this post was submitted on 16 Aug 2024
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[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 months ago (6 children)

I mean... Price control is kinda anti-capitalist, he's not wrong.

And no I will not vote for Donald Trump.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I need to eat every day whether it's profitable for Jim Perdue or not. Capitalism is a terrible way to run food distribution or healthcare.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

The problem is that it's anti free market.
You can make regulation for standards of quality and transparency, and regulation against unfair business practices and monopolies.
These things stimulate fair competition, and help consumers make good choices. Which generally result in fair value for consumers.
But you can't dictate prices, it never works and it has been tried many times in many countries, and every time the result is shortage of the price regulated items.

If the price is set so low there are no profits, the goods simply disappear from the market. Nobody wants to work for free.
If the price is set high enough for companies to still profit, it has little or no effect in a competitive market anyway, and is unnecessary.
It might even keep prices higher, because the industry sees it as a floor they don't need to go under, and it works like a cartel price setting.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

We don't have a true free market anyhow. Corn subsidies (among other policies) anyone?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

A market can never be truly free, it needs to be regulated to work. Sometimes subsidies are needed to prevent possible shortages from year to year.
Subsidies are not to promote a free market, but to secure production.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Subsidies are not to promote a free market, but to secure production.

And price controls are not to promote a free market but to reign in corporate greed. I could absolutely not spare a moment of concern for whether they are "anti free market."

They have plenty of margin to work with, and the gig has been up about their "supply chain costs" excuse they started pulling during the pandemic for quite some time now.

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan is pushing for an inquiry into the ongoing surge in grocery prices that started during the Covid-19 pandemic and that remains a hot topic in this year’s presidential election.

On Thursday, during a virtual public meeting hosted by the FTC and the Department of Justice, Khan said the probe would “shed light” on why prices and profits at grocery chains “remain so high even as costs appear to have come down.”

“We want to make sure that major businesses are not exploiting their power to inflate prices for American families at the grocery store,” she said.

Puh. They absolutely ARE and HAVE BEEN exploiting their power to inflate prices.

Between grocery prices, fast food shenanigans, and shrinkflation, anyone with little enough disposable income to be at all conscious of prices has known for a long while that these companies have picked the pandemic as their excuse to pull in as much money hand over fist as they possibly can, all while fighting tooth and nail against wage increases to even approach the overall rate of inflation across the same period of time.

From the first link in that para:

TheStreet reported that Medium French Fries went from $1.79 in 2019 to $4.19 in 2024, a 134.1 percent increase. A McChicken went from $1.29 to $3.89, a 201.6 percent hike.

The price of the beloved Big Mac increased 87.7 percent, from $3.99 to $7.49. An order of 10 McNuggets rose by 68.8 percent, from $4.49 to $7.58. Of the five popular products examined, cheeseburgers saw the largest price increase—going from $1 to $3.15, a 215 percent spike.

These increases exceed the general average for inflation calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which shows that prices went up by about 21.5 percent between the end of 2019 and March 2024.

From the second link in that para:

Few details were released about the change, but Wendy’s CEO Kirk Tanner said the new menus will let the fast food chain test “more enhanced features like dynamic pricing and day-part offerings along with AI-enabled menu changes and suggestive selling.”

“We expect our digital menu boards will drive immediate benefits to order accuracy, improve crew experience and sales growth from upselling and consistent merchandising execution,” Tanner said on the call.

Surge pricing could be a “turning point” in the industry, according to Jonathan Maze, editor-in-chief of trade publication Restaurant Business. “If Wendy’s idea works, it could get others to do something similar, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see another chain or two test the idea themselves, given what Wendy’s is doing.”

Fuck you Wendy's. You've been a favorite since I was 12, and I tried to ignore your decreasing quality in recent years. You are dead to me now. (Yes, I know they rolled the idea back after they heard what the announcement did to the pitchfork futures market.)

From the third link in that para:

Frito-Lay shrank bags of some of its Dorito's from 9.75 ounces to 9.25 ounces. Bags in both of these sizes, as well as some 9.5-ounce bags, are currently for sale at Target for the same price. "We took just a little bit out of the bag so we can give you the same price and you can keep enjoying your chips," a Frito-Lay spokesperson told Quartz.

Fuck you Frito-Lay, what kind of Orwellian doublethink is this?

Anti-Free market indeed. Free market in this country no longer means anything other than unrestrained corporate greed.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Price control is kinda anti-capitalist, he’s not wrong.

It's authoritarian, but still very capitalist in function. The state is regulating the rate at which you can raise prices, not who profits from the sales.

And no I will not vote for Donald Trump.

I wouldn't lose too much sleep over the decision. In the end, I predict this election will be decided 6-3.

[–] [email protected] -3 points 2 months ago (2 children)

I wouldn't lose too much sleep over the decision. In the end, I predict this election will be decided 6-3.

Only if they agree to hear the case. I'm not sure ACB or Gorsuch like him as much as people think. The elections are run by the states. Unless a super close Florida Bush/Gore situation happens I doubt it will even reach the SC.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Your comment is pure denial and cope. The MAGA fascists are putting the people into place to steal Georgia's election as we speak.

