Pets are a Luxury - Feed People First

by Hank Pellissier

The total expenditure on pets in the USA is forecast to be a howling $99 billion in 2020.

 Pet cost expanded 560 percent between 1994 and 2019, partly due to a leap in ownership. In 1988 pets padded, slithered, and squawked in 56 percent of American households; by 2017 this sprang up to 68 percent.

$99 billion is a lot of dog biscuits and catnip…

Is it misanthropic that Rover and Fluffy ate well in 2019, while an estimated 37 million Americans were ‘food insecure’? In 2020, due to Covid-19, the pangs will worsen; up to 54 million people across the US might be hungry, claims analysis by Feeding America,

How much would it cost to fill these growling people stomachs? Joel Berg, CEO of Hunger Free America, calculates the cost of at $25 billion.

The math is easy here. If pets & pet supplies are saddled with a mere 25% luxury tax, enough revenue would dribble in to feed our own species.  (25% of $99 billion = $24.75 billion)

Additionally, a “pet tax” to feed hungry Americans would also save at least $160 billion in social costs. Lack of food affects crime rates, children’s education, labor productivity, and health care costs.