Is It Inflation? Or Is It Greedflation? | Robert Reich
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- Опубликовано: 22 май 2024
- The next time you hear someone blame inflation on stimulus checks that Americans got four years ago or workers finally getting much-needed pay bumps, kindly remind them that corporate profits are at a 70-year-high. Hello?
Everyone’s been preaching investing lately as a source of passive income but with a 70 hour weekly jobs and limited knowledge of financial instruments, how can I actually stay on top of things, I see every RUclips video saying BUY BUY! But when and how do I sell for profit at the right time?
I also think everyone needs a Margin of Safety in their portfolios and just remember, It's time in the market versus timing the market.
“Inflation is dropping but prices aren’t coming down” . Prices will continue to rise overall as they have for decades because inflation is viewed as necessary.
Well all i know is that you cannot go wrong taking profit at near high. No one ever went broke taking a 10% loss. It's best if you consult with a fiduciary advisor to get informed buying & selling decisions
The market is not necessarily a rollercoaster if you know your way around the market, there are various opportunities in the present market to accrue good profit, If you are not too savvy with the market, just buy and hold on strong companies with good earnings, or consult with advisors on ETFs and actively managed funds.
I've been considering getting one, but haven't been proactive about it. Can you recommend your advisor? I could really use some assistance.
People can live quite well without Pepsi-co and Coca-Cola products.
And they do have competitors. BUY LOCAL! Most regions produce their own sodas and similar beverages and they're far better than any Pepsi or Coke.
Absolutely😁👍 It's not like Pepsi and the products they make are vital to the economy. We can do without all their products😡👎Their products are all junk food and we can live without junk food😡👎
It's not even good for you, so it's a waste of money.
Sugary soft drinks are very bad for you!!! Dump them, drink water, and you'll feel better!
I rarely drink soda now, because it is too expensive. Now the price of coffee is becoming ridiculous! Guess I'll switch to tea until that becomes too expensive.
Cell phone companies and internet providers also need antitrust laws applied to them.
As someone who works in telecommunications, i agree 1000%, there's clearly a ton of collusion
Cable companies made a deal with the government 100 years ago. They would build up our country's infrastructure in exchange for market dominance in that region of the country. It's pathetic and terrible for all of us, except the few in charge of their own paychecks.
Trying to run a business is tough enough without inflation throwing curveballs. Costs are up, prices are tricky, and who knows what tomorrow will bring? Planning for the future feels like gazing into a crystal ball.
For my Shopify store I focus on what I can control. Look for ways to streamline operations and become more cost-efficient. Consider exploring inflation-resistant pricing strategies to maintain profitability.
Financial consultants can be your guardian angel! They can help you identify cost-saving opportunities and develop inflation-resistant pricing strategies, and ensure your business stays profitable even in these challenging times.
I thought gains like that are nothing but a pipe dream! mind sharing details of yourmanager please?
She goes by ‘’.Sonya Lee Mitchell’ I say you look her up. To be honest, I almost didn't buy the idea of letting someone handle growing my finance, but so glad I did.
Thank you! I entered her full name into my browser, and her website came out on top. I filled her form and i hope she gets back to me soon.
Just returned from England and was surprised at how much less the British pay for groceries, in a country that has much less farming than here. It's not hard to figure that we've been had by the concentration of industrial power into just a few hands.
We think prices are too high in the UK too. You yanks must be getting absolutely fleeced if you think our food is cheap!
Damn, prices are considered pretty bad here, are you lot doing okay?
Thank the Dutch. Nobody beats them on pricing and efficiency.
I shop at Aldi and they have their own brands close to the big brands for cereal, peanut butter, and many more. Their brands are like half the price and even better than the original in many cases. Kind of interesting.
I’m really contemplating moving to another country, the greed is never going to stop here
George Carlin’s album, “A Place for My Stuff,” is structured like an hour of radio programming, with various sketches and fake commercials scattered throughout. In one, the fictional Dempsey’s Department Store pledges, “Everybody’s talking about inflation, but Dempsey’s is doing something about it: we’re raising prices!”
It’s amazing how flagrantly corporate America is using that exact strategy today, and how many people blame everyone except the people who actually set the prices.
What's truly amazing about it is the 80 million ordinary Americans who blame Biden for what the corporations are doing, even as they praise the corporations for being good at making a buck.
