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A five-year-old Tiff County student who was taken into custody and charged with a felony
for making terroristic threats.
Monday's earlier scare followed a fatal shooting of a 16-year-old and the hospitalization of
another teen, but no credible threat was found at the high school.
The investigation involved Tifton Police, Tiff County Schools Security, DHS, GBI, and FBI, and
any other three-letter agencies we can come up with, all working overnight to locate the
suspect.
Police praised the rapid coordination between agencies for resolving the case quickly.
Tiff County Schools emphasized that all threats are taken seriously and investigated immediately.
And the district-eared parents to talk with children about responsible communication, the
seriousness of making threats, and to monitor social media use, which I agree with.
We see it a lot of times, and even my wife, when she used to work at Joanne Fabrics, she
would point out the fact that young children, we're talking even under six years of age, when
parents would come in, instead of parenting, they would just hand over their phone to try to
keep the child preoccupied and, I guess, quiet and docile or whatever.
And, you know, granted that that's a child that's a bit younger than what they're talking
about here at 12, you're setting up a bad precedent when you're doing this.
And, you know, I'm going to be the first one to tell you, I love technology.
From the very first memories of anything that I considered technological, I loved it.
Because I'm a science fiction, techie kind of guy, I love all that kind of stuff.
And so, I get it, but I also grew up in a generation where, you know, we're Gen X.
During the summer, a lot of us would, early in the morning, strike out on our bicycles, and
our parents may or may not have even known where we were, as long as we were home by suppertime.
And these kids, social media has been a blessing, and it has equally been a curse.
And social media has basically become the parents, I'm afraid.
So, I encourage you, I mean, all of my kids are grown, my youngest is 28, but I encourage
you to sit down and talk with your kids and explain the ramifications, even if they think
it's a prank.
Oh, sweet summer child, that prank can ruin the rest of your life.
So, parents need to sit down with their children and explain, as I said, the ramifications of
even a prank.
We do, we have the First Amendment in this country.
I get that.
First Amendment does not cover threats.
We do have limits to free speech.
The Veterans Museum Movement fundraiser is set for Saturday, October 25th from 5 to 9 p.m.
at the American Legion Fairgrounds on U.S. Highway 82 in Tifton.
The event aims to raise $25,000 to help relocate and reopen Tifton's Veterans Museum, which has
been closed for nearly a year and a half.
They're going to have attractions such as vintage car cruise-in, live music by the Danny
Dawson Band, food trucks, vendors, games, a silent auction, and drawings.
Tickets are $5 at the gate.
Children 12 and under are free.
Organizer Connie Stover, owner of the Savor the Flavor and Donatello's, called it a community
movement to give local veterans stories a permanent home.
Children's activities include face painting a monster truck and a lifeline helicopter arrival
at 5.30 p.m. for photos.
Authors Tammy and Gary Griffin will sign books donating part of their proceeds to the cause.
VIP tables for eight are available for $150 donations, including wine and entry into the
Boozy Wagon Raffle, valued at $1,500, featuring beer, wine, whiskey, and bar gear.
The silent auction will feature jewelry from Central Jewelers.
The Veterans Museum was formerly in the Atlantic Coastline station, but closed after losing display
space.
500 or more artifacts and photos are now in storage.
And Stover emphasized the museum as a living record of courage and sacrifice, representing
community pride, remembrance, and unity.
I think it's a good cause.
I wish them well.
So, you know, so one thing we should never forget our veterans.
And I could go off on a diatribe and a tangent about how we how we treat our veterans poorly,
the sacrifices that they have made for this country, for the country that they love.
And then their government basically just shits all over them.
But that that's a story for another day, a rant for another day.
Now, talking about, as I mentioned earlier, talking about it being sunny all week, this connects
to another issue that we're having here in South Georgia.
South Georgia farmers continue to struggle under a severe drought with recent rainfall offering
little relief.
Julie Hardy of Hearst Farm says the drought is causing split crops in peanuts, some mature,
others not, forcing tough decisions on when to harvest.
