July 28, 2025 • 4 mins
CBS News Business Analyst and Host of Jill on Money Jill Schlesinger joins us to define her new term - the "Burrito Barometer."
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well, if the number of people showing up to Coastguard
Fest is any indicator of the economy, things are booming.
Holy smokes. You see the pictures all the weekend. It's
just crazy. This is West Michigan's Morning News. Steve Kelly
and Brett Mekita. Our friend Jill Slessinger, CBS News business
analyst and host of Jill on Money on the liveline
(00:20):
with us.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Good morning, Jill, Good morning.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
How are you. I'm great? Thank you? And I love
it when we either identify a term that we've known
for years and really get the behind the scenes, or
there's a relatively new term that may help us to
predict the economy. That comes from Jill Slessinger, and we
flush that thing out, especially when food is involved.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Hah, especially when it's fast casual. Thank you very much. Okay,
So I'm on the big editorial call and we're having
conversations about the president and the FED chair and there's
a FED meeting and everybody's like losing their minds, and
I said, you know what, I don't care about this
whole frenemy thing, Like I can't be involved in this
(01:03):
right now. But what I do care about is the economy,
And I said, what I'm looking at is something that
I have now coined the burrito barometer. Are you in
all right?
Speaker 1 (01:14):
All in?
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Okay? Chipotle, big huge food services company released their earnings
last week and they said that sales were down by
a lot, like they had bad sales for the quarter.
I was very surprised. Everybody was like, wow, that's not good.
Then I thought, does this mean people are cutting back
on their burritos? And does that mean the economy is weakening?
(01:36):
Or does that mean that maybe people are worried that
like the cost of things just too high right now
and they got to pull back on something. Hence my
burrito barometer as a measure of what is going on
in the economy. And it's sort of as dumb and
far fetched as the hemline indicator that was. Do you
remember that one? I bet you guys might know this one.
(01:56):
This is when you the people would say, well they
are shorter skirts. That's an economic book, and whether it's
a longer hemline, it's a recession. So it's okay, it's
just as dumb as that, But it does get you
interested in the economy, doesn't it. When I say burritos,
it totally does m hm. Well, I mean, this is
the hard thing is that like people, they sort of
(02:17):
they glaze over, but it impacts them.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
And who doesn't like to go out and eat? And
I guess there are some other factors that come into
play when it comes to that. What about the role
of tariffs when it comes to eating out? Anything about that?
Speaker 2 (02:33):
Well, I mean, the thing about tariffs right now is
that we just got this deal with Europe over the weekend, right,
so we have a Japanese deal, a European deal, the
UK seems to have gotten the best deal of all,
and we're waiting for Mexico and Canada. But let's just
presume let's just like say, all right, we are not
going to have the worst tariffs that we heard about
(02:55):
back in April, but it's still going to be higher
tariffs than we've paid in the United slates that have
been levied in the United States in decades. So you know,
if we assume that everybody's going to pay about there'll
be a fifteen percent tariff. What happens with that tariff?
The company pays for the tariff and then what and
so some of them are eating it. There's some companies
are saying, well, yeah, you know, I guess that we'll
(03:17):
we'll eat the tariff, and we don't want to lose
market share. We don't want people to stop coming to
our place. But then they're not going to be able
to do that going forward. A lot of them just
we're able to buy a bunch of stuff in advance,
and they raised prices to a point, but they can't
raise it so much. But at some point they're going
to have to pass it along. So then the question
is are we going to see the inflation rates start
(03:38):
to rise? Are we going to experience inflation in a
more pronounced way in the economy. I think we are
towards the end of the year. Have you noticed any
inflate new inflation that you experience in the economy? Guys,
have you have you actually experienced it.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
I don't pay attention to any of it. I'm the
worst guy to ask for that.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
Like I had a friend who had just went out
to buy furniture and he said it was insane. Like
he said he had gone out, he was going to
do it like six months ago when he kind of like,
oh no, you know, I don't have enough money whatever.
Now he has the money. Now he's like, I don't
have enough money again. So look, if you're going to
buy a car, you're going to feel it, a computer,
an electronic gadget by the end of the year, toys, furniture.
(04:20):
There is also some quiet price creeping over at Amazon.
Looks like Amazon has quietly raised some pricing and there's
going to be big price increases in the health insurance markets.
So I mean, look, I think we're all going to
get prepared for this. It's going to hit us. We're
going to make our decisions. You may make the decision
at a burrito and I may make a decision about
(04:41):
you know, I will not order a mixed drink at
a bar in Manhattan because it's just silly and at
some point that starts to impact the economy.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
It's Jill s Lessinger's CBS News Business analyst. Thank you
for your time today.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Take care,
Well, if the number of people showing up to Coastguard
Fest is any indicator of the economy, things are booming.
