By the numbers
Have you noticed your grocery bill increasing? According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the federal agency that tracks inflation data, the cost of groceries in the Midwest has been on the rise since 2020 after years of holding even.
A basket of groceries that would have cost $100 in January 2014 would now cost $127, according to the BLS’ consumer price index for “food at home” in the Midwest.
While the underlying phenomenon of inflation is, as a matter of federal policy, outside the usual scope of the Badger Institute’s policy work, prices that consumers in Wisconsin pay are also affected by our state’s Depression-era minimum markup law. The Badger Institute has studied and written about that law extensively over the years, including:
A report by Christian Schnieder about why minimum markup laws should be repealed for gasoline sales.
Another report Badger Institute conducted on the real-world impacts of minimum markup laws, while under our previous name the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute.
A piece from Mike Nichols, discussing the historical background of minimum markup laws and why they are a thing of the past.
A chapter from our Mandate for Madison, written by Ken Wysocky, discusses our findings for why our government still feels the need for these laws.
A brief look back at what Badger has produced on this topic as Minnesota repeals their minimum markup laws for gasoline.
Finally, a recent piece by Patrick McIlheran looking towards the future as one politician dares to challenge these ridiculous laws that only hurt consumers.
The underlying numbers
The data are $100 in January 2014 inflated by the BLS’ consumer price index (CPI-U) “food at home” component for the Midwest region, which comprises Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio and South Dakota.
| Date | Scaled Price of Groceries |
| January 2014 | $100.00 |
| February 2014 | $100.32 |
| March 2014 | $100.78 |
| April 2014 | $101.25 |
| May 2014 | $101.55 |
| June 2014 | $101.72 |
| July 2014 | $101.83 |
| August 2014 | $102.25 |
| September 2014 | $102.61 |
| October 2014 | $102.81 |
| November 2014 | $102.10 |
| December 2014 | $102.44 |
| January 2015 | $102.79 |
| February 2015 | $102.51 |
| March 2015 | $101.78 |
| April 2015 | $101.83 |
| May 2015 | $101.61 |
| June 2015 | $101.74 |
| July 2015 | $102.15 |
| August 2015 | $102.50 |
| September 2015 | $103.01 |
| October 2015 | $102.65 |
| November 2015 | $101.83 |
| December 2015 | $102.00 |
| January 2016 | $102.49 |
| February 2016 | $102.08 |
| March 2016 | $101.20 |
| April 2016 | $101.59 |
| May 2016 | $100.89 |
| June 2016 | $100.54 |
| July 2016 | $100.29 |
| August 2016 | $100.53 |
| September 2016 | $100.44 |
| October 2016 | $100.59 |
| November 2016 | $99.87 |
| December 2016 | $99.58 |
| January 2017 | $100.00 |
| February 2017 | $100.21 |
| March 2017 | $100.37 |
| April 2017 | $100.41 |
| May 2017 | $100.70 |
| June 2017 | $100.41 |
| July 2017 | $100.38 |
| August 2017 | $100.65 |
| September 2017 | $100.79 |
| October 2017 | $101.12 |
| November 2017 | $100.57 |
| December 2017 | $100.16 |
| January 2018 | $100.69 |
| February 2018 | $100.76 |
| March 2018 | $100.37 |
| April 2018 | $101.25 |
| May 2018 | $100.63 |
| June 2018 | $100.83 |
| July 2018 | $100.83 |
| August 2018 | $100.34 |
| September 2018 | $100.57 |
| October 2018 | $100.43 |
| November 2018 | $99.68 |
| December 2018 | $99.74 |
| January 2019 | $100.53 |
| February 2019 | $101.45 |
| March 2019 | $101.01 |
| April 2019 | $100.72 |
| May 2019 | $101.29 |
| June 2019 | $101.27 |
| July 2019 | $100.77 |
| August 2019 | $100.89 |
| September 2019 | $101.15 |
| October 2019 | $101.11 |
| November 2019 | $101.00 |
| December 2019 | $100.88 |
| January 2020 | $101.50 |
| February 2020 | $102.10 |
| March 2020 | $102.29 |
| April 2020 | $105.04 |
| May 2020 | $106.12 |
| June 2020 | $106.17 |
| July 2020 | $105.07 |
| August 2020 | $104.28 |
| September 2020 | $103.39 |
| October 2020 | $104.07 |
| November 2020 | $103.39 |
| December 2020 | $103.63 |
| January 2021 | $104.57 |
| February 2021 | $104.78 |
| March 2021 | $105.03 |
| April 2021 | $105.66 |
| May 2021 | $105.81 |
| June 2021 | $106.58 |
| July 2021 | $107.46 |
| August 2021 | $108.02 |
| September 2021 | $109.20 |
| October 2021 | $110.68 |
| November 2021 | $110.68 |
| December 2021 | $111.34 |
| January 2022 | $113.46 |
| February 2022 | $114.88 |
| March 2022 | $116.90 |
| April 2022 | $118.62 |
| May 2022 | $120.52 |
| June 2022 | $121.80 |
| July 2022 | $123.57 |
| August 2022 | $124.49 |
| September 2022 | $124.96 |
| October 2022 | $125.31 |
| November 2022 | $125.37 |
| December 2022 | $125.77 |
| January 2023 | $126.93 |
| February 2023 | $127.28 |
| March 2023 | $127.08 |
| April 2023 | $127.28 |
| May 2023 | $128.03 |
| June 2023 | $127.62 |
| July 2023 | $128.29 |
| August 2023 | $127.99 |
| September 2023 | $128.27 |
| October 2023 | $128.00 |
| November 2023 | $127.31 |
| December 2023 | $127.50 |
Published in the Jan. 19 issue of Top Picks.