Love that album!😂 Also me and my parents loved the food jokes: food gone bad....could be meat could be cake...let's call it Meatcake.😂 Or pudding in fridge too long....Would anyone like fault line pudding only has 3 inch crack in it.😂
Goerge Carlin was Twenty years ahead of us, good job Bro.
It's equally amazing how everyone blames everyone except themselves, and then walks into the store and purchases the exact same products.
I stopped drinking sodas years ago. I don't eat mainstream brand chips either. Working on changing to local farm meats entirely.
i like sodas only in moderation but i like brisk tea more
Squeeze a few lemons . It prevents kidney’ s stones. And the Chinese are hell bent for watermelon. Great diuretic
The expression, to "eat melon", is like "couch potato", or "cool observer".
It must be nice to be rich and not live in a food desert...
Some years ago, about a half a dozen gas stations near me were charged with price fixing, and forced to pay thousands of dollars each in fines. Why aren't the giant corporations charged when they do it? Because they are the government, really.
As I understand it, if there is some sort of disaster and companies are found charging more for necessities (like gas, water, etc.) then they are fined. What is happening right at this moment now, unfortunately, does not qualify like a disaster...IMO, this is where enforcing antitrust laws and making new policies to curtail big corporations getting away with antitrust violations needs to happen. We need more competition for the large companies....instead what has been happening for decades is the larger companies buy-out their competition. That creates just a few companies with all the market share and that is where we find ourselves now. It's all antitrust issues, isn't it. Dealing with a pandemic like COVID really jacked up the supply chain and it really did cost more for items to be made/shipped to consumers, plus fewer companies supplying goods/services....also, you had the no traveling, so companies in that industry took a nose dive during that time. Now though, I agree, it's got to stop.
These companies get fined pennies on the dollar after they have made billions in profit, so the fines are just a cost of doing business to them and doesn't hurt their profits in any way.
Because they don’t. Don’t take any economic advice from this man he’s intentionally misleading people. He’s a paid mouthpiece for certain politicians and nothing more. This would be the equivalent of taking an economics course from Rudy Guliani.
@@Onaqui1989price fixing is illegal all the time.
@@thelibertyprojects.4747 we are NOT talking about price fixing. We are talking about price gouging. They're not the same.
So tired of the lies and greed. I have stopped buying certain items due to price gouging and will not buy until prices go down
Yup. Pettiness is our only option at this point. I even canceled my years long Prime membership when they decided to slap me in the face w ads... or a price hike to remove them. F*** 'em. I'm done.
Imagine if we all just rallied around not buying any Pepsi products anymore. Think they wouldn’t lower their prices then?
Boycott
🤦♂️ I hate to break it to you but prices aren't coming down.
@yourdaddy-mq4km But profits are going up, up, up! I'm more than happy to pay more so they make more!
America!!! Whhhhhheeeewww!!!
Just don't tax me. THAT'S WHERE I DRAW THE LINE!
My money is for rich people, thank you very much.
I mean... think about the rich people for once. Poor rich people.
Sigh.
Every product from Coke and Pepsi is unhealthy.
That's a different issue than price gouging and monopoly power, but of course you're right for several reasons. The soda contains many teaspoons of refined sugar, the container is a burden on the environment, and the plastic containers likely have leached plastic content in the beverage. It's wasteful, environmentally harmful and unhealthy to consume. Most of it is water that the companies use in large quantities, too, usually paying nothing for that massive water consumption from local resources. Humans are supporting those detrimental impacts with every purchase of the product. As a glaring example, when I'm in the supermarket I often see folks with several large containers of soda in their basket. It's kind of nauseating.
So what?
Which is the irony of Roberts point. Many corporations sell schlock garbage. People need jobs, so they work for those companies.
Then their poisonous food breaks down peoples health and results in massive medical costs for society.
They also own KFC ａｎｄ Ｔａｃｏ Ｂｅｌｌ
@@flippy66 Their poisons increases everyone's healthcare costs, ties up first responders, doctors, etc.
While I'm not disagreeing with the primary argument, inflation going down does not equal deflation. Only with deflation will prices justifiably go down. Lower inflation just means they're going up more slowly.
You are right, but it appears that price rises are still running ahead of costs. Cost push inflation usually reduces profit margins, but margins (profit as a fraction of total cost) have increased.
@@liam3284 Except they really haven't, only if you'd ignore that Covid happened and the effects it had on the economy which included having notably higher producer pricing than consumer pricing (which indicates they would sell at a loss) for roughly 2 years.
