While many workers have finally seen an uptick in their paychecks, they’ve been dismayed to see the increase quickly gobbled up by jacked-up grocery prices. What the hell?
Ever notice just how rare and uncommon the corner grocery store has become? Also, the corner store doesn't sell just groceries anymore. So, the average American consumer is getting a raw deal. GO KAMALA!
Well hell Jim, can't our Vice President understand how incredibly expensive it is to stock the grocery stores with artificial meats and whipped up polypropylene so we can all happily survive on laboratory food services while populating Mars or some other time/space dimension?
Mars cannot be terraformed. It doesn't have enough gravity to hold an atmosphere. Enough science. Tell it like it is. The ultra rich have no interest in the rest of us. Thanks, Linda.
Love your style .... always telling it like it is. How many ways does it have to be said that this inflation is 95% caused by ugly greedy billionaires who expect to double their wealth in 3 to 4 years. They've taken over everything .... it's said that 26% of the single family homes sold in 2023 were bought by Hedge Funds. Hedge Funds are the name of investors hidden by the fact that they are not incorporated, thus you can't track them by their stock as only corporations are represented by stock. they simply pool their money and go on buying binges. They now own practically everything - 40% of Electrical Power Companies are now owned by 'investors' - and 40% of private hospitals are also in their pockets. Their next step is to buy the United States and their stand up goon is none other than Trump. It's time to empty the Federalist Society and the Heritage Foundation and send them home. Teddy Roosevelt would have surrounded them and indicted them for being traitors and sent them all to prison! Thanks Jim ...
Let's be clear here--"food giants are NOT the grocery stores (though the merger of Kroger and Albertsons is truly scary), but those giant producers who saw an opportunity during the pandemic to raise prices--some of which were justified--and have chosen not to lower them now that things are back to normal. I have made it a point to avoid, whenever possible, food processed and marketed by ConAgra, Smithfield, Hormel, and many others. Not just because of their pricing policies, but because of the way they treat both their animals and their human employees. Be educated, people, and shop wisely.
Where we shop and what foods we eat actually can have an effect on the national economy. Since Food Security is very closely related to National Security, it seems to be a good idea to research sources. The profits from Trader Joe's go to a German family business that also owns Aldi.
I'm old enough to remember the Depression (the real one 1930s) and WW2. We consumers have to accept some of the blame. We put our local merchants out of business when we patronized the first discount stores that appeared post WW2. We looked at price not value. Our local guy who sold and serviced our washing machines, dish washers, etc may have charged more to purchase but they were also there to service. Eventually this applied to our local grocers. I still refuse to patronize Walmart or CostCo. Have never set foot in either one. But I'm definitely an outlier. How is this connected to our dysfunctional govt. I'm not sure. A topic for another rant. :-)
What the hell?? How do we break through that wall of propaganda, lies, and entrenched power? Yes, there are people even now - not just Republicans - who actually think that Trump is good for the economy. Support journalism like this! Get the truth out there! And vote, vote, vote!
Love the ‘bovine excrement’ exclamation. I had a professor in my high school days who proclaimed that no paper turned in for his Advanced Placement US History class could be “padded with heifer dust.” He didn’t tolerate it in classroom discussions either. We had to make persuasive arguments based in verifiable facts. I wonder how some of our current red team politicians would fare in Mr. Longnecker’s classroom today. Fair warning, I’m gonna use the “bovine…” comment. I love it!
Jim, don't ignore the other side of the mirror, the word nobody uses in conversation - monopsony. The near monopolies like Walmart, Amazon, Home Depot use their market position to dictate out the door pricing. But because they are also among a small number of BUYERS of goods and services, they can also control their costs in the door. They have the power to UNDERpay their employees at the same time they make those very employees (along with the rest of us) OVERpay for the goods on offer.
