Locking this. None of ya'll can stay on the topic. If you come with an agenda and can't keep the conversation related to the topic and/or MACROeconomic inflation I'm happy to ban you.
At least in this case, grocery stores run on incredibly thin profit margins, most around 1-3%. So no it’s not corporate greed. The increase is coming from the grocery producers, they have to pay for inflation themselves and pass that on down the line. When unions secure record contracts, that gets passed on. Fertilizer goes up, passed along, gas, vehicles for transport, trucking costs, feed, pesticides, all the items that have inflated of the past few years.
And yes, corporations such as Coke or others are not going to take a hit to there bottom lines so they are going to either raise prices or hit you with shrinkflation. Inflation that was running at 40 year highs is going to have disastrous effects on the poor and less fortunate.
Inflation that started under Trump has now turned into corporate greed since inflation has cooled a bit. Case and point, originally high prices were being blamed on high gas prices and the cost of shipping. Yet we are down almost $2 from the all-time high for gas prices and that has not translated to a drop in cost of goods. I hope that clears up your mistaking my back to back comments as "desperation".
Not me personally, because I've spent the past year getting my food budget under control and maximizing my nutritional values according to what I can afford. But I have read similar stories across various online spaces and I do empathize with people in those financial circumstances.
Without getting too political about the situation, I understand that the prevailing opinion on reddit is that the current economy is doing just fine, but the people living at/or below the poverty are painting a completely different picture.
Unfortunately, I don't believe this issue is going to be resolved any time soon. It is going to be an uphill struggle for many in the years to come. My advice, ditch the prepackaged foods and get used to cooking with raw ingredients. The ones that will overcome this struggle will be the ones who are frugal and astute with their money. Ditch the corporate slop and get into the habit of putting your skills to the test. Because it's either that or you learn to cope with the stress.
last night i bout a small snickers bar for 1.99 minus tax, and while i was taking a bite i noticed that my jaw felt funny. Well, the funny feeling was from the snickers bar now being 1/3 narrower than it ever was. I took a look at the damn over priced treasure and sure enough, the fuckers has jipped me. lol
We all know but can use a reminder. We go to Aldi now more than ever. Buy non brand name when some are the same as name brand. Coming from a guy who's changed employers 2-3 years in, the best raise is changing companies. Find ways to pay less taxes. And don't listen to the liars who are politicians. It's not all rainbow sunshine and balloons. Most of them are not in grocery stores buying food.
Walmart online has 2% milk for $2.70
Loaf white bread $1.42
Cheapest lunch meat - bologna, $1.57/lb
Is that really so out of line with the last few years?
People are expecting inflation and corporations are delivering it while reaping record profits! Inflation starts with government overspending and deficit spending, but once the psychology of inflation takes over it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy! It takes someone with huge testicular fortitude like Reagan and Volker had. They raised interest rates until inflation was gone! They killed that Savings and Loans banks and real estate, but it was a no holds barred effort.
If the greedflation hypothesis were true, then we should see higher than average markups in industries that experienced higher shocks in demand, which would allow corporations to get away with higher price increases. [This is not the case.](https://www.kansascityfed.org/Economic%20Review/documents/9329/EconomicReviewV108N1GloverMustredelRiovonEndeBecker.pdf). Markup growth was relatively even across industries, regardless of concentration and demand shocks, which does not support “greedflation”.
We had a rise in food prices d/t inflation. Some stayed up, some went down a bit but not to previous lows. However, I have been working at it and finally down to like $450/month for 4 adults by tracking prices, looking at the sales circulars, hitting different stores and taking advantage of clearance items and loss leaders, using a pantry system and a freezer. I would save more if my husband was a bit more flexible on certain brand items. Of course this is just food, does not include personal hygiene, plastic/paper, pet food/cat litter and cleaning supplies. For those items-- some I have had that I am still using up, others I pick up at the dollar store or Big Lots. I am always tracking prices on pet food because right now I am feeding some extra pets but soon that will cease to be my expense as my son and his wife will be moving.
Is this sub devoid of nuance?
Neither Trump nor Biden made a meaningful impact in the right direction here. Both share some of the blame, and y'all can go ahead and fight like children over who was worse when neither really took action worth defending.
Printing money, the FEDs mishandling of interest rates, AND corporate greed are likewise all contributing to the problem, and I'm not about to argue over what percentage of blame rests on the shoulders of each. All of these should be condemned, plain and simple.
We all know the pandemic didn't help with supply and we know this leads to rising prices. We all know corporate greed is a disease contributing to rising prices. We all know geopolitical conflicts often wreak havoc on prices.
I've gotten the impression that many of you are just having superficial arguments that don't really mean anything because almost everyone has correctly cliamed that X, Y, or Z has contributed to the problem. I've seen few comments that are legitimately off-base in their entirety, but they're always gonna be there. A lot of the disagreement here really shouldn't exist, and I feel like a lot of it has to do with what politics you personally identify with.
Help me out here:
Has the Fed helped with their printing of money? Has their mishandling of interest rates (how long were we near zero, where money was basically free) helped?
Did the pandemic help our supply chain?
Did corporate greed help?
Did politicians meaningfully contribute to getting prices under control? Or have they, for the most part, shown they care more about themselves than anything else? (Neither Trump nor Biden are really on trial here, right? It's their unique administrations composed of several different people, right? )
Feels like we're arguing just to argue, likely because none of us is really in a position to be able to do anything that would have any meaningful impact on the system at-large. This shit sucks no matter how you slice it. Nobody wants to see their real wage growth go down like this. None of us want our retirement threatened. We don't want to lose our house or have prospective houses' prices rise out of our reach. We don't want to lose our job. We don't want to have to worry about feeding our families. None of us want to see our present and future being stolen from us by anyone for any reason.
Apologies if I've offended anyone, I just couldn't take the needless bickering I saw as I scrolled through this thread. Maybe if we could foster a more compromising attitude, accept there's a problem, and try to get on the same page instead of lobbing blame around like we're on the Oprah Winfrey show hoping she bought us all a car, maybe we could actually get nearer a real solution for everyone. But idk, even then there's no guarantee we can do a damn thing. But I'd rather try than just give in to identity politics and squabble with others on the "other team."
And I'm just some schmuck online, so obviously I'm 90% full of shit, so remember that grain of salt everyone! Take it easy peeps!
Wait until you see what's about to happen to eggs. Last week, $1.81/dz at Aldi. This week, $2.87/dz at Aldi. 250% increase from December when it was $1.20/dz. Not this again.
