A handy chart for haggling with Girl Scouts this year over the price of a box of cookies

Girl Scouts crushing life.
Girl Scouts crushing life.
Image: AP Photo/The News & Observer, Robert Willett
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The Girl Scouts council in Orange County, California, is raising the price on its famous cookies, from $4 a box to $5. The Wall Street Journal noted the change (paywall), which is occurring in other parts of the country as well. The scouts blame inflation, noting that its own expenses are 27% higher than they were in 2004. Framed that way, the move makes sense—especially considering that the consumer price index basket for cookies has climbed even faster.

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But that chart is measuring the total change each month from the end of 2003. If you look at the monthly figures on a year-over-year basis, the US actually has been in a state of cookie deflation for the past few months. So the Girl Scouts are going against the grain in charging more for Thin Mints, but try saying that when a bunch of earnest little salesgirls in green uniforms shows up at your door.

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