Californians Crossing the Border to Find Basic Goods: 'You Gotta Take Care of Yourself'
How bad are things in one of the most liberal (and expensive) states in President Joe Biden’s America? Bad enough that, for some residents to properly fill their pantries, they have to shop outside of America.
On Thursday, NewsNation reported on a group of Californians who are regularly crossing the border at San Diego to the Mexican city of Tijuana.
They’re not going down there to party, however, or to traffic in illegal goods.
Instead, they’re going south of the border to shop — for cheaper groceries.
“Many Californians make the 20-minute journey every day from San Diego to the San Ysidro border, which leads directly to Tijuana, to bargain hunt,” NewsNation noted.
And some of these individuals are traveling a lot more than just 20 minutes. Take Gibran Jimenez, who traveled almost two hours to get to Tijuana.
“I gotta save as much as I can; every penny counts,” said the father of two, who has a pregnant wife.
It’s not just groceries. Gas is cheaper, too — something the Mexican president bragged about during a White House visit recently.
“Gas prices are going up like crazy and that’s what kills us, you know, the middle class,” Jimenez said.
Gas was $1.24 cheaper in Mexico than it is in California, which is the most expensive state in the nation to fill up in. The average price of a gallon of gas was $5.38 in California as of Thursday.
And if you think the savings on a gallon of gas are pretty amazing, look at what you can save on a gallon of milk.
According to NewsNation, it costs half as much in Tijuana as it does in the United States. In addition, “a four-pack of toilet paper is nearly $4 cheaper and a 24-pack of Tylenol is also $1 less,” NewsNation reported.
“If you are on a budget, you gotta take care of yourself,” said David McCarty, who lives in Chula Vista, California, near San Diego.
He walked across the border with Maria McCarty — relationship unmentioned — to get street tacos and have their pets checked up.
For vendors and supermarkets in Tijuana, this has worked out pretty well — at the Mercado Hildago Market, they’ve seen an increase in American shoppers of between 20 and 30%.
There are stipulations, however, as NewsNation notes: “While it appears your money may go further in Mexico, be prepared to wait in long lines at checkout and at customs on your way back home,” they reported.
“However, everything can’t be purchased in Mexico and taken back across the border. Most fruits, including apples and oranges, will not be allowed through customs. Anyone breaking the rules or failing to disclose agricultural items could receive a $1,000 fine.”
You know things are bad when the mainstream media has to warn its viewers about what grocery items will and won’t be allowed through the border.
Not that you’d know that Americans are still suffering from the Biden administration’s response. July’s inflation number came in at 8.5 percent — a massive jump over last year.
And yet, the Biden administration was doing a victory lap, with White House communications director Kate Bedingfield telling CNN “that the inflation data in July was 0.0. So, we are seeing inflation decrease.”
The only decrease, of course, was from the year-over-year increase in June, which was 9.1 percent.
A year ago, an 8.5 percent number would be greeted with alarm. Now, we’re being told happy days are here again because the increase in the Consumer Price Index over last year is lower this month than it was last month — a deliberately dishonest reading of what it measures.
Of course, inflation is rampant in Mexico, as well — not quite as rampant as in the U.S., but it’s bad. Lots of factors go into cheaper prices south of the border.
But when legacy news sites are giving people tips on how to go to Mexico for cheaper necessities — and not just prescription drugs or dental care but staples like milk and gas — that’s a sign things have gone perilously sideways.
Granted, liberal California is always one of the most expensive states for groceries and gas, yet another sign the Democrats ruin every economy they touch. Don’t let anyone at the White House or on Capitol Hill tell you this is normal.
It isn’t, and the fault lies squarely with them.
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