It's the same level of thinking that happens all over the internet with really just boils down to "capitalism bad because amazing profits over last few years thus companies greedy!", which really just ignores the fundamental issue being the cause, heavy government spending with low government income and because of that a heavy increase in money supply. The harsh reality is that we're just experiencing the effects of government economic policy during Covid. Which was predicted to happen even at the start of lockdowns if it happened for any notable amount of time, and 2 years is certainly notable.
What you said about the meat industry hit home, because near me is a place called "Scott's Meats". They source their meat locally, pay a bit more than the big corporations and sell to customers for much less. For example, I recently got a semi-boneless Rib roast for $6.49/lb. Walmart had the same thing "on sale" for about $11/lb. The only real difference in the model is that Scott does not have a slaughterhouse - the farmers have to bring the animals already dead and skinned, etc. But he pays them enough to be worth it. And there is a companion business (you might say) not operated by Scott that makes things like leather goods , so the farmers selling to Scott also get to sell the hides and other "by-products" for a profit.
We need more of this.
@@BlueJadeU
Yeah - I get all my meat there, even the few times he does not have the best price.
Fair trade domestic farming.
With with fewer businesses involved in processing, wholesaling , and distribution of meats, growers/ranchers make more $ while consumers pay less $ for equal or higher-quality meats.
See That's a good business model right there. They put people first. We need more businesses like Scott's to be the alternative for communities.
Always nice but jarring to get a better meal at a small business for a better price. Feels antithetical to what we're taught about economics.
We need to aggressively enforce the Sherman Antitrust Act
If it worked well on Standard Oil monopoly in 1911 and on the old AT&T monopoly in 1984, by all means, they should!
Congress should weaponize it with the dozens of monopolies we have today!
These monopolies and the price gouging behavior of the realty companies have created a perfect storm, which constantly hurts people who are looking for homes to own or rent.
@@Justin-Hill-1987 If the $15+ billion Electoral Industry were not so convincing to those they appoint to Elected Office, there might be a chance of some form of relief from price gouging.
But the cost of getting a name on a Ballot is modest enough to buy the Leadership of Congress.
Reich appears to continue to work for those who appointed the Clinton Administration as well as Congressional Leadership.
The Inflation is now caused by imports that cost more than they used to.
America exploited the domestic sources of resources till they were gone,
or they became unprofitable to produce.
Now we count on other Nations to supply the essential ingredients for production.
The problem with inflation being driven by imports,
is the Trade Union that was created in 2014
to unite the Nations the G-7 Nations exploited for centuries.
Now they can ask for a fair price for their products.
No Government Leaders will admit that this is true.
But if you look,
you can see the inflation began in 2015.
The FED can do little to negotiate prices with the Producer Nations,
who now have united.
@@Justin-Hill-1987 but what would Congressional Members do without that additional income, power, and control? Monopolies are very profitable for politicians, especially the career-minded types.
@@CyberDocUSAIt's almost like lobbying (aka bribery and political corruption) isn't in the best interest of anyone except politicians and the rich...
REFORM THE CURRENT CAPITALIST SYSTEM, ITS WAY PAST ITS USED BY DATE AND EITHER REFORM OR TOTAL ANNIALATION IT JUST DOESN'T FUNCTION ANYMORE
Once prices went up, I knew they would never come down. 😢
cause rich greedy bastards create poor they get careless on their surroundings
That is, in fact, how inflation works.
But they do come down int he right circumstances. Gasoline came down dramatically when demand fell off during Covid. It would fall again if we quit driving 12 mile a gallon gigantic pickup trucks every day.
Prices can only rise, and remain high, so long as people pay them. We hear lots of complaining about inflation, and it's a real hardship for people just getting by on the bare basics, but we have millions and millions of people happily paying high prices for everything. People complain about restaurant meals going up 50% or more, but they're eating out like five days every week. They complain about vehicle prices, but line up to buy $120,000 trucks and RVs. They buy every $1,000 electronic gadget and phone upgrade that comes out every year. They complain about travel prices but spend $10,000 on vacations at Disney.
Of course prices will stay high if you pay them. The corporations would be fools not to take advantage of that.
The way out of this is to stop buying things.
they didn't come down in the late 70s and they wont this time either. even though the covid issues are over. corporations have free reign to gouge us because law makers wont do anything about it. They just let us suffer, while handing out tax breaks to corporations and billionaires.
@@dawnsaloiswhat you’re describing is what I like to refer to as the Halloween economy. Treats for the rich and powerful, tricks for most of the rest of us.
