I think corporations learned some very dangerous lessons from the pandemic.
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The demand for essential goods is inelastic. They can charge whatever and people still have to but things, especially food, household products, and a place to live.
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They can understaff and underpay employees, and people will choose to fault people for laziness rather than the deliberate corporate choices that lead to the situation.
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Corporations have built such a large market share so as to have created giant barriers to entry that there is zero competition from new businesses.
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Even larger competitor corporations are happy to wink and nod as you both raise prices, cut staff, and give paltry raises because it just means you both make more money, and so long as you don’t say it out loud, it isn’t collusion.
sanguine_artichoke@midwest.social 11 months ago
Yep, a huge portion of this recent ‘inflation’ is not cost increases or actual inflation… just basically the wealthy class turning the screws on everyone else because they can.
EmergMemeHologram@startrek.website 11 months ago
Don’t worry, my Econ 101 class states that surely a competitor will come in and operate at a lower cost to recoup that cost for the customers!
Wait… what do you mean the competitors are all increasing prices by the same amount knowing demand for diapers is inelastic and the Nash equilibrium is for them to all match price increases so that they all make more money together?
Surely a new entrant will help!
Wait… what do you mean nobody will invest in a new competitor because the market is “saturated” and even if they did the big brands would just decrease prices in the areas they operate until they run out of cash and fold?
Surely a regulator will help!
Wait… what do you mean the regulators feel price increases are due to “too much demand” for products and are turning the screws on consumers?
n3m37h@lemmy.world 11 months ago
But if we don’t let them do this then the super yacht companies will go bankrupt and it will destroy the economy!
FlaminGoku@reddthat.com 11 months ago
Gotta say it. This line of humor is a problem.
stjobe@lemmy.world 11 months ago
“Actual inflation” is just some capitalist a bit further up the supply chain “turning the screws on everyone just because they can”. Inflation is the ultimate proof capitalism is an inherently flawed system.
KevonLooney@lemm.ee 11 months ago
This is just false. The OP had the correct idea, demand for essential goods is inelastic. This doesn’t go away if you “get rid of capitalism”. All economies have price increases. If you ban them, you just get shortages and things get sold on the black market (as was the case in the Soviet Union).
The real issue is: what is “essential”? The items we think of as essential are mostly conveniences. Disposable diapers are not essential. Washable diapers existed for thousands of years, and they are way better for the environment. Your kids don’t have disposable clothes. You just wash them when they are covered in vomit or feces. So why not diapers?
Maybe we should consider alternatives to “essential” items. Toilet paper is expensive? Get a bidet. Baked goods are expensive? Get some butter and flour. Beer is expensive? Good news: alcohol just appears for free when you give yeast food! Your home repairs are expensive? Literally watch a YouTube video.
It’s easier than ever to do things on your own. Don’t hand out money unless you want to. And realize the choice you are making.
SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 11 months ago
“But people are still out here buying staples and maxing out their credit cards, so we can turn the screws just a bit more, right? Right?”
Fester@lemm.ee 11 months ago
“There still aren’t enough homeless people. We can keep going.”
shalafi@lemmy.world 11 months ago
I usually try to see both sides of an argument, give 'em a chance.
For example; Supply chains were truly fucked over by COVID. And believe it or not, it’s still an issue in late 2023.
But inflation now is almost entirely corporate greed. They saw what they could get away with and pressed it.
Say you have egg laying chickens. You were selling a dozen for $1, but prices spiked and people were happy to pay $2.
You going to drop your prices out the goodness of your heart? And at the same time, feed prices went up (but came down again). Everything went up! Need to repair the fence? $20 worth of wire is now $40 (but that price came down).
That extra $20 was nothing to me, but I can justify keeping my prices up, or even raising them!
Expand that to megacorp’s kinda thinking. In my simplistic case, you are solely responsible for the morality of your decisions, and it might be a hard decision. You gonna take less money nice guy?
For a monster corporation? Nah, that greed is spread over a thousand actors, all sanely acting in their best interest.
Capitalism is the best economic system we got, but the flaws are clear. We need strong worker unions and strong legislative oversight. And that is clear as well.
Semi-Hemi-Demigod@kbin.social 11 months ago
One problem is that we allowed corporations to go global without a global labor unions and global regulation.
TheRealLinga@sh.itjust.works 11 months ago
you turn the screws you tear down the bridge, flimsy as it is, it’s business-like