Well, it certainly depends on who you ask and how friendly they are with the current administration.

I hadn’t realized there was such a disparity in the figures and reporting until Monday night. We watched, as always, the CBS Evening News (know your enemy) and there was the traditional “what it’s gonna cost you this year” blurb buried towards the end of the broadcast (16:30 in, to be precise).

CBS said it would cost us “less” this year than last, as “prices are down about 3%.”

Using American Farm Bureau Federation data, CBS ran with this number: $67.73

“…And, while costs are down this year, they’re still about 14% higher than two years ago…”

That sounded kind of optimistic to me as far as feeding 10 people a meal that would actually feed them goes, but “Farm Bureau.” What do I know?

Also second highest ever bill (you can guess what year was the first), which the CBS report somehow forgot to mention. Slipped their minds, I guess.

Americans continue to feel the pinch of soaring inflation as the grocery bill for a traditional Fourth of July barbecue was the second-highest ever, according to a new survey.

…The survey measures 12 staple items in a cookout, including hamburger buns, chopped beef, potato salad, chicken breast, lemonade, pork chops, cheese, potato chips, ice cream, strawberries, and chocolate chip cookies.

The price of a burger and fries, or potato salad, kept costs particularly high as 2 pounds of beef rose 4% this year to $11.54, while the potatoes increased 5% to $3.44 for 2.5 pounds, according to the AFBF.

Meanwhile, hamburger buns soared by a whopping 17% to $2.26 per unit, according to the survey. If you want cheese on that burger, the price from last year remained unchanged.

Spidey senses were spot on though, because just an hour or so later, I caught a link on Instapundit with a truly bad “old Soviet joke,” and a figure more like we’d been expecting to hear.

Average per-person spending on Fourth of July food items rose to $93.34 in 2023 amid persistent inflation, new data from a National Retail Federation (NRF) survey found.

The figure is the highest ever recorded by the NRF since the survey began in 2003, marking a $9.22 increase since last year when the individual cost averaged out to $84.12. The survey, conducted from June 1st to June 7th, fielded responses from 8,225 consumers.

The NRF is the National Retail Federation and, well, that’s quite a difference, no? And truly, that sounds closer to what most barbeques and cook-outs for just 6 or more folks, especially with adults, are going to run you. I’m going to take a leap of faith at that metric, not being a data person myself (and I am waiting for clarification). I’ll assume that the “per person spending” they’re referring to is the person buying the food for the celebratory meal, not an individual who is spending almost a hundred bucks to gorge on wagyu burgers himself.

If we use that figure as the cook-out cost then, where things had been sort of static in the $70 range, there’s been a precipitous rise in the cost of backyard entertaining over just a couple of years.

I wonder who did that?

Oh, you betcha – President “I Saved You Sixteen Cents” did.

"Lowering costs." The apartment I paid $700 a month for when you got into office is now $1600 a month. And you had the balls to brag about 16 cents saved on 4th of July BBQ's, which is also up since you scuffed inflation. pic.twitter.com/H6frNrqf6l

— Uh Oh Stinky (@Foxtrot889) July 4, 2023

Even the Federal Reserve got its #mathz licks in with yet another stack of calculations that still did Bidenomics no favors.

Having a 4th of July BBQ? Prepare to pay nearly 20% more for BBQ items than just a year ago. Inflation continues to interrupt Americans’ lives! pic.twitter.com/gHhUfTPCIB

— Assemblywoman Kate Sanchez (@AsmKateSanchez) July 1, 2023

That 2022 “Up $10.18” looks kinda quant, doesn’t it?

Being a naturally sunny sort, I don’t want to seem like there were NO bargains to be found – I mean, there were.

But you had to be: 1) looking 2) desperate

Below is a 4th of July gift to all my friends 🦩🦩🦩
CHECK MATE ♟️♟️♟️ You can pay $3 and purchase (24) Paper Weights…. I challenge you to show me where you can buy so many paper weights for $3 😅😂🤣 This is an inflation buster eh? pic.twitter.com/bVF1gBWjBQ

— Chloe (@Chloe4Djt) July 4, 2023

POTATUS hasn’t driven me over that cliff yet.

By the way – would you have any Grey Poupon?

There are leftovers to address – waste not, want not.