Shareholder greed is killing our society.
The entire business of stocks and trades should be done away with.
Facts
Yes, but so is consumer passiveness will to just keep paying without any cutbacks on consumption. People will just bitch online while sipping their Coke.
that greed is a cousin of older people wanting THEIR earnings to keep going up "because i work hard and deserve it." yet shitting on others for wanting the same because "you are so entitled and just want a hand out."
@@Jbissful Did you miss the part where they own all the competitors....there is no alternative accept tap water.
Also a big problem in Canada. Unfortunately, many Canadians have bought into the idea that it's all the governments fault for giving COVID stimulus, creating a national dental care plan and helping families with childcare. This is despite the fact that several experts in our country cite a lack of competition as a key driver to high prices.
Never had anything to do with lockdowns or Ukraine.
Wish we had a Robert Reich in Canada. On a similar note, my son came up with a great idea, if you can afford to do so. He said that he is going to cancel his Superstore credit card and let them know why. We are going to do the same. We have in fact started to go to small businesses for some of our food.
@@yourdaddy-mq4kmAnother slimy, dishonest MAGA/Putin troll-bag hard at work earning his _rubles..._
Unfortunately that's the result of right-wing billionaires buying up media. I have to admit that it's smart on their part. The fact that the right wing billionaires bought up most of the media in the US, and I believe roughly the same thing is happening world wide; democracy is in trouble in no small part thanks to the success that right wing media has had in recruiting a new generation of fascists willing to be brown shirts for anyone with a stupid macho attitude like the orange turd.
The smart thing for the left would be to buy up media and counter the right-wing media that you find all across the country especially radio stations. I just don't know where we're going to come up with the money to do that. There's so much right-wing billionaire money to fund evil and there's nothing good to match it on the other side; the only hope we have is putting in more hard work, like the squad is doing, and getting smarter about organizing around issues like taking our country back from AIPAC; that should definitely be a major organizing principle for the election, and we should condition our support for any candidate, among other things, that they refuse AIPAC money, and that they stand in solidarity with the heroic Palestinian people.
I don't know about the other programs, but a cash stimulus is going to be seen as free money, which leads to less bargain shopping and bids up prices.
“Inflation is dropping but prices aren’t coming down” well no shit nobody is seriously claiming there is deflation. Prices will continue to rise overall as they have for decades because inflation is viewed as necessary.
I can tell you, as someone who worked in a supermarket, Coke and Pepsi are colluding with each other. It's chronic in the food industry.
It's chronic in ALL the industries. Monopolies and Oligopolies have taken over the Capitalist world...
@@williamyoung9401💯%!
I wish main stream media would stop ignoring this. Thank you for not giving up, Robert. You and Bernie seem to be the lone voices out there. Keep shouting!
But when they’re gone, will there be anyone brave enough to carry on?
Why would the mainstream media even mention this? They are owned by the same people that own these quasi-monopolies.
Which one is the "mainstream media"?
@@Auguur all of them.
@@GNMi79Marx and Stalin? Do bots not have to eat?
I've decided not to play! It's easy, find alternatives, read labels, go directly to producer, it's more time consuming but worth it. You'll probably even enjoy finding new tastier things.
Unfortunately, many people won't do the price comparison research BECAUSE it IS time consuming and there is a value they place on their time. Only when the majority of people realize the effort "costs" less & start shopping elsewhere will the companies adjust their prices back to JUST before the drop in sales. Even the Corporate Overlords know there is a limit to how much people will pay; as a whole, we're just not there yet.
With Smiths and Albertsons likely to merge, I've been trying to find other places to spend my money. The ONE store that's stepped up to be my fresh fruit and veg source is La Bonita. (It's likely Marianas & El Super could be as well, but they are both out of my way & I lose the advantage in having to drive farther; YMMV if they or similar stores are closer for other shoppers.) I DO NOT CARE that the produce isn't "pretty" or aesthetically pleasing. It's just as nutritious & lately it's been about HALF the cost of "regular" grocery stores or Walmart.
Noticed a few other stores on my way to work recently; when I'm not drop-dead tired afterwards, I'll stop into another one - hopefully soon. Looked like a couple of Indian & Ethiopian marts, which I've yet to scope out. The Asian products centered stores are not quite as cheap as La Bonita, but since I do like just about every flavor profile I have tried at Chinese, Thai, Korean & Japanese restaurants - back when I had the money to spare eating out, that is - I will buy some items at 168 Market that tend to be cheaper per oz/lb/unit, like rice & sauce ingredients.
