam" is affected]

　　On the other hand, in the absence of large-scale fiscal stimulus, epidemic prevention measures and other driving factors, it is expected that the U.S. economy and employment growth will cool in 2022, and the U.S. economy will be more dependent on the recovery of the supply chain, the "Wall Street Journal" analyzed.

　　Zhao Xijun also made a similar prediction.

He pointed out that rising commodity prices have led to higher transportation costs, which will not improve much in the new year.

Even if the United States wants to expand imports, it must also consider whether there is sufficient transportation capacity and affordable costs.

In 2022, U.S. prices are expected to rise even more rapidly.

Data map: American people wait in line outside a large supermarket to buy.

People in line maintained social distancing.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Zeng Jingning

　　On the other hand, the U.S.’s previous epidemic subsidy policy for companies and the public will be gradually withdrawn, and subsidies will be reduced.

Zhao Xijun believes that the living pressure of poor people who rely on subsidies will be greater, and ordinary people will also feel more pressure from rising prices on their lives.

These pressures represent a kind of public opinion and will inevitably be passed on to politicians.

　　The Biden administration is facing the "midterm exam" of the midterm elections this year, and public opinion has accused the White House's economic stimulus bill as the key to rising prices.

High inflation poses a challenge to the US Democrats' ability to retain their congressional majority in the midterm elections.

Data map: US President Biden signs documents in the White House.

　　The February 10, 2022 survey showed that only 18% of the respondents believed that Biden could handle economic problems well, a further 12 percentage points drop compared to March 2021.

　　Overall, Zhao Xijun pointed out that the dual pressures of the real economy and public opinion faced by the Biden administration will be greater than in 2021.

The U.S. economy has high inflation, and the public feels worse.

Image source: Screenshot of CNN report.

　　But regardless of the pressure on US politicians, the cost of high inflation will ultimately be borne by ordinary people.

"The root cause of the problem is that chickens only have two wings, and that's not going to change anytime soon," cautions food writer Mike Pomeranz.

　　It seems that as the trend of soaring prices continues, the American people will have to pay more to eat chicken wings as much as before.

(Finish)