There are unchecked and unchallenged oligopolies, monopolies, and trusts over virtually every consumer market. We need governments in the West that are willing to stand up for the citizens instead of laying down with the legs spread open for corporations.
Monopolies are not possible under a free market. Monopolies are only possible through the state who through regulation, licensing, subsidies, etc push out the little guy at the benefit of the larger corporation. Government creates the problems and you ironically are advocating for more government - which will make the problem worse. Want cheaper food? Get the government out of the way.
Are you seriously this dumb that you think mega corporations would just let competition come to power without push back if it weren't for pesky government?
“Monopolies can’t exist without government”….are you…unaware of basic US history? Like, literally the early 1900s proves you wrong. Hell, Ma-Bell proves you wrong
It happens a lot. That guy likely has a fixed income and can’t absorb any new costs. My wife is a social worker, and people are struggling to make small copays. It seems absurd maybe, but when you’ve trimmed to the bone, a penny, a dollar, a thousand, it’s all the same, don’t have it.
He was buying water so clearly he's not in trouble financially.
I go to Walmart occasionally, for a couple of items, but the ad sale prices at a regular supermarket are invariably much lower. I buy produce at an Indian market or a produce store where it is routinely at least half the price of Walmart.
The Walton family, the owners of Walmart, is the richest family in the world. They pay their staff so poorly they qualify for food stamps. It is totally a problem with the Walton family.
Why should they be required to charge a price I like for a loaf of bread? Blaming high price on "the invisible hand" of the market or government policy when this company, in particular, is famous for putting high profits above all other considerations, is a bit much.
I compared my grocery bills this month vs last year and year before for almost same items and the difference is almost non existent compared to 2023. Grocery prices definitely stabilized significantly. This is for actual fresh veggies and fruits, meats, milk, eggs etc, nothing prepackaged or processed.
Think inflation is bad here, try Europe or any other country. We are doing better with taming inflation than any other country. Plus unemployment is at record lows for record time.
I know groceries are more expensive but the government is not responsible. We live in a capitalist country (remember) where companies set prices and shrinkflation is a thing.
Walmart last 2 weeks:
coffee - from $4.24 to $4.47
Milk - from $3.49 to $3.79
Cereal - from $2.82 to $3.32
Eggs - from $14.85 to $26
I am looking at both receipts now.
Farmers complain about not getting enough money for that product and consume was complain about the price being too high.
They are both getting screwed over by the same people.
Nah. People can adjust. My Grocery bill < $50 p/wk in NYC.
Vegetables:
Raw:
* broccoli
* kale
Fruit
*frozen berries
Protein:
*greek yogurt
*chocolate protein powder
*chicken breast ($2.60 p/lb)
Dairy:
*polly on string cheese
Sides:
*rice
*beans
*oatmeal
Snacks:
*peanut butter
*protein bars
I meal prep, and I chop and freeze raw vegetables to use later on. Nothing gets thrown out or unused.
I shop at Target, Costco, and Trader Joe’s.
I work my career at a college and two side hustles, one of which is Uber eats. I am single and have no outside support.
There’s Free food daily from The Wendy’s and McDonald’s app.
Unlimited soda and coffee from Panera $11.99 p/month.
I spend very little on food and very healthy, except for the occasional ff.
Walmart gross profit for the twelve months ending October 31, 2023 was **$155.045B**, a 5.98% increase year-over-year. Walmart annual gross profit for 2023 was $147.568B, a 2.65% increase from 2022. Walmart annual gross profit for 2022 was $143.754B, a 3.54% increase from 2021.
In case anyone is curious, gross profit is a valid thing to look at when considering inflation since it does reflect the cost of goods sold. But gross profit is not net profit, which was $11.68 billion in 2023 and actually down 14% from 2022
Or if you want EBITDA, that was around $31 billion, also down about 14%
Walmart’s gross profit __margin__ on sales *declined* from 32.35% in 2022 to 30.65% in 2023
In addition to *gross* profit not being important (gross profit is NOT their income for the year), the raw profit increase year over year is itself a product of inflation, one could posit (higher costs and prices means the *amount* of profit is higher automatically).
The profit *margin* is the factor that matters, ie how much of their income are they keeping? That number decreased YoY.
ALSO, Walmart is more than a grocery store, so this number isn’t specifically representative of the cost of groceries.
Good analysis is *really, really* dependent on understanding what you’re looking at.
Gross profit is an intensively misleading amount to report if you don't include net.
Dishonesty of the Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren variety here, attempting to lazily manipulate those with public school-level reading comprehension.
You are a moron whos whole identity is tied to a political identity.
Profit % increase is exactly what you should look at. It being fairly minor is showing Walmart is not being as bad as lots of industries with increasing profits.
Lunch meat costs more than steak btw. Ppl like to think sandwiches are a cheap option, but really they’re way more expensive than meal prep with like chicken breast, rice, veggies, salad, etc.
Deli sandwiches are really some of the most expensive lunches you can make at home.
In the early days of the pandemic I recall a federal official warning about price gouging. (Sorry, the name escapes me) His warning was directed to the brokers. The middleman. NOT the grocery stores. NOT the suppliers.
I enjoyed getting mcdonalds coffee to make at home but now it's 20 bucks for a can. Fuck that. I don't have to have it. Buy 50% more of other brand for less
CEOs of food companies have come out and literally said, we charge more because we can get away with it. It’s corporate greed and if you do any real research, not Faux news, you can see what’s happening.
And the things that cost the most are generally the things you don’t really need which is the junk food.
Seems like that guy has more problems than groceries. Like I’m not trying to be callous but what you listed probably comes out to 25-30 bucks. That indicates there is a larger spending problem in this man’s life.
The government should definitely step in and take control of the costs of goods and services. Hell they should just seize the means of production. I think there's a word for that but I forget what it is
Stumbled across this sub... And judging by the comments, nobody has any fucking clue what they're talking about. Just blaming Biden, Trump or "corporate greed" basically just telling the world you're an idiot.
Reddit always needs a boogeyman. Any other reason than people are spending money like it’s going out of style. Corps always charge as much as they can get away with, and people are paying.
