Examining ‘Burrito Inflation’ At a National & Local Level
Burrito inflation was all the buzz last week among conservatives on social media.
It started with a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) from right-wing columnist Matt Walsh of The Daily Wire.
“Grocery prices are insane,” Walsh posted to X on Monday, Aug. 3. “They’re still rising. Addressing this problem should be the number one priority of every elected leader. End the stupid foreign wars and focus on this issue. It’s one of the main reasons socialists are gaining power.”
The next day, Andrew Kolvet of the conservative youth group Turning Points USA replied, saying that a Turning Points college student mentioned to him that “A burrito shouldn’t cost $20.”
“Yeah, a lot of this is hangover from Covid and Bidenera inflation, but the lived experience is the same: It just feels like basic things cost too much,” Kolvet wrote.
His post unleashed a firestorm of debate among conservative commentators.
Marc Thiessen of The Washington Post responded condescendingly: “Cry me a river. The burritos in the college cafeteria are included in your meal plan.”
Vice President J.D. Vance weighed in on the debate: “I’m surprised to hear Mark (sic) say this. If you’ve ever met him in person, it’s quite obvious the man has never missed a burrito.”
The controversy stirred some meaningful debate in conservative circles about affordability. Others questioned the patriotism of Americans who enjoy Mexican food – clearly, some of these people are not from Texas.
Nonetheless, the controversy got us to thinking about burrito affordability in Fayette County. The Record scoured the internet for photographs of old restaurant menus from local restaurants. We were able to find two such examples.
We compared the prices of a burrito dish at one Fayette County Tex-Mex restaurant from 2020 and 2026. In 2020, the price was $9.95. This year, that same burrito plate cost $16.25, a 63.3 percent increase.
We also found a 2022 menu from a different Tex-Mex restaurant in Fayette County. A certain burrito plate from that establishment cost 12.25 in 2022. The same menu item in 2026 cost $17.25, a 40.8 percent increase.
This analysis did not compare portion size from the past and present. So-called “shrink-flation” has certainly affected affordability in recent years. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported extensively on the phenomenon last fall.
The GAO documented many examples including common pain reliever medicines downsizing from 100-count packages to 90-count packages while keeping the price roughly the same. In another example, rolls of paper towels downsized from 165 sheets to 147 sheets while the price per roll stayed the same.
A bottle of ketchup went from $3.09 for a 44.5 oz. bottle to $2.29 for a 32 oz. bottle. Unattentive consumers may not notice that the price per ounce jumped from 6.94 cents to 7.16 cents.
One thing that hasn’t changed, so far, is the price of the Fayette County Record Newspaper. It’s been one dollar per copy for over a decade. It won’t stay that way forever, though. It’ll go up one of these days due to rising costs.