this post was submitted on 04 Jan 2024
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No Stupid Questions

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They keep raising prices, stating that it's due to inflation, but then they keep having record profits.

Meanwhile, the average American can barely afford rent or food nowadays.

What are we to do? Vote? I have been but that doesn't seem to do much since I'm just voting for a representative that makes the actual decisions.

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago

Prices aren't coming down. Our financial systems are built around inflation and drastic measures will be taken to fight deflation.

You can only reduce expenses so far. As purchasing power fell, steak was replaced with ground beef, and ground beef is getting replaced with beans and rice. What can replace beans and rice? Already, too many people are having sleep for dinner.

The answer is both simple and difficult: we need to get paid more.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago

The answer is "vote" but not just once. Not just for federal elections. Every election, you should be there. Show up to candidate forums and bother your current electeds.

Every government is like a ship of various size, it takes a while to see the turn even start, let alone have the course actually get corrected. The bigger the government, the harder it can be to get long lasting positive change accomplished. (This isn't a "small government is better" thing either, it's just how large organizations work.)

If you can, run for office. If you can't, find someone you trust who can and support them. Not just Congress or president or governor. City council, county government, school board, on and on...

[–] [email protected] -1 points 8 months ago

Wow, some terrible answers in here. Look, dumb answers like steal, riot or "eat the rich" don't do anything. You all sitting there acting like internet keyboard warriors literally does nothing to solve this issue so wake up and get a grip.

To answer op's question, the only thing one can do is not engage with it. Price increases or not it's still a free market and you do have choices on what you buy. You don't need a new truck, or phones or organic eggs or whatever they want to sell you. Take care of yourself, learn to be budget conscious, work on your career and your own journey and ignore the rest, it's noise. Truly if you're underwater and can't afford to live where you are, move. There are places in every state that remain cheap. Food should not be a problem in this country. Everyone can afford $50-100 a week for food and you can stay in that budget if you learn what to buy and what to make with it. If everyone did that it'd be far more effective than rioting or stealing or any other dumb response.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Start being an actual adult and start making your own shit.

The only way to free yourself from the slave racket is to stop being dependent on it to survive.

Easy mode: Learn how to cook, and cook clean whole foods. Stop buying processed junk garbage.

Hard mode: Get tools and equipment and learn how to build and fix your own shit. Difficult and will take time, but 100% worthwhile.

Both methods allow you to produce goods and offer services you can sell to other people, too. That way, those that actually can't make or do for themselves can turn to you and not shitty corporations for survival.

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

I actively enjoy cooking, but it's shocking and shameful how little a classic education does for one of the most fundamental aspects of living your life. Nearly every relationship I've been in I have the been the primary chef for, purely because I know the basics. Home Ecc should be a mandatory class because every single one of us needs to eat and should be able to provide a solid meal for ourselves (and it should also include finance education but that's a whole other thing). I don't put the fault on any individual person for not knowing, but it is a skill that EVERYONE should foster.

Check in to the American test kitchen YouTube for all sorts of advice, or go to the library and check out their extensive catalog. You'd be suprised how easily obtainable restaurant quality food is from your own kitchen.

[–] [email protected] -4 points 8 months ago

Stop voting Democrat, obviously. Since it was their policies that caused the high prices.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Stop buying their shit. Obviously there's things you need to live and that's fine but stop wasting your money and making them rich by buying all the ancillary shit.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 8 months ago (1 children)

This is the answer. Its simple but not easy. Do you think the average person knows what they're spending money on each month? And how much? One chick I knew was spending almost $500 a month dining out!! A MONTH!

It is difficult to not have any "fun" purchases tho, nearly impossible imo. But you have to have spending discipline and next to no people have that.

But let's say everyone stops spending on non essentials, taken to its conclusion that would leave only grocery stores, dr offices, mechanics, and banks left to do business lol maybe a few others.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

But.. those places all price gouge too :(.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago

Everyone starts growing veggies and fruit, and only buying direct from farmers.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago

Die in a ditch?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Unironically the answer is "shop less."

Prices on goods rise when demand for goods stays sufficient to support the price going up. The less everyone buys, the less things will cost.

Prices for goods have almost nothing to do with the price of rent, but the mechanisms there are the same - it's just that you have to encourage building rather than "live somewhere less" because the second option really isn't tenable, for obvious reasons.

If you want rent to come down, campaign for, vote for, or even run for office to be the candidate that will change zoning laws and encourage building multifamily housing.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago

the myth of supply based economics, and other fairytales.

Realistically there is no reason for produce or rent to be increasing in price, there is not any actual reason for the hikes in COL other than "record profits"

[–] [email protected] -1 points 8 months ago (5 children)

Didn't have this problem under Trump.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Don't you get tired from losing?

[–] [email protected] -1 points 8 months ago (2 children)

No one loses because of the ranting of fools. I take the down votes here for what they are, the desperate clinging of a false narrative by people that refuse to see reality and instead of thinking for themselves rely on others to do it for them.

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

Looks like someone got high by sniffing their own farts again. You've been proved wrong with facts that don't care about your feelings. You don't get to act enlightened here. Try 4chan's /pol, you might find a couple of your fellow bleach-drinking friends there.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 8 months ago

Wow, the self-righteousness just oozes from you. You haven't proved anything. Keep trying kid.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago

The ranting of fools has actually lost us quite a lot

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago

What?? The inflation problems literally STARTED under Trump. He's not to blame for the covid supply chain issues, sure, but "didn't have this problem under Trump" is an easily fact checked lie.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

That's a fucking stupid thing to say (or even think).

[–] [email protected] -1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Look at their post history, lol

[–] [email protected] 0 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Yeah... I actually did that immediately after I commented that and then just blocked them since I knew there was zero chance of rational discussion.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 8 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

deleted by creator

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

People started complaining about inflation when Trump was still president, after people started hoarding toilet paper, then at a larger scale after the first stimulus cheques. I'm not blaming him personally for that specifically, COVID was hard for all countries on Earth, but facts are facts.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Bullcrap. Nice revisionist history. Inflation was non-existent under Trump. This is all on Biden and his doing everything his feeble mind is able to tank the economy.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago

It was non-existent at the end of Obama's last turn.

But it definitely is back once Trump started.

Don't let statistics hit you on your way out.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago

My dude, we had covid prices and insane global shortages under Trump.

Not that the huge supply chains were his fault, but my 4 year old GPU appreciated 300% during that period.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 8 months ago (1 children)

While it isn't magic, there is a newfound pressure on the Democratic party to finally break some meaningful ground.

Unfortunately one of the biggest obstacles had been the radically conservative Supreme Court.

Simple arithmetic tells us that if just two Supreme Court Justices were to suddenly disappear from our reality, and re-emerge in another, the court would lean more progressive to allow debt relief, bodily autonomy, and hopefully more.

While there are many ways to suddenly remove people from our plane of existence, there's no proven way to have them re-emerge in another. Obviously it would be illegal and deeply unethical to suggest such removal without the safe relocation to another plane.

So I guess just learn to kiss fascist ass 🤷‍♂️

[–] [email protected] -1 points 8 months ago

America needs to nuke the entire structure, not just one party. Its two wings of the same bird. Dems are only "progtessive" and "trying to make meaningful change" because they have an excuse not to. Otherwise that stuff would have been implemented or secured years ago.

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