But, like you, I've decided the effort is worth it. I'd rather do it NOW than be scrambling having to source stores that keep my expenses within my budget. And I while I'm relatively familiar with what I've found, I am looking forward to finding "tastier things"!
Going directly to the producer would involve substantially higher transport costs to travel to them versus three supermarkets all within 15 minutes walk.
Getting a good deal is worth the effort. I wouldn’t be happy getting anything if I felt I was ripped off.
@@GNMi79this is just false. You can get a whole cow for $4k. Split that between 4 people and you’re getting 50lb of ground beef, 15 different steaks, beef stew meat, fajitas, and more. I do this every year. It’s enough for a family of 4 and you save a ton in the long run.
@@GNMi79 This is where our gov't needs to step in! Why are we paying for monocrops in the form of subsidies? We should be subsidizing those small local growers.
So Starbucks isn’t really being so ethical, the chickens didn’t unionize and I’m not loosing my mind when I go grocery shopping every week? This is good to know….because I’m currently skipping meals to save money. Save money to pay the rest of my bills 🥴
Is it any wonder that a certain French owned grocery store chain have kept Pepsi controlled products from their shelves?
Good for that store!
Who cares about the French?
Did anyone notice a few days ago there was a recall on laundry pods. There were at least 10 different brands with the same recall. Hence one manufacturer but distributed under 10 different labels
I dunno if they ever got the bid back, but when I worked for Vlasic they held a contract with Walmart to make their Great Value pickles that sold for less. You got the same thing, just under s different label, and it said so right on the label "Packaged by Vlasic Foods Group". Hell i got the big ol super jug of Family Dollar shampoo and right on the bottom says it was manufactured by Head and Shoulders. But it's nearly half the price.
Yeah, its all about shelf space, and the illusion of choice.
I think it was because too many kids were trying to eat them...
Or you could stop buying their products. Since 2021 MacDonalds have increased quarterly profits from around 10 billion per to the current 14 billion per quarter. However this year their sales started to drop, which created a feedback loop for them, raising prices to make up the difference which makes sales fall faster. It's to the point now that shareholders are questioning the CEO over falling sales and revenue.
We don't need Coke, or Pepsi or MacDonalds so stop using their products. There are some products that we can't just stop buying, and we still need the Feds for those, but we need to stop being manipulated by businesses and be a self-correcting market too.
Soda is such a great example of the problem. Prior to 2020, a 12-pack of soda was about $5 and was regularly on sale for $4 or less. Today, the same 12-pack runs $10 and only occasionally goes on sale for about $8.
You’re missing the added insult of them phasing in smaller drink containers, like switching from 12 ounce cans to 10. Two liter bottles of sodas in either the Coke or Pepsi lineups used to cost a little over $1 until very recently. Now they’re $2.78.
Yep, that’s that Bidenomics thing in action.
@@KevinThomas-ok2ev man, just how out of touch with reality can you get? That's capitalism. Both primary parties are capitalist scum. One party just enjoys subjugation and murder, while the other pretends to want to help people.
Easy solution here; stop buying their products. It’s not difficult at all, saves a lot of money and is far better for you.
@@KevinThomas-ok2ev "their products" means ALL products in the USA. Or have you not been paying attention? (of course you haven't been, you're not even a real person's account)
What we have is an oligopoly is a market in which control over an industry lies in the hands of a few large sellers who own a dominant share of the market. Oligopolistic markets have homogenous products, few market participants, and inelastic demand for the products in those industries.
It also lies in hedge funds and institutional investors, who own all major players in the market.
Before anybody says "But they spend their profits on R&D, so those aren't their REAL profits", that's wrong. R&D is an expense, profit is revenue minus expenses. These companies make double-digit billions after all expenses are removed. They keep breaking their own profit records, year after year. They can lose plenty of money and remain profitable.
Research and development costs must be capitalized, not expensed.
@@player627 ...What? What are you saying? A cost is an expense.
R&D is no longer done at large companies - like pharmaceutical companies. It’s far cheaper to ACQUIRE a group that already did the R&D. Now you know why a company like Pepsi or Coke gets to take all of their competitors. One has the money - while the other has none - and can’t compete - so they sell.
@@feathersigil2048 if you don’t know the difference you probably shouldn’t be commenting on it. Do you know the difference between GAAP accounting and tax accounting?
@@player627Woah, stop speaking so absolutely. R and D can be either or, at least in the US.