[–] [email protected] -4 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I think you forget what McConnell, Pence and Kemp did to protect the republic last time. They're not the only ones who still believe in America.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

lmao, you think Mitch McConnell, Mike Pence, and Brian Kemp have patriotic values?

DM me, I have a bridge for sale.

[–] [email protected] -2 points 2 months ago

They did not help Trump overturn the election in 2020. EOM.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago (2 children)

The elections are run by the states.

Nevada, North Carolina, and Georgia all have Republican governors.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago

NC governor is a Democrat (and was on Harris's short list for VP)

While the legislature is Republican run our AG & Secretary of State are both Democrats and it will be quite difficult for Republicans to gum up the election I'm sure they will try though

[–] [email protected] -1 points 2 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] -1 points 2 months ago

Trump openly conspired with Georgia election officials to try and flip the race. That's a big part of the list of indictments against him.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago (1 children)

The informed consumer is a great price control in the free market.

This is why I don't buy whatever crap that Trump flogs or for that matter tic tacs.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago (1 children)

The informed consumer is a great price control in the free market.

What does that even mean? We all see prices rising.

[–] [email protected] -4 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (2 children)

Price controls could lead to shortages, which is reportedly common in Communist countries—which I'll concede to Trump;

however, Trump is hardly better with his flogging crap, the encouragement of stupidity, the anti-science, and the tariffs—why do Trump supporters—presumably a vast majority being consumers—support tariffs, quotas, and seem indifferent to IP ("intellectual property") trolls and their lobbies? Why do they oppose abortion (and perhaps contraceptives) when fewer children means less need to purchase stuff?

Perhaps price controls for basics are needed, but this is not the ideal; and if you support price controls because you favour socialism, then again, Trump is kinda right here.

note: if I was American, I would not vote for Trump or pretty well any Republican.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

Price controls could lead to shortages

Nope. That's just the line the profiteers feed the most gullible of their victims so they'll defend their corrupt practices.

which is reportedly common in Communist countries

You know what's also common in nominally communist countries?

Government corruption, wealth and power being concentrated in the hands of a few privileged people, and that privileged class tricking their victims into being their advocates.

Exactly like capitalism in general, and especially US capitalism.

which I'll concede to Trump

Well that's just stupid and unnecessary. It's not like he has a point or anything. he's just throwing buzzwords at the board and seeing if any sticks

why do Trump supporters—presumably a vast majority being consumers—support tariffs, quotas, and seem indifferent to IP ("intellectual property") trolls and their lobbies? Why do they oppose abortion (and perhaps contraceptives) when fewer children means less need to purchase stuff?

For the same reason that you think price controls lead to shortages and that any country calling itself communist is an accurate representative of what communism is: lots of internalized propaganda.

Disclaimer that shouldn't be necessary: I'm not a communist or in favor of communism. It's far too authoritarian, inflexible, and unprepared for when the real world doesn't correspond with theory.

Perhaps price controls for basics are needed

No "perhaps" about it. The profiteers have demonstrated that they will always raise prices when not forced not to, far beyond their customers' ability to survive in the long run. It's long past time to make social murder illegal.

but this is not the ideal

No, the ideal is that all companies are worker owned co-ops so that the socially good and the fiscally good are inseparable so that there's no systemic incentive to profiteering.

We're not getting there within any of our lifetimes, if ever, though, so let's focus on what is already possible and necessary: price controls.

if you support price controls because you favour socialism

Nah, I support price controls because they're necessary to reduce a pandemic of standardized plundering of the poor. Call it socialism or don't, just get that boot off my neck.

then again, Trump is kinda right here.

Nope. Not even kinda. He doesn't know what communism is any more than he knows what asylum is, how to prevent forest fires, or how to deal with hurricanes.

The man is a colossal idiot who happens to be tragically effective at self-promoting. He's also a fascist and the poster boy for malignant narcissism.

You do not, under any circumstances ever, have to concede ANYTHING to him as, even on the incredibly rare occasion that he's right about literally anything, he got there by accident.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago

I wish I could upvote this twice.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 2 months ago

We were talking about price controls, I failed to see how any of that well known stuff is related. Spend more time focusing on your own country.

[–] [email protected] 32 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I mean... Price control is kinda anti-capitalist,

Good. Fuck capitalism.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 months ago
[–] [email protected] 44 points 2 months ago (2 children)

IDGAF what they call it. Lower the damn prices! Sacrifice a billionaire to the capitalist god or something.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Maybe $10 000 to each person per year in food stamps, and $5000 extra payment if they maintain a BMI under 25.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

That just puts more money in the hands of Big Food.

Now, if the food support was limited to only be spent on fresh or frozen vegetables and fruit, that would help the kinds of farmers that aren't already getting subsidized.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 2 months ago

You have to keep sacrificing the billionaires to the Invisible Hand until market equilibrium is restored.