How is inflation affecting you?

[MrSquished]

Even the WSJ is finding it hard to pretend to not know about greedflation

Why Is Inflation So Sticky? It Could Be Corporate Profits

Some companies might have been raising prices faster than their costs have increased, making it harder for inflation to fall, economists say.

www.wsj.com

Why Is Inflation So Sticky? It Could Be Corporate Profits​

Some companies might have been raising prices faster than their costs have increased​

NO FUCKING SHIT SHERLOCK! (unless you are a republican)

 

[Brainonska511]

Even the WSJ is finding it hard to pretend to not know about greedflation

Why Is Inflation So Sticky? It Could Be Corporate Profits

Some companies might have been raising prices faster than their costs have increased, making it harder for inflation to fall, economists say.

www.wsj.com

Why Is Inflation So Sticky? It Could Be Corporate Profits​

Some companies might have been raising prices faster than their costs have increased​

NO FUCKING SHIT SHERLOCK! (unless you are a republican)

Perhaps, but it just seems like a weird argument. It's not like companies were not greedy before and have suddenly become greedy in the last few years...

 

[brianmanahan]

Perhaps, but it just seems like a weird argument. It's not like companies were not greedy before and have suddenly become greedy in the last few years...

covid supply chain issues does make it a lot easier to explain away price increases though

and if your cost per unit went up %50 very fast so people are already expecting price hikes... why not sneak the price per unit up %60 or 70 or 80?

the companies can use the blanket description "well covid..." because it's partially true, but it's not the only reason

 

[MrSquished]

Perhaps, but it just seems like a weird argument. It's not like companies were not greedy before and have suddenly become greedy in the last few years...

I don't think anybody here, including me, is arguing that companies were not greedy before. At all. The point is in this current situation companies are using inflation as a cover for their own greed.

 

[jpiniero]

I don't think anybody here, including me, is arguing that companies were not greedy before. At all. The point is in this current situation companies are using inflation as a cover for their own greed.

I'd have to read the article to see what examples they give... but I looked at Coke (I think I mentioned the price hikes there...) and what they call "Price/Mix" was up 11% with flat volume... but operating income declined 2%, and they blamed high costs. Looked at Target, and same store sales were up 3% but also had lower operating income.

I wouldn't be surprised if there was price hikes because of the stickiness... but it's not like costs aren't still going up.

 

[MrSquished]

I'd have to read the article to see what examples they give... but I looked at Coke (I think I mentioned the price hikes there...) and what they call "Price/Mix" was up 11% with flat volume... but operating income declined 2%, and they blamed high costs. Looked at Target, and same store sales were up 3% but also had lower operating income.

I wouldn't be surprised if there was price hikes because of the stickiness... but it's not like costs aren't still going up.

Again nobody's arguing that costs haven't gone up. But that companies are solely blaming inflation by using it as cover to raise prices even more than what they need to cover.

It's actually pretty important because inflation is one of the bigger economic and political topics du jour.

People can't make informed decisions about major issues like the cost of living when they can't take into account corporate greed versus actual inflation. It would seriously change the conversation so I find this very important.

 

[Captante]

What changed was that during the worst of the pandemic they (corporations) came to the realization that they could get away with more "pure greed" than they ever had before and they just never stopped.

This crap is why as I've stated previously I no longer care much about "loyalty" (lol) to almost any company or brand. Screw these people and their stockholders.

 

[ondma]

There was also a lot of pent up demand after Covid, and a lot of cash sitting idle. So companies could get away with larger price hikes, since there was a lot of idle cash, and interest rates were essentially zero, and there were pauses in rent and student loan payments.

 

[biostud]

My boss want to raise my salary so it catch up with the inflation.

 

[igor_kavinski]

My boss want to raise my salary so it catch up with the inflation.

I wish everyone had a boss like that.

 

[brianmanahan]

My boss want to raise my salary so it catch up with the inflation.

my boss said "best i can do is half of inflation"

 

[Ajay]

my boss said "best i can do is half of inflation"

Son's of bitches, eh.

