"At a news conference, White House spokesman Jen Psaki falsely claimed that a 20-pound turkey costs just a dollar more this year.
We in the press corps aren't known for being good at math, but still I was surprised nobody corrected her on the spot.
Many news reports and economic data have been saying that turkey costs about 25% more this year than last year.
I visited my local grocery store today to see what turkey costs there. It was $1.99/pound (about $40 for a 20-pounder).
Assuming that's a 25% increase over last year, I paid about $1.60/pound in 2020 ($32 for a 20-pound bird).
Check my math, but by my calculation, the difference in price this year for a 20-pound turkey is $8.00, not the $1.00 that Psaki claimed.
I also found a report that said the turkey price increase is slightly smaller: more like 22% ($1.15/pound 2020; $1.41/pound 2021).
The 26-cent/pound difference is 22% of $1.15.
Even assuming the smaller price increase, the whole turkey is over $5.00 more expensive this year.
Psaki's $1.00 number is nowhere near on target, and completely understates the higher cost of a 20-pound turkey.
The only way her figure is accurate is if the price of turkey increased by just a nickel a pound, and I couldn't find any authority saying that's the case.
... I think few doubt that if the Trump White House had made the same claim, media "fact checks" claiming he's a liar would have circulated the globe faster than a pumpkin pie disappears after Thanksgiving dinner."
Thursday, November 25, 2021
Orofessional Liar Jen Psaki even lies about price of turkey, by Sharyl Attkisson
Source:
