Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, one problem facing consumers has been the increasing cost of necessities. Even as many people have lost their jobs and are struggling to survive, the price of essential goods, particularly food, have sharply increased over the last year. This increase puts extra financial pressure on consumers, especially those already facing financial difficulty during the pandemic. For those who experience job loss, pay cuts, or workplace closures due to lockdowns, making ends meet is never an easy task. When coupled with the rising prices that have accompanied the pandemic, it has become a nearly impossible task. This has led to a food security crisis, as food insecurity levels have “remained elevated over 2019 levels and levels of food insecurity reported during the Great Recession.”1
Thus far, efforts to address this problem have focused on the effects rather than the cause. Charitable organizations have been working to combat the problems created by the pandemic by collecting donations and providing food and other necessities for families in need. This solution is admirable in that it provides necessary relief for struggling families, but it does not address the problems that caused those families to be unable to purchase necessities.
Likewise, in previous months, the federal government has tried to address the problem by sending a stimulus check to many Americans. Again, this solution is not without merit, as it gives consumers some financial relief and, at least temporarily, the ability to purchase some of the products they need. However, in the face of steeply increasing food prices, $1,200 can only get a consumer so far, and the purchasing power of that fixed amount of money decreases more and more as prices continue to climb. Moreover, as the stimulus was only a one-time payment, the relief it provides for struggling households is fleeting.
The ideal solution to this problem would not eliminate relief efforts directed at struggling families. Those efforts are necessary if we intend to help those experiencing financial trouble and food insecurity. Instead, it would broaden them so that the scale of our response matches the scale of the problem; additionally, it would be a solution that simultaneously addresses the causes and effects of the issue.
Therefore, one possible solution would be an expansion of the stimulus program coupled with the institution of price-gouging laws. Issuing further stimulus payments would create financial relief for many families and mitigate some of the effects of the pandemic. At the same time, price-gouging laws should be instituted in states that do not currently have them, in order to ensure that price increases do not go unchecked. States that do have relevant laws should follow the lead of New York, which recently “increased penalties against those who price gouge essential items during a pandemic.”2 Only by combining financial relief with laws that keep the price of necessities affordable can we create the solution to the complex problem the pandemic has created.
1. 2020, Brookings Institute. “Hungry at Thanksgiving: A Fall 2020 update on food security in the US.” Accessed November 22, 2020.
2. 2020, National Law Review. “Price Gouging Weekly Roundup – November 23, 2020.” Accessed November 23, 2020.
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