Food, shelter and medical care continue to squeeze San Diegans’ pocketbooks. In fact, they still pay some of the highest costs in the country for basic necessities. As a result, more people are going hungry. And a local economist says there are signs of a weakening local labor market. KPBS report Katie Anastas spoke to Public Matters reporter Amita Sharma about the rising cost of living. Their conversation is below.
Amita, let’s start with inflation. What kind of toll are high prices taking on San Diegans?
You mentioned the toll on people. I spoke with 65-year-old Carol Peter who lives in a trailer in an RV park in El Cajon. Her rent on the tiny spit of land where her RV sits just went up recently from $750 a month to $1,045 a month. So she now spends 80% of what she receives monthly from Supplemental Security Income on housing, leaving her very little for food. She clips coupons, depends on Meals on Wheels and CalFresh. But she still does not have enough to eat…