If you want a food price shock come to Hawaii. We pay what's politely know as Island Tax on everything. Thank (insert your favorite deity here) for Costco!!
In Canada we have a similar tax... called the GST or "Gouge 'n Screw Tax... <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
The Island Tax is due primairly to transportation costs. The shipping companies have been sucking the islands dry for, well, forever.
On top of that we also have a General Excise Tax of 4%. It's used in place of a sales tax. On the surface this looks pretty good until you discover that every time goods change hands, manufacturer to wholesaler to retailer to consumer, the GET hits. To add insult to injury, Oahu County just increased theirs to 4.5% to pay for a transit system. As just about everything passes through Honolulu, the Neighbor Islands get to share in the cost of something we'll never use.
But hey, we live in Hawaii! <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />
