Inflation continues to be a hot topic for many in the Bay Area and others across the country.
Bay Area Congressman Ro Khanna held a town hall discussion over inflation at an East Bay grocery store to zero in on how it is impacting a working class community.
Khanna, a Democrat who represents California 17th Congressional District, assembled Newark city leaders, store owners and community members to discuss inflation during a townhall at Arteaga's Food Center.
"The high inflation is affecting our community in all levels -- from housing, to food, to all the necessities," community member Lucia Gutierrez said.
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Adrianna Lopez, another community member who attended the town hall, added "We're being bombarded back and forth with inflation -- regarding our groceries, regarding our gas."
The topics from Monday's town hall ranged far and wide, from labor to delivery costs, and more. But it became apparent gasoline and food were common denominators, especially for business owners.
"Prices are going up," said Sucy Collazo, a tortilla factory owner. "Production has gone from a seven-day production to a five-day production right now because so many of the little restaurants we served closed."
Khanna said he believes the government must now intervene, particularly when it comes to food prices.
"One of the things we could do is the federal government can decide to buy food, both locally and around world, at a low price and sell at a low price," Khanna said.
For gasoline, Khanna wants to cap oil company profits, force consumer rebates, and get involved in the consumer prices. He plans to talk to the president about it.
"Buy oil at cheap prices and flood the market with some cheap prices -- with the government acting -- that's just to stabilize prices because the prices are out of control," Khanna said.
The congressman said gasoline and food are areas to focus on immediately, but there won't be any shortage of issues that need to be addressed, especially as inflation continues to send prices soaring.