I get annoyed whenever anyone talks about inflation, because this has all *very obviously* been price fixing the whole time.
I don't care about products like pop or other junk food, because those are non-essentials. I _do_ care about regular food, car (or more specifically car part) prices, gas prices, utility prices, housing prices, etc. because _those_ are essentials that I can't just boycott like the junk food or other "want" items.
All the executives at these companies should be facing hard jail time.
These companies should go to jail because you don’t agree with their pricing? You should only buy from Dem/lefty companies that do not price gouge.
True. It's not just pricing. It's price gouging, and it's price fixing, which is illegal. I agree they should be behind bars.
This is part of the way in which Western culture is sick. We see being filthy rich as something to be modeled and looked up to so much, that we will ignore bad actors. We will attack anybody who even complains about bad actors.
It's as if many of us think that a handful of people have the right to screw over the lives of millions of other people, simply because they're rich enough to do so.
Instead of calling out policies that are not in our own best interests - it's become a point of pride to champion them instead. It's so discouraging to see so many people turn into political lemmings.
Sick.
@@zepptar
all mega corporations make dystopia & governments in general are criminals when inflations exist they are enemies
lol dems like to make money also dont fool yourself unless you were joking@@zepptar
Just another Republican corporate kiss ass.@robm9581
If their demand suddenly fell off because people stopped buying due to their shenanigans, prices would come down.
More likely.they woukd just sack staff but it's a nice idea.
Try not to buy for just one week
@@humboldthammer Its been over a year, Next challenge!
@@russh6414 Try to find Jesus on your own. Pay no attention to the Pentecostal Rapture Prophets who proclaimed Trump CHOSEN by God. They are Fake Ewes.
I wish I could still drink soft drinks. Being older, I suddenly found I couldn't drink the stuff anymore, if I drank a large amount of it, it made me feel terrible. I think it was the sugar in it, I've sworn off all sugar from my diet since then.
We as a Country need to "PAY ATTENTION" to what is going on! We all have ability to Fact Check on Real issues causing INFLATION so do it!🗽⚖️🗳️🌊
I think the current soda strategy is to price high and frequently have on sale for a special price which makes people think they’re getting a deal if they buy two or whatever
Yes, it's the brilliant CEOs plan to take advantage of all the clueless people with no ability to think for themselves so he can buy another yacht for his new $60 million dollar beach front estate...
We let grocery companies buy up other grocery chains and then they pass on the cost of the loans they take out to finance the buyout on to their customers.
And any perceived or real "food chain issue" is used as excuse to price gouge - not just reacting to shortages.
worse than grocery prices are housing prices
Leveraged buyouts should be illegal. Look what it did to Kmart/Sears. I mean, the guy in charge of the whole endeavor was a retail idiot, but an idiot that knew about financing & hedge funds.
@@bobsacamano7653 Food is a more immediate need. We can send the homeless to warmer states like texas or florida. I'm sure the evangelical governors there will help out. 🙃
That's literally not how it works how dumb are you 💀
@@sujimtangerines No they shouldn't do you know a lick of economics? Because you clearly don't and that ideal of yours would be pretty catastrophic to the economy
i truly hate corporations for the simple fact that they NEVER eat the cost of lowering prices for even a short time, even when they have constantly reported disgustingly high profits year after year after year. "raise min wage? we'll raise prices." when quite frankly, they don't NEED to raise them.
Amoral people at the helm.
Looks at the flat screen TVs. Nope...prices never go down...
What makes you think they “don’t need to raise prices”?
@@Nemesisnxt When you're recording record high profits. Sort of like when Trump did his tax cut thing when it simply wasn't needed.
American capitalism is just a polite name for corporate greed.
@@panzerwolf494some say we are in late stage capitalism, but I’ll believe it when I see it. What might a post -corporate world look and feel like?
Thank you Mr Reich you are truly an American treasure. 👍🏻👍🏽👍🏾👍🏿👍🇺🇸
Reich is a propagandist
He's an American propagandist.
@@yourdaddy-mq4km More projection from this channels Reich derangement troll, Zachoff.
Since the increase in prices, I’ve reduced my consumption of soda and snack foods and just about everything really. Drink water instead. Stop paying $10 for a 12 pack of soda.
Learning how to cook real meals out of basic ingredients is one of the biggest ways to save money there is.
they're all caffein addicted !
Right. It all boils down to a handful of conglomerates owning 95% of all retail.
