A Slice of Wealth

It’s mid-summer Friday morning, and dinner is already top of mind.  I don’t know about you, but something with some leftovers for tomorrow morning’s breakfast, hot or cold, seems about right.  Just one delicious dish comes to mind: pizza.  This classic meal originated as a peasant food, tracing back to 18th-century Naples, Italy.  At the time, it was a city marked by poverty and a dense population of working-class people.  Neapolitans, needing an inexpensive and convenient meal, turned to flatbreads topped with simple ingredients like tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, cheese, and anchovies; these items were both affordable and readily available.  At the time, pizzas were sold by street vendors and considered a staple for the poor, often eaten outdoors due to cramped living conditions.  The upper classes and food critics initially looked down upon pizza, viewing it as poverty food and going so far as to describe it as unappetizing.  Later, this humble dish's popularity among the masses became accepted by all and a canvas of culinary creativity.

Today, however, this dish with such humble beginnings is losing one of its early characteristics: affordability.  According to this article from Bloomberg, the average price of a large pizza from one of America’s top five chains is now nearly 30% more expensive than in 2019, hitting $18.14 each.  That price gain is greater than those at burger and chicken places according to the same article.

Anecdotes of households being squeezed by the price of pizza certainly paint a different picture than some of the economic indicators Atlas watches.  Sure, economic growth isn’t robust, but it feels like a world apart from many not being able afford a simple food like pizza.  This is in part due to the K-shaped economy.  According to this article from the Wall St. Journal, the American economy is more dependent on the top 10% earners (those making at least $250,000 a year) than ever.  They now account for 49.7% of all spending, up from just 36% thirty years ago. 

Metaphorically, pizza is the perfect food to demonstrate changes in wealth distribution.  The pie in America is now larger than ever, yet some are still not able savor the simplest versions of what started out as food for the poorest in Naples, Italy.  Once a more universally accessible meal, pizza now reflects a growing chasm between socioeconomic rungs.