The only chain stores that pay their way are high end women's boutiques. All the rest are subsidized by taxpayers and because they are so powerful you get to help support their badly underpaid employees. Old man Walton would have the lot out behind the barn with a belt. The underlying root cause is billionaire/bought politician/lazy prosecutors and the nonsense we have been living under called neo-liberal economic policy since Reagan. A major factor is stopping enforcing anti-trust laws allowing massive consolidation in the business world and allowing the mass exportation of jobs overseas. There are some signs Harris is trying to deal with this. Here's hoping.
The problem with higher food prices seems to be mostly a problem with agribusiness, since all of the local markets in my area (and I can choose between six different local and national grocery stores) all seem to have raised prices simultaneously (but now are running lots of "sales" with buy-one-get-one free prices). So there seems to be active end-retailer competition. It's the wholesalers and producers who are the gougers (giant farms, meat packers, middlemen, etc.). So consumers like us lack any effective means to hunt for lower prices. Most "anti-gouging" laws apply only to short-term, easily defined "emergency" situations--floods, forest fires, epidemics, and such. We need to tax excess profits. If by raising prices you only increase the amount of taxes you owe, then you won't raise prices!
Economics is no science. They claim to know but leave out natural and social capital from their equations. You know the old saying- if you're playing with half a deck you are probably insane. Economists have been bought and paid for by the very rich for a very long time and since the Reagan years they have been going along with and contributing to the destruction of the middle class -they are a danger to democracy don't ya now? Actually, they along with all the legislators that are also bought and paid for are the real danger,
Spot on. Giant corporate farms need to be broken up
The viral planetary defense from overpopulation of a species will be the death of it
The small farmer has almost been destroyed. Just remnant remain.
Squeal all you like, corporate hogs. We are tired of paying for your greed. Its time your profit margin gets a trim.
Ever notice just how rare and uncommon the corner grocery store has become? Also, the corner store doesn't sell just groceries anymore. So, the average American consumer is getting a raw deal. GO KAMALA!
Why not just tax the living $#!+ out of excess profits?
Well hell Jim, can't our Vice President understand how incredibly expensive it is to stock the grocery stores with artificial meats and whipped up polypropylene so we can all happily survive on laboratory food services while populating Mars or some other time/space dimension?
Imagine how much those groceries will cost on Mars
Astronomical!
Good answer l.o.l
Mars cannot be terraformed. It doesn't have enough gravity to hold an atmosphere. Enough science. Tell it like it is. The ultra rich have no interest in the rest of us. Thanks, Linda.
Hay Gordon have you read Heinlein 'Stranger in a Strange Land '?
Love your style .... always telling it like it is. How many ways does it have to be said that this inflation is 95% caused by ugly greedy billionaires who expect to double their wealth in 3 to 4 years. They've taken over everything .... it's said that 26% of the single family homes sold in 2023 were bought by Hedge Funds. Hedge Funds are the name of investors hidden by the fact that they are not incorporated, thus you can't track them by their stock as only corporations are represented by stock. they simply pool their money and go on buying binges. They now own practically everything - 40% of Electrical Power Companies are now owned by 'investors' - and 40% of private hospitals are also in their pockets. Their next step is to buy the United States and their stand up goon is none other than Trump. It's time to empty the Federalist Society and the Heritage Foundation and send them home. Teddy Roosevelt would have surrounded them and indicted them for being traitors and sent them all to prison! Thanks Jim ...
Let's be clear here--"food giants are NOT the grocery stores (though the merger of Kroger and Albertsons is truly scary), but those giant producers who saw an opportunity during the pandemic to raise prices--some of which were justified--and have chosen not to lower them now that things are back to normal. I have made it a point to avoid, whenever possible, food processed and marketed by ConAgra, Smithfield, Hormel, and many others. Not just because of their pricing policies, but because of the way they treat both their animals and their human employees. Be educated, people, and shop wisely.