Its both. But consumers are their own worst enemies. Prices go up and they just keep paying them. Idiots, just say no. We don't need half the crap we buy anyways. Try saving some money for a change and secure your future.
When over 80% of your paycheck goes to essentials like rent, utilities, etc. - that advice just doesn't cut it anymore. It's like blaming the victim.
@@BlueJadeU I have real blue jade from Indonesia. stuffs awesome.
@@BlueJadeU When 80% of your paycheck is going to essentials you need to figure out how to get a bigger paycheck instead of worrying about "corporate greed"
you notice bacon coming down the big fad is over pile of grease !
But corporate/investor greed is the reason their paycheck so small and essentials so expensive. Everyone can't earn above the average wage.
Other things they can do if possible is to stop consumption.I have not drank a sip of those two drinks and similar others for more than a decade ago because they are not healthy.Learn to cook healthy foods that are plant based.The list can go on and on as per the personal preferences and choices.
The fact people haven't switched to water, or tea, or literally anything else that won't inflate you with blubber says more about the people buying than the greedy corporations.
Stop drinking soda... I went to coffee during the week and I've stopped ordering soda at restaurants for $4 a glass that servers don't want to refill anymore.
That will show em!!!!! What about the other 99% of food products. It was an example, not the point.
Ive know for a long time you cant fix greed. Its literally no different thsn a bad alcohol or drug addiction literally very similar
All you can do is put them in "time out". Ha ha.
Inflation rate going down does not mean prices will go down. Even from the get go this video is incredibly deceptive.
For the people that actually care about objective reality at all. When people say "inflation is going down" they are talking about inflation rate. Inflation rate is simply the speed at which the currency is inflating. Even if the inflation rate was zero prices would not decrease. Deflation is when our currency increases in value.
Sick of all the greed, it is disgusting and we are all sick of the lies. We are are drilling more domestic oil right now then in the past 40 yrs, and the gas companies keep hiking the prices higher weekly. It is disgusting and we know what they are doing.
The issue isn't getting crude oil out of the ground... it's refining the raw material into gasoline and other finished products. We have a shortage of refinery capacity. This shortage will remain because refineries cost tens of billions of dollars to construct and no oil company wants to take that risk. A refinery can last for many decades, most in the USA are over 50 years old... but the oil companies are worried about where the industry is going in 10 or 20 years with the push for electric vehicles.
But the market is global. Oil companies aren't going to sell exclusively to the domestic market to keep our prices down when they can sell into the global market and get a higher price per barrel.
I love how this guy is wrong on the first 5 seconds.
>inflation is dropping.
No its not. Inflation rate is dropping. You still have inflation.
If I start walking instead of running I am still moving forwards.
"This guy?" You mean Robert Reich, a former Secretary of Labor and one of the most respected economic voices of the last 50 years? He's simplifying language to make it most accessible to the general public. Are you going to write off the other 99% of the information simply because you don't prefer his framing abstract in the intro?
@@FlannelHobbit If you start off on a false premise you are not explaining nothing more than an imaginary scenario.
@@FlannelHobbit Nice appeal to authority. What "information"? This guy is quite clearly being deceptive by "simplifying language". As long as inflation rate stays above 0%, the prices will never go down and you would have to be stupid to believe that prices would go down while inflation keeps increasing at any rate. If I take something and value it at 100$ with an inflation rate of 5% one year and 3% in the next year, it will cost 105$ after the first year and 108.15$ in the second year. But inflation rate went down, why didn't it get cheaper?! Do I need a doctor title to point out this question is either plain stupidity or deception? Nice he had a fancy title for a few years, but even a genius couldn't pack the information you'd need to reach a definitive conclusion about whether price increases were justified, greed or something in between in five minutes.
@@IchCharacter He has an entire channel covering macroeconomics you doucheweasel. The key part being "macro." He can't cover every facet of economics in a single video, therefore he has to paint in broad strokes to convey fundamental principles. You're just some random dude on the internet. You think you have a better understanding of macroeconomics than a man who's worked in the field for 50+ years of his life at every level of government and business?
If the cost to make that good went down and a company raised prices. Thats also what he is talking about
Sad when they're are laws to stop this but not enough people know about price gouging, similar products but marked up 20% or more! A gallon of water varies 20-50% more than store brand.
This is why we need more politicians like Bernie Sanders in politics, the kind of politicians that know what to do to fix our economy when our American dreams are being crippled by greed...
Great video.
Bob, what about a windfall tax when companies make huge profits?