Dry, hard soil leads to peanuts falling off the vines, which can't be harvested, resulting
in major losses.
The drought is also damaging equipment, requiring slower operation and more frequent maintenance,
which, of course, increases costs.
Hardy notes that farmers already operate on razor thin or negative profit margins, making
every loss critical.
UGA Extension agent Sidney Ingram said the impact on cotton yields remains uncertain, but could
include lower yields and quality in dry land fields.
Citrus growers like Lindy Savelle reported higher irrigation costs due to dry conditions.
as Satsuma trees need consistent water for survival and cold protection.
NOAA estimates South Georgia would need about five inches of rain in one month to break current
drought conditions.
And if I remember what I saw yesterday, Colquitt County in that area seems to be worse than most
other counties in South Georgia.
I put a link on the Tifton Talks Facebook page to the drought map.
You can go check it out for yourself at facebook.com slash T-talks.
Moody's Analytics reports that 22 U.S. states are now in economic contraction.
That effectively means that half the nation is in a recession, despite positive national numbers.
Chief Economist Mark Zandy said many lower and middle income Americans are hanging on by their
fingertips, struggling with debt and slowing wage growth, even as they remain employed.
I mean, the upside is at least you're remaining employed.
GDP growth sits at 3.8 percent and unemployment at 4.3 percent, but regional disparities hide deeper
problems in smaller manufacturing heavy states.
Zandy warned that if weaknesses spread to California, Texas or New York, the national economy
could tip into a full recession.
Low income households are especially vulnerable because they're burdened with auto loans and
student debt and mortgages and have little to no savings to weather financial shocks.
I can attest to that.
It is very difficult to save, especially when you're just trying to survive and pay your
taxes and Social Security and whatnot.
The ongoing federal government shutdown has paused official data collection, leaving private
surveys to show a decline in consumer confidence, particularly among those earning under $35,000.
The conference board's consumer confidence survey shows that nearly 20 percent of Americans say
jobs are hard to get, while a quarter expect the job market to worsen in the months ahead, which
is not good because we're in the fourth quarter of the year.
We're in that quarter where I saw that Amazon is hiring 250,000 seasonal workers to get ready for
the holiday season because we are in the holiday season.
So that does not bode well for people if a quarter expect the job market to worsen in the months ahead.
And even if you wind up being one of those, let's say for Amazon, 250,000 additional hires right after
Christmas, you're gone.
So some good news for Tiff County folks.
The Tiff County Board of Education has approved a 2025 millage rate of 12.275.
marking a 12% property tax reduction for Tiff County residents.
The rollback rate was calculated at 14.0036 mil, slightly higher than the 2024 rate of 14.000, but
the board chose to go below the rollback to provide tax relief.
To cover the difference, the school system will use reserve funds, their financial savings account,
to balance the budget.
Superintendent Adam Gore said the decision prioritizes taxpayer relief over building large
cash reserves while maintaining 1.9 months of operating costs in the fund balance for stability.
The board noted its responsibility as the second largest employer in Tiff County, something
I did not know, ensuring both fiscal responsibility and operational security.
Deputy Superintendent Clinton Guess said the move reflects a balance between meaningful tax relief
and sustaining educational quality, despite rising costs and economic challenges.
Tiff County schools ranks among the most financially efficient systems in Georgia, spending less per
student than 161 of the state's 180 school systems.
So then we have a breakdown, the historical millage rates that have shown a steady decline over the
last past, uh, the past five years.
So let's start off in 2020.
In 2020, it was 16.932.
2021, it was 16.598.
In 2022, it was 16.505.
In 2023, it was 16.501.
And in 2024, it was 14.
And in 2025, 12.275, the current rate.
If you got any questions, of course, about your property taxes, contact the Tiff County Tax
Commissioner's Office for updated tax billing information, reflecting the new rate.
If you need that bill, which, I mean, they still should be sending out the actual bills.
I don't, I think the only one I've gotten so far is the one they sent out in July that says,
hey, this is what it's probably going to be.