Holy smokes. You see the pictures all the weekend. It's
just crazy. This is West Michigan's Morning News. Steve Kelly
and Brett Mekita. Our friend Jill Slessinger, CBS News business
analyst and host of Jill on Money on the liveline
(00:20):
with us.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Good morning, Jill, Good morning.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
How are you. I'm great? Thank you? And I love
it when we either identify a term that we've known
for years and really get the behind the scenes, or
there's a relatively new term that may help us to
predict the economy. That comes from Jill Slessinger, and we
flush that thing out, especially when food is involved.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Hah, especially when it's fast casual. Thank you very much. Okay,
So I'm on the big editorial call and we're having
conversations about the president and the FED chair and there's
a FED meeting and everybody's like losing their minds, and
I said, you know what, I don't care about this
whole frenemy thing, Like I can't be involved in this
(01:03):
right now. But what I do care about is the economy,
And I said, what I'm looking at is something that
I have now coined the burrito barometer. Are you in
all right?
Speaker 1 (01:14):
All in?
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Okay? Chipotle, big huge food services company released their earnings
last week and they said that sales were down by
a lot, like they had bad sales for the quarter.
I was very surprised. Everybody was like, wow, that's not good.
Then I thought, does this mean people are cutting back
on their burritos? And does that mean the economy is weakening?
(01:36):
Or does that mean that maybe people are worried that
like the cost of things just too high right now
and they got to pull back on something. Hence my
burrito barometer as a measure of what is going on
in the economy. And it's sort of as dumb and
far fetched as the hemline indicator that was. Do you
remember that one? I bet you guys might know this one.
(01:56):
This is when you the people would say, well they
are shorter skirts. That's an economic book, and whether it's
a longer hemline, it's a recession. So it's okay, it's
just as dumb as that, But it does get you
interested in the economy, doesn't it. When I say burritos,
it totally does m hm. Well, I mean, this is
the hard thing is that like people, they sort of
(02:17):
they glaze over, but it impacts them.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
And who doesn't like to go out and eat? And
I guess there are some other factors that come into
play when it comes to that. What about the role
of tariffs when it comes to eating out? Anything about that?
Speaker 2 (02:33):
Well, I mean, the thing about tariffs right now is
that we just got this deal with Europe over the weekend, right,
so we have a Japanese deal, a European deal, the
UK seems to have gotten the best deal of all,
and we're waiting for Mexico and Canada. But let's just
presume let's just like say, all right, we are not
going to have the worst tariffs that we heard about
(02:55):
back in April, but it's still going to be higher
tariffs than we've paid in the United slates that have
been levied in the United States in decades. So you know,
if we assume that everybody's going to pay about there'll
be a fifteen percent tariff. What happens with that tariff?
The company pays for the tariff and then what and
so some of them are eating it. There's some companies
are saying, well, yeah, you know, I guess that we'll
(03:17):
we'll eat the tariff, and we don't want to lose
market share. We don't want people to stop coming to
our place. But then they're not going to be able
to do that going forward. A lot of them just
we're able to buy a bunch of stuff in advance,
and they raised prices to a point, but they can't
raise it so much. But at some point they're going
to have to pass it along. So then the question
is are we going to see the inflation rates start
(03:38):
to rise? Are we going to experience inflation in a
more pronounced way in the economy. I think we are
towards the end of the year. Have you noticed any
inflate new inflation that you experience in the economy? Guys,
have you have you actually experienced it.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
I don't pay attention to any of it. I'm the
worst guy to ask for that.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
Like I had a friend who had just went out
to buy furniture and he said it was insane. Like
he said he had gone out, he was going to
do it like six months ago when he kind of like,
oh no, you know, I don't have enough money whatever.
Now he has the money. Now he's like, I don't
have enough money again. So look, if you're going to
buy a car, you're going to feel it, a computer,
an electronic gadget by the end of the year, toys, furniture.
(04:20):
There is also some quiet price creeping over at Amazon.
Looks like Amazon has quietly raised some pricing and there's
going to be big price increases in the health insurance markets.
So I mean, look, I think we're all going to
get prepared for this. It's going to hit us. We're
going to make our decisions. You may make the decision
at a burrito and I may make a decision about
(04:41):
you know, I will not order a mixed drink at
a bar in Manhattan because it's just silly and at
some point that starts to impact the economy.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
It's Jill s Lessinger's CBS News Business analyst. Thank you
for your time today.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Take care,
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