@Brons2 and @JeffKeryk do a great job in the above posts of pointing out there are many factors in CPI rise, not just the two I talked about. There are actually hundreds of factors in CPI and inflation (not the same thing). It's so complex that frankly, the economy is a bit of a mystery.
The cycle continues. Prices are now dropping as companies have pushed as much as they could.
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A lot of what's expensive (housing, medical, food) doesn't have a truly open market. There are only a few players, or one. Without good competition they can do this. Unfortunately we've been asleep at the switch for the last 40 years as far as monopoly busting.
The Media knows the Tv watchers are mostly easy to fool.
We are a nation of easy to fool people.
4WD
$50 site donor 2024
Let’s don’t pretend all companies made out like bandits …
Some had very rough periods - some are gone …
Some had very rough periods - some are gone …
The point is, as @wwillson teaches us, an economy is a very complex thing; a very big thing. Much like a huge oil tanker, it cannot turn on a dime to react to major influence events like a world wide epidemic or wars, and the effects of those events will contribute for a long time and can change the economy forever.
We are in a world economy, whether we like it or not. Russian oil affects world prices regardless of who buys and uses it. In the big scheme of things, the world runs on oil; there are very few viable alternatives.
The rise of the Internet has shrunk economies and their markets and will continue to do so, at an accelerating rate.
The equilibrium price (the price consumers are willing to pay and the price that sellers are willing to sell) sits at the intersection of the supply and demand curves. The equilibrium price shifts based on various factors and there is usually lag in this shift and there can be over/under corrections. This hasn't been happening since the 1970's - it's been happening since supply/demand economics has been in existence. There's really nothing new to see here - this is how supply/demand economics works.
Spot on. Every product and company has a life cycle and the epidemic pushed some of them into their grave.
For a company to survive over the long term, they must reinvent themselves over time.
I visited Peter Wolters (now Lapmaster-Wolters) in the beautiful north of Germany, Rendsburg. PW was founded in 1804; they made brushes to clean dirt, etc, from wool I believe. Today they are a leading manufacturer of Lapping industrial machines and other products. That's reinvention!
PW keeps the founder's large wooden desk in a display room; I was impressed beyond words.
4WD
$50 site donor 2024
This is a beautiful cash register I snapped in Melbourne - this company morphed to electronic money transfers, inventory, supply chain, and so on. However, after 11 years with them - my son was released weeks ago …
First duty of a business....
NOT to help the community
NOT to create jobs
NOT to make the world better
Nope, it is to make a profit for the owners /shareholders!!!!
That, my friends, is capitalism!
NOT to help the community
NOT to create jobs
NOT to make the world better
Nope, it is to make a profit for the owners /shareholders!!!!
That, my friends, is capitalism!
Not on the west coast, I paid $4.89 a gallon.
Yes, but if you squeeze the market too hard, the proletarians will no longer be able to purchase your products. For things with an inelastic demand like healthcare, that's not really a problem, but for things that are discretionary, it's a big problem.
Though I would suppose the opposite to that is "market forces are demanding lower prices"
The consequence of choices at the voting booth
I have also found store brand 2L soda bottles on sale for $1 again. Multiple times.
There is a solution to canned drinks like Cola, etc. It's called water. I haven't had a soda in 20 years or more. McDonald's too expensive? Make yourself a tuna fish sandwich and save your health.
I don't disagree. But profit driven pricing has been around a long time, even before money was invented. It is a pretty standard thing to do in business.
Except it's hard to keep hydrated in this heat with tasteless water. Yea I know, add some lemon or whatever to it, but that doesn't do anything for me. Pretty much quit drinking soda a few years ago and switched to diet Arizona iced tea. Read something about the sweetener they use isn't the bad kind. Go through 2 gallons a week and haven't had a kidney stone in nearly a decade.
Hermann
Site Donor 2023
having worked for a large grocery chain for 23 years, that was the their business model. suck every penny possible out of every one who walks in the door. Right now at the store I retired from I was told that on Nov 1 last year, they went in an raised every non perishable 20% with a few computer keystrokes. Those prices are still in effect. They must have had the shelf tags printed and ready to go. Apparently overnight with every employee working they retagged the entire store. Other than ad items I rarely shop at the store I worked at.
Jennifer hugs
not included in my dissatisfaction at my former employer.
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I always encourage people to stop listening to the talking head narratives and just read the BLS CPI report every month. Its free and easy to decipher.
For example, if you peer at the report and the numbers, some things are still going up - like transportation services ( which includes things like insurance) - is up 10.5% YoY, and some things are going down - like used cars at -9.3% YoY.
Nothing goes up or down in a straight line. Supply and demand rules the market. If a company feels like they can make the same profit selling half the volume of something they would be stupid to make more. People used to be willing to pay $10 for a big mac meal. Now that the money supply is shrinking and there money is being eaten up by things like insurance - there less willing to do so.
You will notice that discretionary type things go up faster when the money supply is increasing, and go down faster when the money supply is contracting. So when I have lots of money I buy more big mac's. Groceries go up but I am not buying more groceries than I need. When the money supply shrinks I still buy groceries, but I may buy no big macs.
Anyway, spend five minutes and read it for yourself: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm
For example, if you peer at the report and the numbers, some things are still going up - like transportation services ( which includes things like insurance) - is up 10.5% YoY, and some things are going down - like used cars at -9.3% YoY.
Nothing goes up or down in a straight line. Supply and demand rules the market. If a company feels like they can make the same profit selling half the volume of something they would be stupid to make more. People used to be willing to pay $10 for a big mac meal. Now that the money supply is shrinking and there money is being eaten up by things like insurance - there less willing to do so.
You will notice that discretionary type things go up faster when the money supply is increasing, and go down faster when the money supply is contracting. So when I have lots of money I buy more big mac's. Groceries go up but I am not buying more groceries than I need. When the money supply shrinks I still buy groceries, but I may buy no big macs.
Anyway, spend five minutes and read it for yourself: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm
I haven't had a regular soda in at least 20 years. I don't miss it either.
