PRICE GOUGING
This cranky
old man is temporarily stepping out of blog retirement because I just need to
vent.
Most people
believe that our rate of inflation, the price of goods and labor, is rising at an
uncomfortable rate. No one likes
inflation, especially older citizen that make do on a fixed income.
What is the cause of this inflation and what should be done to reverse the trend?
(Actually, the trend has reversed a bit, but
reversed from really too GD high, to unpleasantly GD high.)
As one who
graduated with a degree in economics over 50 years ago sporting a high C-
average I admit to not having a clue to a solution.
I do have a
good idea as to what will not work.
I recently
saw an article where politicians are calling on an end to price gouging,
particularly with the cost of groceries.
The claim I read was,
“Notably, grocery prices have not fallen at the same rate as
inflation. This is caused by excessive price gouging by food and grocery
giants,"
Well that sounds reasonable, we just
need to end price gouging by evil corporations.
Clearly if the rate of inflation falls then food prices should also fall,
so there must be price gouging.
Nixon tried to stop price gouging way
back with his Wage and Price freezes.
Remember how well that worked.
I do.
Wages and prices were frozen and many items could not be purchased at all. Seems many entrepreneurs were not willing to sell things at a price where they would lose money.
Imagine that?
Funny how the law of supply and demand
works so well until demand exceeds supply. Well, it still works, but no one likes
it.
When the price of oil goes up,
politicians blame Big Oil and price gouging.
I wonder why when oil prices drop drastically Big Oil doesn’t get a big
thank you.
It’s because except in cases of monopolies
or collusion, economic laws beat price gouging all day long.
By the way, that politician’s comment,
“Notably, grocery prices have not fallen
at the same rate as inflation. This is caused by excessive price gouging by
food and grocery giants,"
Even with a high C- in economics I know
that if the rate of inflation falls from 10% to 5% it is unreasonable for
prices to fall 5%. It is reasonable to
assume that prices will still rise 5%!
DUH!
But politicians think we are stupid.
Come on smart people, find a solution to
inflation. But
start by not blaming price gouging.
And, to the politician who said,
“Notably, grocery prices have not fallen
at the same rate as inflation. This is caused by excessive price gouging by
food and grocery giants,"
Thank you, I now understand the meaning
of “Gas Lighting.”
End of vent, damn that feels
good!
It's good to hear from you, and I agree.
ReplyDeleteAs near as I can work out, people buy less because the prices are too high. The CEOs who gather all the profits are "losing" profits (money) because people aren't buying, so to recover their "lost" profits they raise the prices again and so the cycle continues, with the little people and the farmers who grow the produce losing the most.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that's what politicians would want you to believe. This high C- economics student will have to give you an F. Raising prices against falling sales only works for a a few products like tobacco and other drugs, and then with limited success.
DeleteEverything that is happening is planned. It looks like a cluster, but it's planned. That's my view. I don't like politicians and I'm referring to both sides of the aisle. They are not here to help the little people, they are here for power, themselves and reelection.
ReplyDeleteHave a great rest of the week, Joe. ☺
Inflation is the result of economic factors often brought by poor economic policies. Price gouging is limited to few specific commodities and only sustainable for a short time. Planned policies? Probably not. Sorry have to give you an F as well.
DeleteI know nothing about economics, so I will not submit a theory. My VALedictorian GPA cannot withstand an "F" to be averaged. All I know is that the price of everything has gone up. Except scratcher tickets. But from slaw to flip houses, costs have soared.
ReplyDeleteCranky, it has been good to read your blog again! I'm glad you're out-of-retirement. As one who remembers interest rates from the late 1970s, I would hope that would encourage people to save--open savings accounts, create a change jar, stay home to eat, etc., but I think that's as bygone as flapper dresses. When I taught government/economics to high school seniors, they were required to open a savings or checking account, if they had a job, and we worked on saving money and understanding interest rates and percentages. I miss those common sense days. Now, it's spend, spend, spend. I saw a video of someone shopping in the grocery store overhearing a family shopping in the same store an aisle over talking about their dining out budget of $500. Jaw dropped.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, it's good to see you in print, again.
well said dear joe !
ReplyDeletei agree completely to what you have mentioned here
in my country we have experienced highest leap in inflation during last two years . people specially the middle class and lower classes are crushed with the sudden jump of prices.
worst part that when the oil is high everything is high instantly but when oil is down one or two rupee no one reduce the singe penny .
no politician is here to serve public but they are here to save more amore fr their coming generations
Glad to see your post and I totally agree. Please stay out of retirement! You always make me laugh.
ReplyDeleteSince it's 3:10am and I can't sleep I know where to come for some good reading! I'm a dummy when it comes to economics and all that. I do know that prices are high everywhere. I'm still in the work force to help my wallet. Aldi claims to have dropped prices. I go there weekly and have noticed the red price tags that have the previous price with the slash through them and then the 5cent discount new price on them. I also noticed chocolate chips that were 1.95 (up from 1.69) are now 2.25. And so it goes down all the isles. A nickel less here, $2 more there. Yep, I love their lower prices. I also remember when we were finally able to buy our first house in 1985 and the interest rate was 10 1/4%. We were super excited to refinance at 7. The home we're in now is paid off and the younger set is pissed because we old folks won't move so they can buy a house and we can buy another one at 7% interest or more. But then I must add our home is now worth so much (is that inflation? I said I was a dummy) we could pay cash. That is if we could find another since home inventory is so low. Oh my, now I must head back to bed since it's almost 3:30. Thanks Cranky for helping me sleep!
ReplyDelete