But they always have to wait for the school system to finalize their millage rate.
So contact the Tiff County Tax Commissioner's Office if you have any questions, have any
questions about your property tax.
All right.
We're going to take a break, pay some bills and all of that goodness.
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We all bite.
Well, not before coffee.
Hey, and good morning.
Welcome back to the morning drip.
I am Donovan.
It is Tuesday, October 14th, 2025.
We are still in Spooktober.
You know, I've got to figure out whenever I get into November what little soundbite I'm going to put there.
Is there anything you can do for November?
I know we can do some holiday jingles and Christmas jingles and what have you for Christmas,
but I can't think of anything that you can necessarily do for November.
All right, in this segment, I'm going to dedicate it 100% to our illustrious congressman, Austin Scott.
Covers the 8th district here in Georgia, which includes my county and several of the counties around me.
And I've talked about in the past how he sends out a newsletter.
And of course, I mean, you have to go subscribe to it.
He's just not willy-nilly sending it out to everybody.
Not that I know of, but he has sent one out over the weekend that yet again is full of falsehoods and incorrect assertions.
So I'm going to start off by reading the email, and then we're going to deconstruct and see what is somewhat true, what isn't true,
basically what's an out-and-out lie or a misrepresentation.
So to start off with, here's what his email said.
The Schumer shutdown continues in Washington, D.C., and unfortunately, Democrats have given no indication that they plan to vote to end it anytime soon.
With service members and federal employees soon to miss a paycheck, farmers are unable to get loans processed during harvest season, and many other agencies and programs on hold, Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats celebrate going so far as to even say, quote,
Every day gets better for us, end quote.
I don't think the one in five military families that are currently single-income households would agree.
Keep in mind, almost all Republicans in both the House of Representatives and the Senate have voted to keep the government funded at current levels.
All but three Democrats and one independent have voted to shut the government down in the Senate.
I'm thinking that one independent is probably Bernie Sanders, because he's the only independent I know of that's in the Senate, I think.
Democrats and their allies in the press have been masterfully misrepresenting this.
So please allow me to give you the facts on the, quote, Obamacare subsidy enhancement, end quote, that Democrats have used as the excuse for creating this shutdown.
Oh, Mr. Scott, please explain this to me.
He goes on to say, during COVID, the American Rescue Plan gave a temporarily enhanced premium tax credit, also known as PTC, for health insurance purchased through the marketplace.
The bipartisan agreement was that these enhanced subsidies would expire at the end of 2022.
Then, in a 100% partisan vote, Democrats changed the expiration date of these PTCs to December 31st, 2025.
More on that later about this 100% partisan vote, because it has to do with the Inflation Reduction Act.
Now, we are in October of 2025, and just before the deadline to fund the government, Democrats in D.C. demanded to make the COVID-era enhanced credits permanent, or they would vote to shut down the government.
This is a calculated political strategy, and they have said so publicly, quote,
It's because we've thought about this long in advance, and we knew that health care would be the focal point on September 30th, and so we prepared for it, end quote.
That was Chuck Schumer.
There's also been a lot of misrepresentation of what the expiration of the COVID-era enhanced PTCs will cost Georgians.
The fact is, there are 1.247 million people in Georgia that receive the enhanced PTCs.
The total annual cost for our state is $658 million.
So, the expiration at the end of 2025 will cost an average of $44 a month in the health insurance premium to each person receiving the PTCs.
The real problem is the large health insurance companies have monopolized the markets, and they have filed for an average 20% rate increase for January of 2026 with or without the subsidies.
Keep in mind, these insurance companies get the subsidy check from the government, not the insured.
I have to agree with Austin on this one, but it goes further.
The health insurance companies are greedy, but having some inside knowledge on some of this stuff, some of the things, some of the price points of like one-and-done instruments and what have you that are used in procedures is just effing ridiculous, the cost, okay?
