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Sorting through the offerings in the meat department’s bargain bin last week in Kihei, we spotted an average-sized rib-eye steak that had originally been priced $56.
Looking a little gray and nearing the expiration of its “sell by” date, it was marked down 30 percent. That still made it a $39 steak, more than double what we would have expected to pay. We put the precious cut back and continued searching for something affordable to toss on the grill.
With U.S. inflation topping 9 percent, we hear sticker shock like this is happening across the country. In Maui County, where residents already pay some of America’s highest prices for food, gasoline and real estate, the increases can be particularly startling.
For those doing well on this island, higher prices may raise eyebrows, but they will not break the bank. Not like for households just barely squeaking by. These folks are being forced to choose between what they must do without and what they can cut back on, like how much they drive, the quality of food they eat and what they have left to spend on nonessentials. Dreams to purchase homes are dashed, family vacations canceled.
The hikes would be easier to stomach if we knew they were temporary. If this is just an inflationary cycle caused by a pandemic, European war, oil shortages and fissures in the supply chain, it could be considered patriotic to tighten our belts to help the country through. Compared to Ukrainians who have been bombed out of their homes, going without steak is nothing.
The million-dollar answers will come once the dust clears and we discover whether higher prices are here to stay. Once a gas station charges $5.79 for a gallon of regular and a grocery store gets $56 for a little steak, can they go back?
Economic forces such as supply and demand will have a say, but Maui throws additional factors into the equation. What the market will bear comes to mind. There is a lot of wealth on this island. It’s fair to say international real estate investors with enough cash to bid well over asking price for multimillion-dollar estates aren’t sweating the grocery bills.
Neither are most of our tourists. Despite record-high room rates and car rental fees, visitor arrivals and spending have rebounded beyond all expectations. While some visitors are well heeled, even ones who hail as working class back home have scrimped and saved to come here. Vacationers expect to spend, to splurge.
If $56 steaks and $100 fill-ups become the island’s new normal, if rents continue to rise and homeownership grows more out of reach, it cannot help but impact the people who toil to make this island tick. What happens when the price of paradise becomes too steep for the average citizen to pay?