Tipsheet

CNBC Put Out Quite the Post on Thanksgiving Prices for This Year

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  November 28, 2024 5:30 PM

Given that we're still living under the Biden-Harris administration, you may have noticed how expensive prices are, especially in comparison to when President Donald Trump was in office for his first term. That hasn't stopped the media from gaslighting on prices, though, which includes focusing on prices during Biden's term, while ignoring those under Trump. That's only one part of the problem with a piece that CNBC put out earlier this week, which became a trending topic over social media, especially when pollster Frank Luntz promoted and was savagely criticized for in the process.

Both the CNBC post had Luntz highlighted how "affordable" Thanksgiving supposedly is this year, with Luntz comparing it to 2021, when President Joe Biden first took office. 

Luntz, and this is what's really gotten plenty of attention and shocked reactions, as Amy Curtis at our sister site of Twitchy highlighted, claimed that it costs an estimated $58.08 for a 10-person gathering at Thanksgiving this year. Since he made his post on Monday morning, he's received approximately 27,000 replies. 

Who is spending that much money? Where? And what are these people eating for that price? Another low of the Biden-Harris presidency is how high grocery prices have been. There's a graphic that explains it. 

The numbers come from the American Farm Bureau Federation, with their headline also declaring that "Thanksgiving Dinner Costs Are Down Again." Despite such a cheerful headline and opening, the first paragraph still acknowledges that "this is still 19% higher than five years ago." That's quite the rise. "Even though the price tag for this year’s Thanksgiving meal is down 5%, it’s still up nearly 20% from just five years ago. Consumers are exhausted from years of inflation, and it will take more than the past two years’ improvements to ease the pain," the piece went on to acknowledge.

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Tellingly, a chart on the price of turkey is "Not adjusted for inflation."

"You may not know it by looking at sticker prices in grocery aisles, but Thanksgiving dinner is more affordable than it has been in years," the CNBC piece begins by insisting. "For plenty of households, it doesn’t feel that way," the piece later goes to explain.

For all this celebration about how the holiday is supposedly "historically affordable," the piece also acknowledges that certain items cost more:

Certain processed foods that may land on Thanksgiving tables are more expensive. Dinner rolls and cubed stuffing are each selling for 8% more than a year ago. On the flip side, sweet potatoes and whole milk have seen the steepest annual price drops, falling 26% and 14%, respectively. While fresh cranberry prices have climbed 12%, reversing an 18% decline the year before, they remain at their lowest level since 2015 — and when adjusted for inflation, they’re on par with prices back in 1987, the report said.

The very last paragraph goes on to acknowledge it could depend on region. "Ultimately, how much people pay for Thanksgiving dinner will also depend on geography. Households in the West, the priciest region for the holiday’s groceries, will spend about 18% more on average than those living in the South, where they’re cheapest, the AFBF estimates," the piece concludes with. 

As Jim Thompson at our sister site of RedState pointed out about the CNBC write-up, "The article was judicious in cherry-picking data and years, and if you bother to read the article, it leaves out the underlying inflation costs of everything not on your plate this Thanksgiving. Something like: 'Ok, rent has doubled and gas is expensive and the eggs are up 20 percent, but your canned gravy is at 1987 levels (adjusted for every variable we could think of), as long as you use a coupon.'"

Just as she's done in past years, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was full of the gaslighting about prices this year once more, which makes that 19 percent figure even more egregious.