And then when they get whittled down to what insurance companies will actually pay, you know, there's this rollercoaster effect of, well, we're going to overinflate the price so that we can basically get chopped down to where we want it to be.
It's the reason why when you sue somebody, you sue them for $10 million when all you're hoping to get out of them is half a mil to a couple mil.
According to the Congressional, back to his email, according to the Congressional Budget Office in 2025 alone, 2.3 million people nationwide received enhanced subsidies for which they were not eligible.
40% of enrollees had zero claims.
You read that correctly.
40%.
That means the insurance companies got subsidies for millions of people who were not eligible and never filed a claim.
I have never heard this.
I see, I find that assertion to be somewhat dubious.
Back to his email.
Yet Democrats, including both of Georgia's senators, won't agree to fund the government unless these enhanced COVID-era subsidies are made permanent.
This is a blatant dereliction of duty.
Georgia's two senators are even among those that have previously spoken on the harms of a government shutdown, yet they continue to vote against the bipartisan plan to reopen the government.
Their actions are directly harming Americans and the constituents that we represent in Georgia.
We are in harvest season in Georgia, and because of our senators, farmers cannot go to the FSA offices to acquire their marketing assistance loans.
No applications can be processed, and all funds meant for disaster relief from Hurricane Helene are frozen.
While hundreds of thousands of critical federal employees in Georgia are forced to continue working without pay, Georgia senators refuse to do their jobs by passing a clean, continuing resolution to reopen the government.
Well, don't worry, Austin.
You don't have to be concerned about those federal employees in Georgia working without pay.
Trump fired them.
Okay, so let's dissect this and see what's broadly true, what's misleading or wrong, what happens in Georgia if the credits expired, and the final verdict.
So, what's broadly true in regard to enhanced ACA subsidies and the timing?
Yes, the, quote, enhanced premium tax credits were later extended by the Inflation Reduction Act through December 31st, 2025.
That is what he's saying is 100% partisan.
Well, that's because the dumbass Republicans did not agree.
And I mean, they're entitled to their opinion, but if you look back at the data, the Inflation Reduction Act is largely responsible for our economy, the United States economy, recovering so quickly.
Whereas other countries were still stumbling and pushing through in 2023 and even 2024.
But the IRA in this, the Inflation Reduction Act, is largely responsible for us coming out of what was left over, our economy in tatters, inflation up to like 9% and 10% in the United States.
But if it weren't for that bill, we'd still be in dire straits.
And it goes on to say that without new legislation, they expire for plan year 2026.
That's according to KFF.
In regards to the PTCs or pay to insurers, that is correct.
Advanced premium tax credits go directly to insurers on the enrollee's behalf.
Georgia's own exchange materials define APTCs this way.
You can go to Georgia Access and find that definition.
Concerning the shutdown harms farmers, USDA's official shutdown plan confirms loan and disaster aid processing pause during a lapse.
That is true.
Now, what's misleading or wrong?
Average cost is only $44 per month per person in Georgia.
So he says that 1.247 million Georgians get enhanced credits, costing $658 million a year, around $44 a month each.
That number is off by an order of magnitude.
Georgia's 2025 enrollment topped around $1.5 million.
So if around 90% gets subsidies, which is typical, that's 1.3 to 1.4 million subsidized.
His head count is plausible, but the average subsidy size is nowhere near $44.
National CMS data show the average PTC is around $550 per month for recipients, and many pay $10 a month or less after subsidies.
Georgia-specific consumer groups show more than $550 per month.
If Georgia subsidized enrollees average even $450 to $550 a month, the statewide total would be from $79 billion or more per year, not $658 million.
So in other words, his $44 looks like he treated an annual total as if it covered a whole year of monthly subsidies.
Regarding premiums will go up 20% anyway.
He cites a around 20% 2026 increase that conflates gross premiums, what the plans file, with what people pay after credits.
KFF finds insurers are averaging around 18% increases for 2026 gross premiums.
But the net effect on what enrollees pay if the enhanced credits expire is far larger.
Average payments would rise around 114%.
So the bottom line, both of these things can be true.