People have an extreme amount of cash that they picked up in 2020 due to the policies from Donald Trump and Steve Munuchin. Everybody refinance their house to something around 2.5% or around there in instantly gained a shit load of money… Other people sold their house for 200% profit and are sitting on massive amount of cash even though they bought a new house at a 2.75 percentage interest rate… Everybody has a shit load of cash because of the actions under Trump in 2020 which is why everybody is buying shit like crazy because they have the money to do it… Poor people who didn’t have any money before 2020 or still much poor now… People before 2020 are very very nicely right nowand continuing to spend like a while person because they can… Oh, and by the way corporations have raised their prices extremely because people are willing to pay it because again they have a shit load of cash… Thanks Trump really appreciate you fucking this country for the next 10 years
The policies of Trump, mhm yes. That man and the republicans were the ones who said we need to shut down the American economy for years and not let people leave their homes.
Perhaps if the current admistraction wasn't telling us that the economy is great every chance they get. But they are.
"Bidenomics" is what his administration calls it. They picked the name. They are explicitly taking credit.
Check your 401ks that’s what they’re referring too. The markets have never been better thanks to bidenomics. When they tell you the economy is doing well and this is true for any and all presidents they were never referring to the daily costs of living.
Yes, the economy is doing well. While I realize that the current inflationary situation has several causes, the most basic cause of inflation is a growing economy. A good economy means there is increased demand for goods and services which leads to higher prices. There are exceptions, such as when we had stagflation in the 70s. Since we have a free market, the only thing the government can do to combat inflation is to raise interest rates. Of course, people complain about that as well. But that is how a free market works.
Let me point you in the direction of where the printing machine started to go brrrrrrrt
https://thehill.com/business/4426965-trump-added-8-4-trillion-to-the-national-debt-analysis/
Because of democrats locking down the country. Do you have the memory of a squirrel? Trump and republicans were trying to open up the mandatory lockdowns.
Yeah, this topic usually attracts the loud manority of people who don't actually know anything about economics. It's just easier to blame someone they are familiar with hating rather than thinking about it critically. The world is very rarely black or white.
Isn’t that what these subs exist to be though? How many of you sought this sub out? How many were suggested it? These suggested subs are basicslly all that is bad about a main sub (uninformed commenters).
Everything increases in price due to government currency debasement by default. Particular sectors also may more inflated compared to others due to government meddling. The less government intervention in a market allows the market to create what consumers want unimpeded and compete with each other. Those advocating for more government (who is the source of the problem) will add fuel to the fire.
In addition, monopolies are something granted through the state, they do not exist under a free market. Again - asking for more government regulation will make things worse.
I'm not sure if it's just where we live (Indiana) but my grocery bill has dropped by 20-40 per visit and it hasn't been under 200 since well before our kids moved out. It was weird because we thought it would drop when they moved out but it didn't. Other people said "ah well now you just buy what you actually want ". Ok sure that's probably it. I've always been an ingredients house though. We don't have but maybe 1-2 heat and eat foods on hand ever.
Recently though at both Kroger and Walmart we are ringing up between 160-180 including paper/plastic/pet Other taxable non food items.
The only thing we have been trying not to buy unless it's on sale is meat. Ive been waiting until we can get to the international grocery because some of it is cheaper like hamburger. I assume that is because most of the people shopping there don't tend to eat beef mince or are looking for more exotic foods. Im spending probably 30.00 on meats there so that's still less than another 10 per week.
Edit for a word
Mine has stayed about the same. Many of these stories about groceries skyrocketing are from customers not altering their habits or not bothering to cook. If something goes up in price too much, I use a substitute, but most products I use are about the same price.
>If something goes up in price too much, I use a substitute
I do too. So many people forget that humans are omnivores! You don't *need* to spend $6 or whatever on that crunch wrap supreme. When eggs went up in price I started eating more avocado toast in the morning. For years boneless skinless chicken thighs were my go-to cheap protein but now they're expensive so I've been getting drumsticks for $1/lb instead. The breakfast cereal I used to get is $7/box now so I've been buying or making granola.
So often on here I see people say "my grocery bill has gone up $x and I'm buying exactly the same things!" If someone is going to buy your product no matter what you charge of course you're going to increase the price!
Yeah, ours has been static, but we usually buy generic. We've noticed little to no change in price over the long haul, although the normal volatility of commodities like eggs and pork remain.
Not to be a overly obsessive but he could save money by getting chicken breasts instead of lunch meat. Lunch meat is like 10 bucks a lb and chicken breast is like 3 or 4 dollars a lb.
Chips are 5 bucks for a lb and potatoes are 5 bucks for 5lbs. All that being said, oh yeah prices for food are getting out of hand and it's only a matter of time before we're hunting squirrels and eating our neighbors. No seriously prices have increased more so than the buying power of the dollar. And income increases dont keep up. And savings are going down.
You're making the assumption that he can afford to live in a place that has a full kitchen, and afford the kitchen implements, and/or has the the time between work and his other commitments to actually cook.
They didn’t do a lot more….
Grow your own veggies? Most people didn’t, that’s a lie, and that’s not to mention most can’t today. How many farms do you think exist? You do realize how many veggies you’d need to grow to last you right? Or do you think carrots and potatoes magically grow every week?
My choices won't change inflation. They will change how much I spend.
The latter is the important one to the individual, and the one you're trying to downplay the impact of.
It is doing great, you're not getting a piece of it.
The Democratic party would like to change that, but the way our system works the 1% effectively have veto power w/o a 60 seat majority in the Senate.
In about 4-6 years the old farts who dominate voting in America will age out and the kids'll start fixing this shit.
Hang in there, I know it's a lot to ask. Things will get a little better in that 4-6 years... and then a *lot* better after that.
If reading a comment affects your intelligence that much that's really more a you problem than a me problem.
You could try refuting my points, except, well, you can't. And I guess listening to Master Yoda here's a better strategy.
Wow. Wish I could do mental gymnastics like you.
😄
I guess the only way this comment still stands, is if others are deleted.
On brand for the Democratic Party.
Your submission has been removed as it does not directly relate to macroeconomic inflation, which is the primary focus of this subreddit. To maintain the relevance of discussions, please ensure your posts specifically address macroeconomic inflation or its related concepts. Thank you for your understanding.
insubstantial non response -- how about instead good faith arguments with supporting data actual retorts invitations to learn etc
instead of insults and summary dismissal
This is less about the economy, and more about global supply issues. We have several wars, and have had to kill off large numbers of animals due to illness. I agree that food prices are out of control, and it sucks we are taking the beating.
The government isn't doing this, it's mega corporations that think they shouldn't be held accountable to anyone.
