Turkey day costs are up by 6 percent. One thing that U.S. consumers won’t be thankful for this Thanksgiving is low food prices this year. That’s because shoppers will pay 6 percent more than last year for a traditional Thanksgiving meal that includes turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie. This is the largest in recent years, a U.S. farm group said.  The American Farm Bureau Federation grocery list of 12 items estimated the average cost of this year’s Thanksgiving feast for a family of 10 at $44.61, an increase of $2.35 from last year’s average of $42.26, Reuters reports. “Food prices rode the energy price rollercoaster up during the first half of 2008, and as the year winds down, energy prices have moderated somewhat, but food prices have not come down,” said Jim Sartwelle, a Farm Bureau economist. The only decreases in 2008 will be milk, dropping 10 cents to $3.78 a gallon, and miscellaneous ingredients, down 60 cents to $2.69. A total of 179 volunteer shoppers from 38 states participated in this year’s survey. For ways to save your budget and your diet this holiday, see BET.com/Body & Soul’s “Saving Thanksgiving” feature.

One in four are struggling with healthcare costs
When asked about the impact of recent economic changes, nearly six in 10 adults (59 percent) report having a “serious problem” with one of seven major financial issues, including one in four who cite paying for health care as a serious problem, a Kaiser Health Poll finds. Not surprisingly, with gas prices topping $4 per gallon nationally, people are most likely to cite paying for gas as a serious problem (43 percent), followed by getting a good-paying job or a raise (27 percent) and paying for health care costs (25 percent). In thinking about health care costs, voters are more troubled by their personal costs than by national health spending. Nearly half (47 percent) say they are most worried about increases in what the average American pays out-of-pocket for health care and for insurance. In comparison, two in 10 (19 percent) say they are most concerned about increases in how much the United States as a whole spends on health care. Smaller shares cite increases in spending on public health insurance programs (14 percent) or increases in what employers pay for their workers’ health insurance (10 percent).“The standard that most voters will use to gauge health reform proposals is, ‘Will it make health care more affordable for me?’ ” said Drew Altman, Kaiser’s president and CEO. Overall, nearly six in ten (59 percent) voters say that the costs should be shared across a broad insurance risk pool, while about one-third (32 percent) say that healthier people should not be asked to pay more to subsidize sicker people.

Race and abortion rear their ugly heads in Washington
Vital Signs: A group of African-American pastors, led by the niece of Martin Luther King Jr., is telling Democratic and Republican Party leaders today that they don’t want candidates to accept Planned Parenthood donations. Find out why at Vital Signs.