Insurers filed high increases and net costs explode if credits lapse.
So using the 20% stat to downplay the 114% jump is misleading.
Regarding $2.3 million got subsidies they weren't eligible for with 40% had zero claims.
The 2.3 million figure comes from Republican committee summaries of a CBO communication about tightening eligibility in the GOP's reconciliation bill, also known as the BBB, what we call the big bastard of a bill.
It's not a published standalone CBO report with methods and tables.
Coverage of the claim appears in partisan press releases and trade press write-ups, but not in a conventional CBO cost estimate.
Meanwhile, CMS's formal improper payment rate for APTC slash net PTC in FY 2022 was 1.62%, which is far from mass fraud.
The 40% had zero claims line?
Well, that's traced back to Paragon Health Institute, which is an advocacy think tank.
It's echoed by allied outlets.
Researching this, we couldn't find a neutral government or peer-reviewed source confirming it.
But what we do have is from KFF in 2023 claims denial data, not zero claims, with an average 20% in-network denial rate, which is a different issue entirely.
So we can treat the 40% zero claims as unverified and ideologically sourced.
In other words, he's grasping at straws regarding Democrats are solely to blame for the shutdown.
The shutdown fight is over the ACA subsidy, so yes.
But the news coverage shows both parties dug in, Democrats conditioning a CR on extended subsidies, and Republicans refusing that condition.
As a matter of fact, they kept saying, look, open the government, we'll talk about it.
And as I've said before, you don't trust the other side, whether it's the Democrats trying to trust the Republicans or the Republicans trying to trust the Democrats.
If you have leverage, you use it.
You don't give it up.
You do not give it up.
Authorizations that, quote, almost all Republicans voted to keep the government funded and, quote, Democrats voted to shut it down are just spin, not neutral facts.
Major outlets describe mutual brinkmanship.
It's not a one-sided blockade.
And the Schumer, quote, every day gets better.
It does exist.
Forbes reported it.
But invoking it alone to just simply prove that Democrats celebrate a shutdown, that's basically rhetorical framing.
It's not evidence of sole culpability.
Again, more than one of these things can be true.
If you look at it from the perspective of the Democrats saying, we think we see cracks in their shield.
We think we see cracks in their armor, then I could understand why Schumer would say every day gets better because they're using the only leverage that they have.
And statistically, there are a lot of people out there that are affected by this that look at what the Democrats are trying to do and say, look, I know I know I'm feeling the pain right now, but I'm going to feel the pain come January because either I'm going to have to start paying double for my health insurance premiums,
or I'm just going to have to drop it and test my luck because I can't afford it.
What happens in Georgia if the credits expire?
Well, the scale of an impact is with over 1.5 million Georgians enrolled and the vast majority subsidized, expiration would produce steep increases in net payments, especially for older middle-income residents when the pre-2021 subsidy cliff returns.
If you look at the national modeling, 114% average jump in net payments, millions lose coverage.
Urban Institute projects somewhere around $4.8 million nationally.
Georgia, already non-expansion until very recently, has many low-income enrollees depending on these credits.
So, the final verdict is this.
His $44 a month increase claim, no.
It's off by roughly a factor of 10 versus what the CMS, KFF, and Families USA data show on typical subsidy size.
That single error collapses his nothing-to-see-here argument.
On premium impacts, downplaying a 114% jump in what people pay by pointing to an 18-20% gross premium filing is misleading.
And finally, on his fraud zero claims, the 2.3 million number is from partisan summaries and media notes rather than a standard CBO report.
CMS's audited improper payment rate paints a much smaller problem, and the 40% zero claim stat is advocacy-based and uncorroborated by any neutral parties.
So, there you go.
Again, not just Republicans, Democrats do it too.
Maybe not outright lies in the email, but just enough falsehoods, misleading information to point your hatred in a particular direction.
And the irony is, it doesn't seem to be working.
It really doesn't.
It does not seem to be working.
I get frustrated by both parties because, ultimately, all I want is somebody to tell me the damn truth.
