Maggie Collins
Staff Writer
Inflation is defined as an increase in the price of goods and services and it is something that has recently affected our country drastically. It has affected everything from toilet paper to getting your nails done or going to see a movie. The inflation rate is said to be the highest that it has been since August of 2008. In the past 12 months, the inflation rate has risen 5.4%.
The reasoning behind this has been everchanging— ever since COVID-19 hit, our country has been in a scramble to keep up with the demand for products while in the middle of the pandemic. In the prime of COVID, most lost their jobs, and that left factories and manufacturers without any employees. People were already buying things in bulk in order to “stock up” and with less production of these products, we were bound to run out. What caused most of the shortages were the people who were buying more than they needed and caused others to have to do without.
We still hear that we are getting fewer products and they are more expensive because of the lack of materials they can get and need to make the product. As well, we are told that there are fewer people that want to work, leaving the production rate lower than it has been in a while.
Our country now seems to be in an awkward stance with the pandemic, because it is not completely over, but it does seem to be clearing up with the availability of vaccines. While we have been able to see a light at the end of the tunnel in the pandemic, it doesn’t seem that we are having the same experience with inflation.
It has not only hit the stores like Walmart or Lowes Foods, but it is now affecting Dollar Tree. The Dollar Tree has not only been a saving grace for those in college who don’t have much money to go shopping, but it’s also for those who don’t have a job that can financially take care of them and their families. Without Dollar Tree, many people would be left without proper necessities like food, water, and hygiene products.
While inflation is something that helps to keep our economy stable, it has gone too far when prices at the Dollar Store are raised to more than a dollar. Just a small increase can affect many people’s lives because that limits them even further on what all they can get. I personally shop at Dollar Tree for most of my things, because it is the best way for me to spend my money wisely and save for college expenses.
While shopping at the Dollar Tree I have seen many people of all different lifestyles and ages buying things like food, soap, and kitchen utensils. This is not a store like Walmart where you can buy some cheap things and then more higher-priced items. The store was made to provide for those who could not afford much, and they first planned to do that by making everything a dollar.
In the United States, we are still struggling to buy necessities at stores and for a price that we can afford. There have been shortages of the craziest things like chicken wings, lumber, and toilet paper. I’ve walked into stores seeing more aisles empty than full. The effects that this pandemic has had on the economy and the people in it have been detrimental. There are fewer people that want to work and more people that want to buy.
Our small communities have to stand up and gather together in our nation to work to lower this inflation because there are more people struggling from it than we know. It has gone so far that we can’t even walk in the Dollar Tree and expect to see everything listed at the price of a dollar. We have to work to build back up our nation and economy from the hit that all we took from COVID-19.
THE CAROLINIAN 
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