Eggs or Beyoncé Tickets?
- Jordyn Mayes
- Apr 28
- 4 min read
Updated: Jun 16
The State of Our Cracking Economy
It’s the kind of decision that most people might only face once in a lifetime: eggs or Beyoncé tickets. As absurd as it might sound, this is the reality many Americans are contending with as egg prices continue their meteoric rise, leaving many to choose between grocery staples and the hottest concert tour of the year.
Thanks to an unlikely and deadly culprit—the avian flu—egg prices in the U.S. have shot up 50% in just one year. In a landscape already reeling from inflation, skyrocketing prices are sending shockwaves through consumers’ wallets. And if the egg crisis wasn’t enough, the news that Beyoncé is back on tour has added yet another source of anxiety for those wondering how to prioritize their hard-earned dollars.
So, let’s break it down. The chicken—or rather, the egg—has become a symbol of the nation's economic struggles. While inflation has had its say, it’s the recent avian flu outbreak that’s turning egg production into a game of survival of the fittest. With millions of hens succumbing to the virus, egg supplies have dwindled and prices have surged. What were once modest staples in the average American kitchen have now become a luxury.
As of mid-January 2025, a dozen eggs costs an average of $5.29, a sharp increase from the $3.50 per dozen seen at the start of 2024. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, these figures are only the beginning. In fact, the cost jumped by nearly 20% from November to December of 2024 alone. Why? Well, bird flu took a wrecking ball to the nation’s chicken farms, slashing egg production and leaving a major hole in supply just in time for the high-demand winter months. According to the Agriculture Department’s latest figures, more than 13 million hens have been wiped out or culled since December. That’s a lot of chicken, and it’s contributing to what some are calling a “shell shock” for American consumers.
For many, the high cost of eggs has become a political football. Donald Trump, who won the presidency in part by taking aim at rising food costs under the Biden administration, is now facing the ramifications of a new food crisis—one of his own making, at least rhetorically. In the 2024 election cycle, he promised to tackle high grocery prices “immediately” upon taking office. But with egg prices climbing at an alarming rate, Democrats are quick to point out that the former president’s claims might not be holding much water. It’s a familiar story for the U.S. economy: promises made, but the real costs are much harder to swallow.
And if you're still wondering what this all has to do with Beyoncé, well, here’s where the entertainment world collides with economics. Amid the crisis at the grocery store, Beyoncé has dropped the ultimate cultural bombshell—she’s going on tour. The Queen has not only won her 35th Grammy but is also heading on a world tour for her record-breaking album. The problem? Tickets for her Cowboy Carter tour are no bargain. With prices ranging from $71 to $801, some fans are grappling with a tough choice: a night of music history or a week's worth of groceries.
It seems that for many, eggs and Beyoncé tickets have become the ultimate economic dilemma. In fact, this unusual contrast of rising food costs and the soaring demand for high-priced concert tickets encapsulates what we’ve come to accept as “normal” in today’s economy—a world where nothing is truly affordable, and everything is a luxury if you’re not careful with your spending.
Yet, Beyoncé’s tour isn't just a symbol of entertainment. It’s a symbol of what happens when consumer demand intersects with limited supply, much like the egg market. Just as we see a limited number of eggs on store shelves, the number of available Beyoncé tickets will surely shrink fast, leading to competitive, high-stakes buying wars on platforms like Ticketmaster and StubHub.
This perfect storm of economic forces has created a strange sense of urgency for everyone—from the consumer racing to grab eggs before the price rises again, to the die-hard Beyoncé fan scrambling for tickets before they sell out. And it’s not just in the cities where you might expect an upscale concert to sell out; even across small-town America, people are weighing the cost of their next meal against their favorite superstar’s appearance. The stakes feel high for both.
And while Waffle House, the beloved Southern diner, might seem a world away from the world of pop music and egg prices, even they are feeling the squeeze. The iconic chain announced a temporary surcharge of 50 cents on all egg-based menu items due to the soaring prices. With more than 2,000 locations, this surcharge isn't just a regional blip; it’s a widespread reflection of how the egg shortage has affected the food service industry. The company stated that while the surcharge is temporary, there’s no telling when egg prices will stabilize—or even return to pre-crisis levels.
This recent surge in egg prices also highlights the profound ripple effect the pandemic and other geopolitical factors have had on the food supply chain. The bird flu, a virus that isn’t new to agriculture, is wreaking havoc on a scale rarely seen before. As the virus continues to spread, authorities are scrambling to contain it, but it remains unclear when—if ever—egg prices will return to normal.
In a bizarre turn of events, this high-stakes egg crisis even led to a crime. In Pennsylvania, 100,000 eggs worth $40,000 were stolen from a distribution trailer. The theft is just another indication of how valuable eggs have become in our current economy. What was once an afterthought item in a shopper’s cart is now the target of criminals, and the theft makes it clear just how far some will go to secure these once-ubiquitous staples.
So, as Americans stand in grocery store aisles staring down the price tags of eggs, they face a strange and surreal question: Is this the moment we’ve all been waiting for? Will the soaring price of eggs be the moment we choose between nutrition and entertainment? Eggs or Beyoncé tickets—what will you choose?
In a world where both the necessities and the luxuries are priced out of reach for many, one thing is clear: the future of our economy might just be cracked wide open.
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