That's it.
I want the truth.
And what I see as the truth right now is that the Democrats realize, and I know the Republicans realize it too,
but the Democrats realize that the subsidies, if they expire at the end of 2025, is going to hurt millions of Americans when we're already looking at an economic slowdown, potentially,
and all this other bullshit that Trump keeps doing with tariffs.
And he's out here touting, you know, how much money we're bringing in on tariffs.
If you buy that, then you don't, you're right there with our illustrious leader and you don't understand how tariffs work.
Other countries do not pay those tariffs.
When you buy an iPhone and it is shipped from China or Vietnam or India, wherever they keep moving their manufacturing facilities to,
and there is a 50% tariff on that phone, it's paid by Apple.
And then those, you know, the company has a choice to make.
They either pass those expenses off to the consumer, they eat part of it, or they eat all of it.
And let me tell you, most corporations will not self-sacrifice.
They might meet you halfway, but they're not going to eat the entirety of those tariffs.
Even when the president pushes them.
A few months ago, he was pushing for companies like Walmart and Target and what have you, that they should just eat the tariff costs.
You know what's not going to happen?
That, that's not going to happen.
All right, we're going to take another break.
When we come back for our third and final segment, we're going to lighten up the news a little bit and get you on your way for the rest of your Tuesday.
Good morning, everybody.
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Operators are standing by, okay, it's just me, but still.
Hey, welcome back to The Morning Drip.
I'm Donovan.
It is currently 7.57 a.m.
We've got a couple of stories, and we'll try to get you out of here on your way.
One thing I need to ask, why are UPS packages always dirty?
Every single time I get a package that is shipped to me via UPS, it is filthy.
Have you seen that?
Or is it just down here in South Central Georgia?
Are the trucks dirty?
Is the shipping facilities, are they dirty?
What's going on?
I want to know.
Let me hear from you.
You can email the show.
MorningDrip at WRTO.fm.
All right, a couple of stories here we're going to cover.
Have you ever heard the slang term 6-7?
Well, this right here.
This is where you start having generational divides for sure.
It's the latest viral phrase among teens, often said while making a hand-juggling motion.
The term's origins trace back to rapper Skrilla's 2024 song, Doot Doot 6-7, and NBA player Lamello Ball, who is 6'7", and became a meme for his flashy but average on-court performance.
You might as well have just been speaking Greek to me right there because I don't follow basketball.
As I've already said, I'm not a sports guy.
I'm not a sports guy.
I couldn't tell you who the hell won the Super Bowl, the last Super Bowl, or the World Series, or whatever the championship is for the basketball.
Anyway, so because of this, 6-7 is used to describe something average or so-so, though teens, of course, as teens do, now use it in almost any context from describing their day to dodging questions.
Many kids don't even know what it means, using it just because it's trendy on TikTok.
The phrase has begun evolving with other slang, like sendy, S-E-N-D-Y, from send it, meaning to go all in or take a risk.
So then we have mashups like 6indy or 6-7indy.
6-7 continues to spread online, fueled by influencers like 17-year-old basketball player Taylin Kenny, who's even launched a 6-7 canned water brand inspired by the meme.
And of course, while this meaning can be fuzzy, 6-7 has become another viral Gen Z catchphrase, possibly destined for the next edition of the Cambridge Dictionary, right alongside Skibbity and DeLulu.
I've got one word for all of that, groovy.
Oh, since we're in the holiday season, little tidbit, some of the things you might see coming up.
Holiday decor, there are going to be shortages in holiday decor expected this year, including artificial Christmas trees, lights, and wreaths due to reduced imports.
And of course, the ongoing U.S.-China trade tariffs.
Chris Butler, CEO of National Tree Company, said his firm imported 25% fewer products for 2025 and warned consumers to buy early before supplies run out.
Prices on many Christmas items are expected to rise about 10% because of the tariffs and shipping delays.
And the company's imports are down 58% in August and over 70% in September year over year, with far fewer shipping containers arriving from Asia compared to 2024.