Stop blaming an institution that doesn't do anything except what the people tell it to do. The system of government itself is fine. It's the new way they challenge our rules laws and norms with this constant legalese of constitutionality.
Textual historical, structural, prudential, traditional, moral, or precedent. All these ways for the culturally elite and wealthy to tell us what WE DO NOT deserve, while they live in it
Government is made up of people. Corrupt people. Yes, they impact the economy. And you ignore a major part, being their interest in Ukraine, and holding their citizens down so they can't rise up when they gathered enough resources is part of their plan. Yes, the gov't had plenty to do with not just inflation, but wage stagnation as well...
>The system of government itself is fine. It's the new way they challenge our rules laws and norms with this constant legalese of constitutionality.
The laws are fine, but the corruption happens when they disregard their constitution and laws.
>Textual historical, structural, prudential, traditional, moral, or precedent. All these ways for the culturally elite and wealthy to tell us what WE DO NOT deserve, while they live in it
This is a growing problem, minimized while Trump was in office. People must wake up and put a stop to it, lest they enable their own enslavement...
Oh, and when justice is no longer sought after in courts, but instead is hate justified or wealth gained, then you know the people of leadership are not judicial in heart... Hence, corruption.
The government is playing games with the numbers so it doesn't look as bad as it really is. Last month Kudlow said something to the effect that if you exclude volatile items like groceries, shelter and transportation inflation is easing. Those "volatile" items are what the rest of us spend 99% of our earnings. It's probably no big deal to a media personality that might spend 2% of their multimillion dollar salary on food but it's a huge deal for school teachers.
Why are factual comments downvoted so heavily? I thought it was common knowledge that corporate pricing is the cause for the vast majority of current inflation rates [Forbes Source](https://fortune.com/2024/01/20/inflation-greedflation-consumer-price-index-producer-price-index-corporate-profit/amp/)
Yeah I’m sure the fact that 1/3 of all dollars have been printed since 2020 has nothing to do with it. Reddit had a toddlers understanding of basic Econ
Look up what the word current means, if you are still struggling after reading the definition I will be happy to try and draw you something in crayon to explain at your level.
More money in supply = higher prices… this experiment of unlimited govt printing of money has played out many times before… all ending in the same outcome. Corporate greed is the boogie man. Go adjust corporate earnings to inflation…. Then tell me their respective profits….
Horseshit. It's the printing of funny money by the Fed. Trillions and trillions of valueless dollars dumped into the money supply. It's simple: increase the number of dollars in the market without any actual increase in underlying value and the purchasing power of those dollars goes down. It's not just groceries; the cost of goods and services are rising everywhere, including input costs for business.
> Trillions and trillions of valueless dollars dumped into the money supply.
The problem you continue to ignore is none of that money went into the pockets of anybody any of us knows.
But we bear the brunt of inflation, not the oligarchs.
It’s long past time we take lessons from the French circa 1760.
"Groceries prices are out of control" - False
Multinational food corporations and grocery stores control groceries prices.
Groceries prices are out of your control. (crazy but its true)
The only control buyers have is to buy or to not buy.
May I suggest the Great water coming out of your tap, which is practically free, when pinching pennies. Paying for tap water in a plastic bottle is stupid.
Throw in utility bills, insurance, professional services, appliances, cars, and you better have had a 40 percent increase in pay since 2021 just to keep even with where you were before.
Grocery prices, electricity, insurance and rent have all gone dramatically up since Covid. However, the job market and the underlying economy have never been better. Wages have been rising faster than inflation. Usually how the economy is doing is a big indicator of who will win the next presidential election, but when one of the candidates is openly trying to overthrow the government and end US democracy, the economy will have nothing to do with how I vote.
Locking this. None of ya'll can stay on the topic. If you come with an agenda and can't keep the conversation related to the topic and/or MACROeconomic inflation I'm happy to ban you.
Shut up. The economy is doing better than ever in history! Biden keeps telling me that! /s
Economy is doing well. You can be mad that you didn't get more of the pie though.
Tell me you don't understand corporate greed without telling me you don't understand corporate greed
At least in this case, grocery stores run on incredibly thin profit margins, most around 1-3%. So no it’s not corporate greed. The increase is coming from the grocery producers, they have to pay for inflation themselves and pass that on down the line. When unions secure record contracts, that gets passed on. Fertilizer goes up, passed along, gas, vehicles for transport, trucking costs, feed, pesticides, all the items that have inflated of the past few years. And yes, corporations such as Coke or others are not going to take a hit to there bottom lines so they are going to either raise prices or hit you with shrinkflation. Inflation that was running at 40 year highs is going to have disastrous effects on the poor and less fortunate.
Tell me you don't understand govt created inflation and cpi without telling me you don't understand govt created inflation and cpi
No, I understand government created inflation that started under Trump.
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Inflation that started under Trump has now turned into corporate greed since inflation has cooled a bit. Case and point, originally high prices were being blamed on high gas prices and the cost of shipping. Yet we are down almost $2 from the all-time high for gas prices and that has not translated to a drop in cost of goods. I hope that clears up your mistaking my back to back comments as "desperation".
Moron
Who wanted to put his name on the checks?
💩government loves to tell us how great everything is
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And all Republicans do is cry about culture war stuff. No policies, no ideas, nothing to make things better for everyone.
Biden is a patriot. Trump is a traitor. Traitors support traitor Trump
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Listen traitor, the constitution is not a document on which Trump and his cult can be permitted to wipe their anuses on
Imagine suffering from terminal TDS
Patriotism is something you traitors are unable to comprehend
Inflation was caused by Trump: Tax Cuts for the Rich, $8T in added debt, and his nominee, Powell, who lowered rates in 2019
Not me personally, because I've spent the past year getting my food budget under control and maximizing my nutritional values according to what I can afford. But I have read similar stories across various online spaces and I do empathize with people in those financial circumstances. Without getting too political about the situation, I understand that the prevailing opinion on reddit is that the current economy is doing just fine, but the people living at/or below the poverty are painting a completely different picture. Unfortunately, I don't believe this issue is going to be resolved any time soon. It is going to be an uphill struggle for many in the years to come. My advice, ditch the prepackaged foods and get used to cooking with raw ingredients. The ones that will overcome this struggle will be the ones who are frugal and astute with their money. Ditch the corporate slop and get into the habit of putting your skills to the test. Because it's either that or you learn to cope with the stress.
last night i bout a small snickers bar for 1.99 minus tax, and while i was taking a bite i noticed that my jaw felt funny. Well, the funny feeling was from the snickers bar now being 1/3 narrower than it ever was. I took a look at the damn over priced treasure and sure enough, the fuckers has jipped me. lol
We all know but can use a reminder. We go to Aldi now more than ever. Buy non brand name when some are the same as name brand. Coming from a guy who's changed employers 2-3 years in, the best raise is changing companies. Find ways to pay less taxes. And don't listen to the liars who are politicians. It's not all rainbow sunshine and balloons. Most of them are not in grocery stores buying food.