 

[AdamK47]

Even the WSJ is finding it hard to pretend to not know about greedflation

Why Is Inflation So Sticky? It Could Be Corporate Profits

Some companies might have been raising prices faster than their costs have increased, making it harder for inflation to fall, economists say.

www.wsj.com

Why Is Inflation So Sticky? It Could Be Corporate Profits​

Some companies might have been raising prices faster than their costs have increased​

NO FUCKING SHIT SHERLOCK! (unless you are a republican)

It's corporate profits and the consumers willingness to part with their money despite increased costs. If consumers don't push back then companies are going to continue to raise prices to increase their profit margins.

 

[AdamK47]

My boss want to raise my salary so it catch up with the inflation.

Your salary increases. You become less sensitive to price increases. Broader inflation occurs. You get a new raise to match that inflation. The cycle continues.

 

[nOOky]

Yep, the only way to stop the madness is to cut the worker's pay so they can't buy anything except bare necessities. Then employers can hire more starvation wage workers to increase their profits.

 

[brianmanahan]

Even the WSJ is finding it hard to pretend to not know about greedflation

the comments on that WSJ article are hilarious (even moreso than usual)

apparently by pointing this out, many readers think WSJ has been taken over by socialists

 

[Ajay]

It's corporate profits and the consumers willingness to part with their money despite increased costs. If consumers don't push back then companies are going to continue to raise prices to increase their profit margins.

Yeah, but for stuff we need, we're kind of screwed. Can’t exactly boycott essentials. Then there's the American brand name addicts - sadly of which I’m a founding member.

 

[biostud]

Your salary increases. You become less sensitive to price increases. Broader inflation occurs. You get a new raise to match that inflation. The cycle continues.

While that is generally true, it depends on what are driving factors of the inflation. This time around it has not primarily been wages, but energy prices and the "free" cash pumped out during the pandemic.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Yeah, but for stuff we need, we're kind of screwed. Can’t exactly boycott essentials. Then there's the American brand name addicts - sadly of which I’m a founding member.

Most of the harder hitting costs of living are bills, and you can't exactly choose not to pay those either. There is a lot of memes about cauliflower and egg prices but in reality, it's not $10 eggs that are hurting the bank. Property taxes, water/sewer/ gas, hydro etc those are the bills that hit the hardest and go up by around 10-20% every year. Gas went up by around 100% last year. Even the water bill is getting rediculous now. When I first moved into my house a bit over 10 years ago it was like $50/mo and now it's $115. I was actually better off back then even though I made less since I got to keep more of my pay. Property taxes are ridiculous too but they've always been. That money is sure as hell not going towards fixing the roads that's for sure.

 

[Ackmed]

You can't dump trillions of dollars into the economy and not expect inflation to happen. Which is what Biden did.

 

[jpiniero]

You can't dump trillions of dollars into the economy and not expect inflation to happen. Which is what Biden did.

That was before Biden. Probably better to say "Anyone who pushed the lockdowns" more than Joe.

It does seem like it's gotten so sticky that the only way to fix it is 10% unemployment basically.

 

[ondma]

You can't dump trillions of dollars into the economy and not expect inflation to happen. Which is what Biden did.

Actually Trump did it too, several times. I dont really blame Biden for the stimulus, but I do blame him and his administration for being far too slow to react to inflation, claiming that it would be short lived and then go away.

 

[IronWing]

The Fed dragged its feet on rate hikes and continues to do so. Once Greenspan decided that the job of the Fed is to pump the stock market, it has been ridiculously hard to get the Fed back to its intended purpose.

 

[MrSquished]

Clearly, Joe Biden caused inflation and gas prices to go up all over the world too.

 

[Ajay]

The Fed dragged its feet on rate hikes and continues to do so. Once Greenspan decided that the job of the Fed is to pump the stock market, it has been ridiculously hard to get the Fed back to its intended purpose.

Man that guy. At first I thought he was a genius, later on I realized he was a menace to society. We are pretty screwed when we have capitalists that don’t have a single more bone in their bodies. FUGM.