Peak import season, which is from May to October, has been disrupted.
Shipments are now arriving later than usual, some into mid-November.
That's considered very late for retailers.
Yes, I can agree with that.
Butler, who also heads the Christmas Trade Group, has met with Treasury and U.S. trade officials to address the impact and urge tariff relief, saying it's key to save Christmas for American consumers.
Industry data from Vision and Import Genius confirm steep import declines, with only 14 containers arriving this week compared to 113 last year.
Most of national trees' goods are sourced from China, 45% to 60%, with smaller shares from Hong Kong, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Indonesia.
U.S. manufacturing isn't a viable alternative.
You may be asking, why don't we make these here?
Butler said making the trees domestically would cost two and a half to three times more.
Why?
Labor costs.
Even though we have a lower income problem in this country because our minimum wage has never been adjusted upward since 2009,
we still pay higher rates than many other countries, such as China and Vietnam and India, where we have our products made.
Analysts warn the shortages and higher prices could dampen holiday sales and further strain lower income households already hit by inflation.
And then we're going to roll in to the last story, which is even closer because it deals with Halloween.
Chocolate prices remain high this Halloween, driven by a global cocoa shortage caused by extreme weather in West Africa,
where 70% of the world's cocoa has grown.
Or do you pronounce it?
Cocoa.
I'm going to go with cocoa.
Wells Fargo's Agri-Food Institute reports cocoa prices have more than doubled since early 2024,
with peak cost hitting late this year.
The International Cocoa Organization says global cocoa production for 2023 to 2024 dropped 12.9%,
marking the third consecutive annual deficit and the worst supply gap in over 60 years.
Ivory Coast production fell 25.3% and Ghana's dropped 31.3% due to heavy rains and crop rot and black pod disease and El Nino-related drought
that worsened cocoa-swollen shoot virus disease known as CSSVD.
Say that three times fast.
Tariffs on cocoa imports are adding to cost alongside rising energy and packaging experience expenses, rather.
Hershey has pledged not to raise prices on Halloween candy, but is reducing pack sizes.
So, basically, it's shrinkflation and raising prices on other products, a form of, again, shrinkflation.
Lend it, I think that's how you pronounce it, increased prices 15.8% in the first half of 2025,
citing long-term contracts only partially offsetting higher cocoa costs, even with slight declines from record highs.
Cocoa prices are expected to stay elevated through 2026, as the next crop year is projected to bring another 10% decline in West African output.
To save money, experts recommend buying early, choosing non-cocoa treats or generic brands,
and focusing on lower-cost candies, meaning this Halloween might be less chocolate and more Twizzlers, which, by the way, I hate.
Give me my Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and my Kit Kats, damn it.
That's what I gotta have.
That is what I gotta have.
Have you already, I mean, we're halfway through October.
Have you already purchased your Halloween candy that you're going to give out if you do such a thing?
We don't.
I buy Kit Kats and mini Reese's year-round, because that's my after-supper snack.
And we just don't do the giving candy out.
We lock our house up tighter than a tick.
We are not giving out candy, and I don't want to be bothered.
But have you already purchased all of your candy?
And if so, compared to last year, how much more expensive was it?
Drop me a line.
Morningdrip at wrto.fm.
Again, that's morningdrip at wrto.fm.
Or you can text the show at 229-234-1307.
And again, the text line is 229-234-1307.
All right.
Well, that's it for this Tuesday edition of the Morning Drip.
I hope you have enjoyed the show.
I hope you've learned something.
And again, if you've got any comments, opinions, disagreements on anything that I covered and talked about,
if it deals with our congressman, Austin Scott, and his half-truths that he has put in his newsletter,
I'd love to hear from you.
Again, the email is morningdrip at wrto.fm.
And the text number, 229-234-1307.
Everybody have a wonderful day.
We'll see you back here on Thursday.
This has been the Morning Drip.
I'm Donovan.
Good morning, everybody.
We'll see you next time on Thursday.