Prices were always going to rise, COVID just gave them an excuse to accelerate it in a shorter amount of time. In Capitalism every company with stockholders has to show ever-increasing profits, because it’s never enough. Even if you knock it out of the park one year, you’re expected to knock it out of the park even further the next year. And so they keep charging as much as they think they can get away with, and it’s really not sustainable. We’re approaching the limits of it now as everyone is taking so much that the average citizen doesn’t have much more to give.
This is just capitalism working as intended. The fact that these price increases are being sold as some kind of abnormality is some real neolib brain in action. It isn’t “greedflation,” it’s literally the same capitalism we’ve lived with for centuries.
When you say “neolib” are you referring the Neoliberal economic philosophy, or some slang term for modern political liberals?
I ask because Neoliberal Economics is all about this profit, and share holders first, type values. This is in contrast to the post Great Depression, Classical Economics philosophy where companies valued employees first, and shareholders last.
I ask because Neoliberal Economics is all about this profit, and share holders first, type values.
Sounds exactly like modern political liberals to me.
Really?
Most Democrat Politicians today certainly are on board. But they were late to buy in. The Republicans actually introduced Neoliberal Economics into politics, chiefly with Ronald Regan.
Today it’s mostly the liberal side of the Democratic Party that introduces legislation to curb all the excesses of Neoliberal Economics.
And then go one step further and realize it’s always been shit. The only time the world has been great has been when kings and capitalism are on a VERY short leash.
It isn’t “greedflation,” it’s literally the same capitalism we’ve lived with for centuries.
You’re both absolutely right and very wrong: it by definition IS greedflation, inflated prices due to greed.
While it is indeed caused by the same capitalist system we’ve lived with for centuries, it’s getting much worse than it has been now that the billionaires and their corporations have realized that there’s no consequences even when their profiteering is so blatant that even the likes of Forbes and WSJ are having to acknowledge what they’ve been able to distract from before.
There’s no such thing as greed in capitalism, though. Rather, greed is the understood foundation from which capitalism is based on. It only works when there is greed. Companies shouldn’t avoid raising their prices because they don’t want more money, they’re supposed to (in capitlism). The system only works when they raise their prices as much as the market will bear.
My grevience with the term “Greedflation” popping up so much recently is that it feels like a cop-out from the current administration to ease economic anxiety without replacing or criticizing the overall economic model. It paints price hikes as a one-time, circumstantial “quirk” of our times, instead of the logical realization of capitalism that it is.
Ive no idea why this is downvoted. This is not a bad take.
I would personally frame it as, greed is a feature of capitalism, not a bug, but ur not wrong either.
There is no penalties for collision. Regulation should prevent but since politicians are owned and there’s zero effort at enforcment here we are.
We need experts to explain and study what ordinary people fucking experience first hand
Fuck you talking about? They haven’t come down!
edit: actually I thought you were replying to the folks who were talking about inflation, but now I’m not sure what you’re replying to, so maybe disregard the rest of this comment
Inflation dropping just refers to the rate at which prices increase slowing down, not prices themselves going down. Unless regional and federal governments do something, lowered inflation only means relative stability at current price levels.
I was talking to the writers of the article.
Duh!
In other insanely obvious answers… join us, tonight at 8.
Nothing happens to Corporations around here. It was pretty clear it was greed even before the data hit.
Anyone got a link to the actual report?
It’s in my comment posted further down. https://lemmy.ca/comment/8135463
Why are people acting surprised? That is just the invisible hand of the market. Isn’t this the unfettered capitalism we asked for?
It’s the unfettered capitalism Reagan delivered to his cronies, which ofc trickled down to the whole fucking world.
Everyone keeps saying this is capitalism and its true. Companies squeezing everyone when they’re vulnerable for more profits.
Consumers need protections for things like basic needs so we don’t struggle just to survive.
Food and housing should be protected. Luxury brands can get all the profit they want.
Don’t touch my fucking groceries and rent!
This is why giant supermarkets are bad. When you have a choice of several places to buy, they compete.
Rent though has been captured by optimisation software. Your rent goes up because a computer predicted you (or someone else) would pay more.
Are you saying human quality of life is more important than (strictly financial) profits?? I’m thought that is blasphemy and that I must shame you for it. How dare.
Of course they did. We know they did. All you have to do is go back and read their quarterly earnings calls from 2020 to basically now and they told their shareholders clearly that they were using the pandemic as an excuse to increase profits.
It’s ethical to steal from these grocery chains.
Isn’t that what they call self checkout?
… self-care out.
And yes, we definitely should realize how brainwashed we are to always think of the poor extremely rich people.
And that’s why self checkout is no more at the closest grocery store to me.
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Of course, but they didn’t lower the prices after. Fucking awful evil companies.
It’s fair, though. They raised the salaries of the people who worked there.
Right?
They did at least where i worked but 3 years into covid and its was only a temporary bonus
The exhalation proves the roost. Or something like that
Is anyone going to do anything about it? No