Many times the food profiteers live in other countries. For instance, Smithfield :
//www.desmoinesregister.com/story/money/agriculture/1/01/01/smithfield-stock-owners-ok-sale-to-firm-in-china/2866653/
Where we shop and what foods we eat actually can have an effect on the national economy. Since Food Security is very closely related to National Security, it seems to be a good idea to research sources. The profits from Trader Joe's go to a German family business that also owns Aldi.
It's a wild world!
Right on, Mary. And it will only get wilder if DJT is reelected. God save America!
Excellent commentary,Jim, glad I’m subscribed. Keep up the good work
I'm old enough to remember the Depression (the real one 1930s) and WW2. We consumers have to accept some of the blame. We put our local merchants out of business when we patronized the first discount stores that appeared post WW2. We looked at price not value. Our local guy who sold and serviced our washing machines, dish washers, etc may have charged more to purchase but they were also there to service. Eventually this applied to our local grocers. I still refuse to patronize Walmart or CostCo. Have never set foot in either one. But I'm definitely an outlier. How is this connected to our dysfunctional govt. I'm not sure. A topic for another rant. :-)
What the hell?? How do we break through that wall of propaganda, lies, and entrenched power? Yes, there are people even now - not just Republicans - who actually think that Trump is good for the economy. Support journalism like this! Get the truth out there! And vote, vote, vote!
Love the ‘bovine excrement’ exclamation. I had a professor in my high school days who proclaimed that no paper turned in for his Advanced Placement US History class could be “padded with heifer dust.” He didn’t tolerate it in classroom discussions either. We had to make persuasive arguments based in verifiable facts. I wonder how some of our current red team politicians would fare in Mr. Longnecker’s classroom today. Fair warning, I’m gonna use the “bovine…” comment. I love it!
The only function of economic forecasting is to make astrology look respectable. Ezra Solomon
I have always thought that most economists have their own agenda.
Thanks for my daily laugh. That's why I always check my astrology forecast before checking my checking acct.
Jim, don't ignore the other side of the mirror, the word nobody uses in conversation - monopsony. The near monopolies like Walmart, Amazon, Home Depot use their market position to dictate out the door pricing. But because they are also among a small number of BUYERS of goods and services, they can also control their costs in the door. They have the power to UNDERpay their employees at the same time they make those very employees (along with the rest of us) OVERpay for the goods on offer.
The only chain stores that pay their way are high end women's boutiques. All the rest are subsidized by taxpayers and because they are so powerful you get to help support their badly underpaid employees. Old man Walton would have the lot out behind the barn with a belt. The underlying root cause is billionaire/bought politician/lazy prosecutors and the nonsense we have been living under called neo-liberal economic policy since Reagan. A major factor is stopping enforcing anti-trust laws allowing massive consolidation in the business world and allowing the mass exportation of jobs overseas. There are some signs Harris is trying to deal with this. Here's hoping.
The problem with higher food prices seems to be mostly a problem with agribusiness, since all of the local markets in my area (and I can choose between six different local and national grocery stores) all seem to have raised prices simultaneously (but now are running lots of "sales" with buy-one-get-one free prices). So there seems to be active end-retailer competition. It's the wholesalers and producers who are the gougers (giant farms, meat packers, middlemen, etc.). So consumers like us lack any effective means to hunt for lower prices. Most "anti-gouging" laws apply only to short-term, easily defined "emergency" situations--floods, forest fires, epidemics, and such. We need to tax excess profits. If by raising prices you only increase the amount of taxes you owe, then you won't raise prices!
Yes profits should be taxed on a tier scale with a tax gouger for the greediest
Argh! Have to share this one!
Economics is no science. They claim to know but leave out natural and social capital from their equations. You know the old saying- if you're playing with half a deck you are probably insane. Economists have been bought and paid for by the very rich for a very long time and since the Reagan years they have been going along with and contributing to the destruction of the middle class -they are a danger to democracy don't ya now? Actually, they along with all the legislators that are also bought and paid for are the real danger,