re: #27 JC1

That’s due to the inflation 2-3 years ago. Prices haven’t dropped overall (deflation), but the rate of increase fell well below the rate of earnings growth. Again, these are national averages; individual areas, items, and circumstances can vary greatly from the averages.

That is always the issue: inflation dropping to near 0 means that prices remain about the same as they were yesterday, not that they revert to prices before inflation struck. 1.2% over the past year just means overall food prices are only a little higher than last year — but they are significantly higher than 5 years ago.