Bernanke's nightmare, potato-skin soup feast

By Bonnie Alba

Is a time coming, maybe sooner than later, when Americans will have no choice but to tighten their belts? Is it possible that a loaf of bread may cost too much or grocery shelves will be empty? News — price of wheat going up in addition to the already rising price of corn. But those aren't the only increases coming our way.

The effects are felt all along the chain of production. Along with food products, there's the price increases of fuels and heating oils. With the price of diesel, truckers are fast losing income, some being driven out of their own trucking businesses. Because of corn-wheat products fed to stock (beef, poultry, swine), meats, dairy products and bakery goods have been steadily climbing to new price heights. Other products will soon follow.

Many Americans are waking up to the fact that they're running out of their hard-earned income quicker these days.

We're in a state of rising inflation while wages and job growth remain stagnant. But the Feds have decided to fight recession-deflation instead of inflation which they encouraged and produced in the way of inflationary bubbles and debt. Who knows what may develop from all the complicated ins and outs of the economy. Add the continued devaluing of the dollar, what's ahead for America?

This is Bernanke's Nightmare. Feast or famine? Or something in-between? I try to imagine Americans scrambling for food. This country has never known a true famine, at least not since half of the Pilgrims starved that first winter in a new land or during the Great Depression.

In the twenty-first century, there is no reason for any American to go hungry if you're not averse to wading through the paperwork to qualify for Nanny aid or asking for help. But that option may not always be available in the future.

We can't imagine the absence of food while our eyes feast upon the array and variety at the local markets. We can't imagine dreaming of food while our stomachs ache and shrink. We can't imagine the mother who fixes scraps into a semblance of a meal to feed her hungry children while she goes without. No — we can't imagine; we just know it happens somewhere in the world every day. But, with few exceptions, not in America.

We can't imagine standing in a long line for hours for a ration of bread or rice and as we near the front, only to find everything gone, the shelves empty. To go home empty-handed in despair; "What will I feed my children?"

I had a friend, Ruth, whom I lost touch with over the years. Originally from Germany, she had married an American soldier. I noticed that she was almost panicky if her refrigerator or pantry was only half full. When I asked, she replied "I don't like potato-skin soup."

Even though her father was a Customs Officer, she and her mother were left on their own towards the end of WWII and after. During those years, food and other necessities were rationed or nonexistent.

There came a time when there was nothing left as her mother reached the front of the line. One kind person gave her mother a few small potatoes. She took them home and carefully peeled them. Those potatoes lasted two days. The peelings? Her mother boiled and simmered them into a soup which lasted two more days. Talk about stretching food to last — Americans are so used to reaching out and touching a McDonald's or Wendy's that we can't imagine, can we?

Ruth admitted that she knew her panic was due to the fear of being without food. Yet, she could no more fight that impulse to fill her refrigerator and pantry shelves than deny loving her family.

We Americans are so sure it can't happen here. After all, America is the wealthiest, strongest and most feared nation in the world. Right? I love my country. But I also see that both the people and the government have been on a spending spree for decades, going into deep debt and relying on instant gratification as a way of life. This makes our nation ripe for economic failure.

There is no end to the advice handed out by experts about living through or with inflation-deflation. But the truth is no one knows what's in our future. What we do know — prices are rising, no end in sight. So, yes, stock up on the staples even to save a few cents because we don't know for sure about tomorrow.

Maybe we should plant potatoes.

© Bonnie Alba