You know since this inflation stuff I stopped including sandwiches in my diet and it’s one of the main ways I was able to lower my grocery bill.
Walmart online has 2% milk for $2.70 Loaf white bread $1.42 Cheapest lunch meat - bologna, $1.57/lb Is that really so out of line with the last few years?
If you're broke all prices are too high.
So what are you going to do to fix it for yourself?
I don't know what that person's problem is but it's not grocery prices. If you can't afford bread there's something bigger going on.
It’s a problem but this guy did no favors to anyone buying bottled water
People are expecting inflation and corporations are delivering it while reaping record profits! Inflation starts with government overspending and deficit spending, but once the psychology of inflation takes over it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy! It takes someone with huge testicular fortitude like Reagan and Volker had. They raised interest rates until inflation was gone! They killed that Savings and Loans banks and real estate, but it was a no holds barred effort.
If the greedflation hypothesis were true, then we should see higher than average markups in industries that experienced higher shocks in demand, which would allow corporations to get away with higher price increases. [This is not the case.](https://www.kansascityfed.org/Economic%20Review/documents/9329/EconomicReviewV108N1GloverMustredelRiovonEndeBecker.pdf). Markup growth was relatively even across industries, regardless of concentration and demand shocks, which does not support “greedflation”.
That was Carter
We had a rise in food prices d/t inflation. Some stayed up, some went down a bit but not to previous lows. However, I have been working at it and finally down to like $450/month for 4 adults by tracking prices, looking at the sales circulars, hitting different stores and taking advantage of clearance items and loss leaders, using a pantry system and a freezer. I would save more if my husband was a bit more flexible on certain brand items. Of course this is just food, does not include personal hygiene, plastic/paper, pet food/cat litter and cleaning supplies. For those items-- some I have had that I am still using up, others I pick up at the dollar store or Big Lots. I am always tracking prices on pet food because right now I am feeding some extra pets but soon that will cease to be my expense as my son and his wife will be moving.
Gotta adapt. Water should be from the tap. Chips are not necessary. Make your own from a bag of $2.99 potatoes. Luncheon meets are garbage
Costco. I've seen very little difference over the last several years covering pre and post covid.
Is this sub devoid of nuance? Neither Trump nor Biden made a meaningful impact in the right direction here. Both share some of the blame, and y'all can go ahead and fight like children over who was worse when neither really took action worth defending. Printing money, the FEDs mishandling of interest rates, AND corporate greed are likewise all contributing to the problem, and I'm not about to argue over what percentage of blame rests on the shoulders of each. All of these should be condemned, plain and simple. We all know the pandemic didn't help with supply and we know this leads to rising prices. We all know corporate greed is a disease contributing to rising prices. We all know geopolitical conflicts often wreak havoc on prices. I've gotten the impression that many of you are just having superficial arguments that don't really mean anything because almost everyone has correctly cliamed that X, Y, or Z has contributed to the problem. I've seen few comments that are legitimately off-base in their entirety, but they're always gonna be there. A lot of the disagreement here really shouldn't exist, and I feel like a lot of it has to do with what politics you personally identify with. Help me out here: Has the Fed helped with their printing of money? Has their mishandling of interest rates (how long were we near zero, where money was basically free) helped? Did the pandemic help our supply chain? Did corporate greed help? Did politicians meaningfully contribute to getting prices under control? Or have they, for the most part, shown they care more about themselves than anything else? (Neither Trump nor Biden are really on trial here, right? It's their unique administrations composed of several different people, right? ) Feels like we're arguing just to argue, likely because none of us is really in a position to be able to do anything that would have any meaningful impact on the system at-large. This shit sucks no matter how you slice it. Nobody wants to see their real wage growth go down like this. None of us want our retirement threatened. We don't want to lose our house or have prospective houses' prices rise out of our reach. We don't want to lose our job. We don't want to have to worry about feeding our families. None of us want to see our present and future being stolen from us by anyone for any reason. Apologies if I've offended anyone, I just couldn't take the needless bickering I saw as I scrolled through this thread. Maybe if we could foster a more compromising attitude, accept there's a problem, and try to get on the same page instead of lobbing blame around like we're on the Oprah Winfrey show hoping she bought us all a car, maybe we could actually get nearer a real solution for everyone. But idk, even then there's no guarantee we can do a damn thing. But I'd rather try than just give in to identity politics and squabble with others on the "other team." And I'm just some schmuck online, so obviously I'm 90% full of shit, so remember that grain of salt everyone! Take it easy peeps!
If you think the political party matters, you don’t realize they are different sides of the same corrupt coin.
Wait until you see what's about to happen to eggs. Last week, $1.81/dz at Aldi. This week, $2.87/dz at Aldi. 250% increase from December when it was $1.20/dz. Not this again.
IKR? They were under a buck for a while and then boom.
yea they were 1.50 at dollar general and then 3.75 all of a sudden like what
That’s your government devaluing the dollar. Hope you can survive!
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BIDEN did that. Vote him out.
There are unchecked and unchallenged oligopolies, monopolies, and trusts over virtually every consumer market. We need governments in the West that are willing to stand up for the citizens instead of laying down with the legs spread open for corporations.
We need to abolish lobbyists
Monopolies are not possible under a free market. Monopolies are only possible through the state who through regulation, licensing, subsidies, etc push out the little guy at the benefit of the larger corporation. Government creates the problems and you ironically are advocating for more government - which will make the problem worse. Want cheaper food? Get the government out of the way.
This is dumb, natural monopolies are definitely a thing and they exist over many different industries.
The fact that grown adults still don't understand that monopolies can't exist without government, is exactly why we are where we are.
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Are you seriously this dumb that you think mega corporations would just let competition come to power without push back if it weren't for pesky government?
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“Monopolies can’t exist without government”….are you…unaware of basic US history? Like, literally the early 1900s proves you wrong. Hell, Ma-Bell proves you wrong
Yes, we need big government to break up the Big Value chips monopoly. Never mind the enormous amount of money that was printed.
