.........Countdown to starvation

Really? The average food bill for a family of 4 is $200 per week on a moderate plan. The average fuel bill for a family of 4 is $150 per week.

The average income for a family of 4 in the US is $1500 per week. That makes food and fuel combined just under 25% of the total weekly budget. The rest is 75% of what most Americans use most.

The government doesn’t use food and fuel as a major part of the inflation analysis because it is too volatile on a short term basis. The durable goods costs are what indicates true inflation rates over longer periods of time.
No one I know in Michigan is making 1500 per week. If we did we could probably stop driving 20 year and older cars as daily drivers. Matter of fact a good 40 hour job pays half of that.