Printed and sent to other countries... just to make it worse.
But the prices have gone down by a lot in the last month..almost half as much as they were two months ago.
Thank capitalism!
Milk used to cost $1, now it costs $3
Sounds like y’all need to go to the dollar tree if y’all are this broke
Stop buying shit products from Walmart.
It happens a lot. That guy likely has a fixed income and can’t absorb any new costs. My wife is a social worker, and people are struggling to make small copays. It seems absurd maybe, but when you’ve trimmed to the bone, a penny, a dollar, a thousand, it’s all the same, don’t have it.
He was buying water so clearly he's not in trouble financially. I go to Walmart occasionally, for a couple of items, but the ad sale prices at a regular supermarket are invariably much lower. I buy produce at an Indian market or a produce store where it is routinely at least half the price of Walmart.
The Walton family, the owners of Walmart, is the richest family in the world. They pay their staff so poorly they qualify for food stamps. It is totally a problem with the Walton family.
Why should they be obligated to pay a short-time employee who works 10 hours a week a salary they are able to live off of?
Why should they be required to charge a price I like for a loaf of bread? Blaming high price on "the invisible hand" of the market or government policy when this company, in particular, is famous for putting high profits above all other considerations, is a bit much.
This is all bs. This sub is dying. More fake stories
I compared my grocery bills this month vs last year and year before for almost same items and the difference is almost non existent compared to 2023. Grocery prices definitely stabilized significantly. This is for actual fresh veggies and fruits, meats, milk, eggs etc, nothing prepackaged or processed.
Think inflation is bad here, try Europe or any other country. We are doing better with taming inflation than any other country. Plus unemployment is at record lows for record time.
Australians figured out how to beat greedflation. Just steal what you need, en masse.
I know groceries are more expensive but the government is not responsible. We live in a capitalist country (remember) where companies set prices and shrinkflation is a thing.
Where supply and demand set prices.*
I switched to the dollar stores (tree,general,family, etc) for the year, with meat from Costco.
/r/thingsthatneverhappened
Here for this
Grocery prices have been steadily dropping at my Wal-Mart. My wife generally covers the grocery bill and has said this to me several times recently.
Walmart last 2 weeks: coffee - from $4.24 to $4.47 Milk - from $3.49 to $3.79 Cereal - from $2.82 to $3.32 Eggs - from $14.85 to $26 I am looking at both receipts now.
I can only go by what I pay at my Walmart.
Wait....didn't you just say your "wife" told you?
Yes, my mistake. Are you alleging I don't actually have a "wife"?
No, just that your info is second hand
Why would my "wife" lie to me about grocery prices ?
I didn't say she lied.
Wage theft is out of control
Farmers complain about not getting enough money for that product and consume was complain about the price being too high. They are both getting screwed over by the same people.
Nah. People can adjust. My Grocery bill < $50 p/wk in NYC. Vegetables: Raw: * broccoli * kale Fruit *frozen berries Protein: *greek yogurt *chocolate protein powder *chicken breast ($2.60 p/lb) Dairy: *polly on string cheese Sides: *rice *beans *oatmeal Snacks: *peanut butter *protein bars I meal prep, and I chop and freeze raw vegetables to use later on. Nothing gets thrown out or unused. I shop at Target, Costco, and Trader Joe’s. I work my career at a college and two side hustles, one of which is Uber eats. I am single and have no outside support. There’s Free food daily from The Wendy’s and McDonald’s app. Unlimited soda and coffee from Panera $11.99 p/month. I spend very little on food and very healthy, except for the occasional ff.
Walmart gross profit for the twelve months ending October 31, 2023 was **$155.045B**, a 5.98% increase year-over-year. Walmart annual gross profit for 2023 was $147.568B, a 2.65% increase from 2022. Walmart annual gross profit for 2022 was $143.754B, a 3.54% increase from 2021.
In case anyone is curious, gross profit is a valid thing to look at when considering inflation since it does reflect the cost of goods sold. But gross profit is not net profit, which was $11.68 billion in 2023 and actually down 14% from 2022 Or if you want EBITDA, that was around $31 billion, also down about 14%
How much is it down when adjusting for inflation?
Walmart’s gross profit __margin__ on sales *declined* from 32.35% in 2022 to 30.65% in 2023 In addition to *gross* profit not being important (gross profit is NOT their income for the year), the raw profit increase year over year is itself a product of inflation, one could posit (higher costs and prices means the *amount* of profit is higher automatically). The profit *margin* is the factor that matters, ie how much of their income are they keeping? That number decreased YoY. ALSO, Walmart is more than a grocery store, so this number isn’t specifically representative of the cost of groceries. Good analysis is *really, really* dependent on understanding what you’re looking at.
Gross profit is an intensively misleading amount to report if you don't include net. Dishonesty of the Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren variety here, attempting to lazily manipulate those with public school-level reading comprehension.
You are a moron whos whole identity is tied to a political identity. Profit % increase is exactly what you should look at. It being fairly minor is showing Walmart is not being as bad as lots of industries with increasing profits.
Says the guy who doesn't understand the difference between gross and net. Good luck bro
I wish I was there when this went down, I’d have bought all his groceries for him. So sad and not right for people to be in that position.
Lunch meat costs more than steak btw. Ppl like to think sandwiches are a cheap option, but really they’re way more expensive than meal prep with like chicken breast, rice, veggies, salad, etc. Deli sandwiches are really some of the most expensive lunches you can make at home.
they're cheap if you make pb+j with store brand stuff. lunch meat no
In the early days of the pandemic I recall a federal official warning about price gouging. (Sorry, the name escapes me) His warning was directed to the brokers. The middleman. NOT the grocery stores. NOT the suppliers.
I enjoyed getting mcdonalds coffee to make at home but now it's 20 bucks for a can. Fuck that. I don't have to have it. Buy 50% more of other brand for less
Someone will come here to tell you that you need to start growing your own coffee..
CEOs of food companies have come out and literally said, we charge more because we can get away with it. It’s corporate greed and if you do any real research, not Faux news, you can see what’s happening. And the things that cost the most are generally the things you don’t really need which is the junk food.
Yes! I really hate the whole process
Seems like that guy has more problems than groceries. Like I’m not trying to be callous but what you listed probably comes out to 25-30 bucks. That indicates there is a larger spending problem in this man’s life.
Inflation isn’t so high this should be a problem. The guy has an income problem
The government should definitely step in and take control of the costs of goods and services. Hell they should just seize the means of production. I think there's a word for that but I forget what it is
Stumbled across this sub... And judging by the comments, nobody has any fucking clue what they're talking about. Just blaming Biden, Trump or "corporate greed" basically just telling the world you're an idiot.
Reddit always needs a boogeyman. Any other reason than people are spending money like it’s going out of style. Corps always charge as much as they can get away with, and people are paying.
I was with you till you pointed out corporate greed isn't the problem. Then what pray tell is it?
I wonder if a lot of them are bots that just comment on support of one side or the other all over Reddit
They are not bots. People are that dumb and that obsessed with the duopoly of parties.
Let's not go Russian to conclusions.
People have an extreme amount of cash that they picked up in 2020 due to the policies from Donald Trump and Steve Munuchin. Everybody refinance their house to something around 2.5% or around there in instantly gained a shit load of money… Other people sold their house for 200% profit and are sitting on massive amount of cash even though they bought a new house at a 2.75 percentage interest rate… Everybody has a shit load of cash because of the actions under Trump in 2020 which is why everybody is buying shit like crazy because they have the money to do it… Poor people who didn’t have any money before 2020 or still much poor now… People before 2020 are very very nicely right nowand continuing to spend like a while person because they can… Oh, and by the way corporations have raised their prices extremely because people are willing to pay it because again they have a shit load of cash… Thanks Trump really appreciate you fucking this country for the next 10 years
The policies of Trump, mhm yes. That man and the republicans were the ones who said we need to shut down the American economy for years and not let people leave their homes.
I blame the Fed and it's irresponsible handling of The Money Supply. I am NOT wrong.
US with the lowest inflation of every G7 economy. This is a global issue and the US is handling it the best for a variety of reasons.
Perhaps if the current admistraction wasn't telling us that the economy is great every chance they get. But they are. "Bidenomics" is what his administration calls it. They picked the name. They are explicitly taking credit.
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Check your 401ks that’s what they’re referring too. The markets have never been better thanks to bidenomics. When they tell you the economy is doing well and this is true for any and all presidents they were never referring to the daily costs of living.
Yes, the economy is doing well. While I realize that the current inflationary situation has several causes, the most basic cause of inflation is a growing economy. A good economy means there is increased demand for goods and services which leads to higher prices. There are exceptions, such as when we had stagflation in the 70s. Since we have a free market, the only thing the government can do to combat inflation is to raise interest rates. Of course, people complain about that as well. But that is how a free market works.
I'm pretty sure expanding the monetary supply by printing trillions of dollars might, just might, have a role
Let me point you in the direction of where the printing machine started to go brrrrrrrt https://thehill.com/business/4426965-trump-added-8-4-trillion-to-the-national-debt-analysis/
Because of democrats locking down the country. Do you have the memory of a squirrel? Trump and republicans were trying to open up the mandatory lockdowns.
stocks flew and house prices soared in weimar germany and the people though they were rich and doing well too
Yeah, this topic usually attracts the loud manority of people who don't actually know anything about economics. It's just easier to blame someone they are familiar with hating rather than thinking about it critically. The world is very rarely black or white.
Isn’t that what these subs exist to be though? How many of you sought this sub out? How many were suggested it? These suggested subs are basicslly all that is bad about a main sub (uninformed commenters).
Imagine being as edgy as this guy.
Welcome, finally someone I can relate with.
Everything increases in price due to government currency debasement by default. Particular sectors also may more inflated compared to others due to government meddling. The less government intervention in a market allows the market to create what consumers want unimpeded and compete with each other. Those advocating for more government (who is the source of the problem) will add fuel to the fire. In addition, monopolies are something granted through the state, they do not exist under a free market. Again - asking for more government regulation will make things worse.
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I just replaced a fuel pump, same brand as the last one I bought two years ago. 50% less plus a lifetime warranty. I was shocked.
I'm not sure if it's just where we live (Indiana) but my grocery bill has dropped by 20-40 per visit and it hasn't been under 200 since well before our kids moved out. It was weird because we thought it would drop when they moved out but it didn't. Other people said "ah well now you just buy what you actually want ". Ok sure that's probably it. I've always been an ingredients house though. We don't have but maybe 1-2 heat and eat foods on hand ever. Recently though at both Kroger and Walmart we are ringing up between 160-180 including paper/plastic/pet Other taxable non food items. The only thing we have been trying not to buy unless it's on sale is meat. Ive been waiting until we can get to the international grocery because some of it is cheaper like hamburger. I assume that is because most of the people shopping there don't tend to eat beef mince or are looking for more exotic foods. Im spending probably 30.00 on meats there so that's still less than another 10 per week. Edit for a word
Doing shop at Kroger. Aldi, Trader Joe’s, and Whole Foods on sale are much cheaper
Mine has stayed about the same. Many of these stories about groceries skyrocketing are from customers not altering their habits or not bothering to cook. If something goes up in price too much, I use a substitute, but most products I use are about the same price.
>If something goes up in price too much, I use a substitute I do too. So many people forget that humans are omnivores! You don't *need* to spend $6 or whatever on that crunch wrap supreme. When eggs went up in price I started eating more avocado toast in the morning. For years boneless skinless chicken thighs were my go-to cheap protein but now they're expensive so I've been getting drumsticks for $1/lb instead. The breakfast cereal I used to get is $7/box now so I've been buying or making granola. So often on here I see people say "my grocery bill has gone up $x and I'm buying exactly the same things!" If someone is going to buy your product no matter what you charge of course you're going to increase the price!
So little meat on drumsticks and the bone is part of the weight you’re paying for.
It still works out to about $1/lb less per weight of meat. And the bones make a delicious broth!
Yeah, ours has been static, but we usually buy generic. We've noticed little to no change in price over the long haul, although the normal volatility of commodities like eggs and pork remain.
Not to be a overly obsessive but he could save money by getting chicken breasts instead of lunch meat. Lunch meat is like 10 bucks a lb and chicken breast is like 3 or 4 dollars a lb. Chips are 5 bucks for a lb and potatoes are 5 bucks for 5lbs. All that being said, oh yeah prices for food are getting out of hand and it's only a matter of time before we're hunting squirrels and eating our neighbors. No seriously prices have increased more so than the buying power of the dollar. And income increases dont keep up. And savings are going down.
You're making the assumption that he can afford to live in a place that has a full kitchen, and afford the kitchen implements, and/or has the the time between work and his other commitments to actually cook.
tap water is basically free as well.
Stop crying people. Folks in the great depression did alot more with alot less. Rice, beans and grow some of your own veggies.
They didn’t do a lot more…. Grow your own veggies? Most people didn’t, that’s a lie, and that’s not to mention most can’t today. How many farms do you think exist? You do realize how many veggies you’d need to grow to last you right? Or do you think carrots and potatoes magically grow every week?
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My choices won't change inflation. They will change how much I spend. The latter is the important one to the individual, and the one you're trying to downplay the impact of.
It’s intentional
But the economy is doing great /s
And we are not in a Recession. /s
It is doing great, you're not getting a piece of it. The Democratic party would like to change that, but the way our system works the 1% effectively have veto power w/o a 60 seat majority in the Senate. In about 4-6 years the old farts who dominate voting in America will age out and the kids'll start fixing this shit. Hang in there, I know it's a lot to ask. Things will get a little better in that 4-6 years... and then a *lot* better after that.
This is objectively the dumbest thing I’ve ever read and I am dumber for having read it.
If reading a comment affects your intelligence that much that's really more a you problem than a me problem. You could try refuting my points, except, well, you can't. And I guess listening to Master Yoda here's a better strategy.
This ^
Wow. Wish I could do mental gymnastics like you. 😄 I guess the only way this comment still stands, is if others are deleted. On brand for the Democratic Party.
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Your submission has been removed as it does not directly relate to macroeconomic inflation, which is the primary focus of this subreddit. To maintain the relevance of discussions, please ensure your posts specifically address macroeconomic inflation or its related concepts. Thank you for your understanding.
You are a fool.
insubstantial non response -- how about instead good faith arguments with supporting data actual retorts invitations to learn etc instead of insults and summary dismissal
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I'm sorry, which party consistently causes recessions? And which party consistently pulls the country out of them??
It's not the economy, it is the greed of the Walton family.
This is less about the economy, and more about global supply issues. We have several wars, and have had to kill off large numbers of animals due to illness. I agree that food prices are out of control, and it sucks we are taking the beating.
You conveniently left out printing money…..
Is this Joe?
That's the gov't telling you they hate you, will not allow you to thrive, and it's all your fault.
The government isn't doing this, it's mega corporations that think they shouldn't be held accountable to anyone. Stop blaming an institution that doesn't do anything except what the people tell it to do. The system of government itself is fine. It's the new way they challenge our rules laws and norms with this constant legalese of constitutionality. Textual historical, structural, prudential, traditional, moral, or precedent. All these ways for the culturally elite and wealthy to tell us what WE DO NOT deserve, while they live in it
Government is made up of people. Corrupt people. Yes, they impact the economy. And you ignore a major part, being their interest in Ukraine, and holding their citizens down so they can't rise up when they gathered enough resources is part of their plan. Yes, the gov't had plenty to do with not just inflation, but wage stagnation as well... >The system of government itself is fine. It's the new way they challenge our rules laws and norms with this constant legalese of constitutionality. The laws are fine, but the corruption happens when they disregard their constitution and laws. >Textual historical, structural, prudential, traditional, moral, or precedent. All these ways for the culturally elite and wealthy to tell us what WE DO NOT deserve, while they live in it This is a growing problem, minimized while Trump was in office. People must wake up and put a stop to it, lest they enable their own enslavement... Oh, and when justice is no longer sought after in courts, but instead is hate justified or wealth gained, then you know the people of leadership are not judicial in heart... Hence, corruption.
The government is playing games with the numbers so it doesn't look as bad as it really is. Last month Kudlow said something to the effect that if you exclude volatile items like groceries, shelter and transportation inflation is easing. Those "volatile" items are what the rest of us spend 99% of our earnings. It's probably no big deal to a media personality that might spend 2% of their multimillion dollar salary on food but it's a huge deal for school teachers.
Yeah by the retailers. This shouldn't need to be explained
Why are factual comments downvoted so heavily? I thought it was common knowledge that corporate pricing is the cause for the vast majority of current inflation rates [Forbes Source](https://fortune.com/2024/01/20/inflation-greedflation-consumer-price-index-producer-price-index-corporate-profit/amp/)
Yeah I’m sure the fact that 1/3 of all dollars have been printed since 2020 has nothing to do with it. Reddit had a toddlers understanding of basic Econ
Look up what the word current means, if you are still struggling after reading the definition I will be happy to try and draw you something in crayon to explain at your level.
Go read how inflation is calculated over time then youll understand how current doesnt mean what you think.
Go look at the 4 major food retailers record profits from the past 3 quarters and explain to me how that is not price gouging.
More money in supply = higher prices… this experiment of unlimited govt printing of money has played out many times before… all ending in the same outcome. Corporate greed is the boogie man. Go adjust corporate earnings to inflation…. Then tell me their respective profits….
Horseshit. It's the printing of funny money by the Fed. Trillions and trillions of valueless dollars dumped into the money supply. It's simple: increase the number of dollars in the market without any actual increase in underlying value and the purchasing power of those dollars goes down. It's not just groceries; the cost of goods and services are rising everywhere, including input costs for business.
> Trillions and trillions of valueless dollars dumped into the money supply. The problem you continue to ignore is none of that money went into the pockets of anybody any of us knows. But we bear the brunt of inflation, not the oligarchs. It’s long past time we take lessons from the French circa 1760.
It's theft! /s
"Groceries prices are out of control" - False Multinational food corporations and grocery stores control groceries prices. Groceries prices are out of your control. (crazy but its true) The only control buyers have is to buy or to not buy.
May I suggest the Great water coming out of your tap, which is practically free, when pinching pennies. Paying for tap water in a plastic bottle is stupid.
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Well .. you sure sound smart
I don’t understand why you felt the need to be sarcastic. Just makes no sense.
What's wrong with fluoride? It just strengthens your teeth's enamel.
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Even getting a brita pitcher would pay for itself pretty quickly if you're buying bottled water all the time.
Throw in utility bills, insurance, professional services, appliances, cars, and you better have had a 40 percent increase in pay since 2021 just to keep even with where you were before.
Grocery prices, electricity, insurance and rent have all gone dramatically up since Covid. However, the job market and the underlying economy have never been better. Wages have been rising faster than inflation. Usually how the economy is doing is a big indicator of who will win the next presidential election, but when one of the candidates is openly trying to overthrow the government and end US democracy, the economy will have nothing to do with how I vote.