Congress needs to TAX these thieves....called them and expose them!!
Could you please elaborate on the rationale behind the potential taxation of Congress and the specific mechanisms through which such taxation would be implemented?
Selling something for the price the market will bear is not theft, but thanks for playing.
So OP wants some extra stupid tax? They'll just give it to Ukraine or something dumb 😂😂😂😂
Cost of extra taxes on "big corporations" get passed on to their many customers.
@@user-zu5do6ri6r I'd like to see a sugar tax.
Though based on greed, hopefully, the higher prices will reduce the consumption of Pepsi and Coke ultra-processed junk foods. America desperately needs to lose weight.
Shared as always. And I put a link to your channel in every video I have made for quite some time now, and I do a video every day. Getting kind of tired but I can't stop going. We need more empathy and awareness in our voting and we need it at every level of government and beginning locally, to lay the ground work for the statewide and national elections.
My son is a doctor who says soda is one of the worst things you can drink. None of our family members have had any soda in 20 years. Haven't missed it a bit...
I’ve been talking a lot about this lately. Everybody needs to stop buying from these billionaire companies, only buy what’s necessary, stop eating overpriced fast food and such. We need to shut them down, force them to offer normal prices. Get yourself a cheap used hybrid, a grill to cook your own burgers, make your own desserts, don’t go to the movies, ect. Find alternatives, this is nuts. Here in California I’m not going to pay the ridiculous prices for unnecessaries anymore.
But lower inflation doesn't mean lower prices, unless it actually goes negative; it's the rate of increase. He does explain this later in the video but the beginning part is a bit misleading.
Channel GodChristLord: Thank you Dr. Reich. As I have stated before, I believe that greed is the biggest problem in America. For example, Pizza Hut which has been around for over 50 years raised its price for a 'personal pan pizza' from $4.80 in February to $5.90 in March. Now, I went for lunch and the same pizza is $6.85. Why the increase in over $2.00? The result, goodbye Pizza Hut!!!!
Pizza Hut owned by PepsiCo since 1977
So tired of "greed-flation". It used to be mainly gas, but now it has reached into everything. Food costs under all these corporate farms is insane.
I am just one person, but when I notice this happening I just don't buy. No extra traveling, switch products. I love certain brands, but not buying.
If each one of us "quit" supporting this, set up more ride shares, bought generic brands it would send a message. Simple supply and demand. We are not demanding, companies aren't selling. Lowering earnings.
I mean really. How many houses, yachts, fancy cars does one person need? Raise your employees wages instead, share the wealth.
"When you're accustomed to privilege, equality for others feels like oppression."
But who is going to help the privileged? 🤣 jk We do every time we put up with this crap.
Dumbest statement I have heard today. I'm white and grew up in the worst neighborhood in Detroit. Do I have privilege?
@@user-yp3qg3km7s What does this have to do with being white? It's actually your statement that's pretty dumb, little buddy.
Privilege is something that occurs across racial groups@@user-yp3qg3km7s. It is not about being white per say. I, for example, grew up more well off compared to other African Americans and had to adjust my expectations when I move out of my parent's house. While I did not take full advantage of the opportunities at my more prestigious school, they were available to me as opposed to others.
No one is saying YOU did not work hard and/or are a bad person just because you are White.
@user-yp3qg3km7s Thank you. Not many people will admit that... how poverty doesn't care about skin color. Well done. 👏
CORPORATE GREED INDEED. It's the real problem!
Corporation greed is not the problem, the problem are the deluded voters who still believe in those neoliberal fairytales by the Republicans.
The real problem is the government.
@@yourdaddy-mq4km
How so? Have you studied ANY history?
@@pdoylemi yes, particularly in economics. This inflation was caused supply chain issues from lockdowns, energy markets, and money printing.
@@yourdaddy-mq4km No, people like you are the issue. People who claim to know or want the truth but either lack the ability to do their own research and/or refuse to alter their inaccurate world view when corrected.
Fox news is not an outlet for truth . Please open a book
💯 A+ Spot on!
Sticking with speaking about soda, we could just not buy those or their products. Just a thought.
Robert is the master of objective empathy. GO ROBERT! May your voice be heard across the U.S. and the world.
No he's not. He's a die-hard Big Government socialist who can't face that inflation is almost always caused by an artificial increase in the money supply. (The gas crisis of the 1970's was a rare example of it actually being caused by a genuine, organic crimp in the supply of something).
That’s a weird way to spell economic idiot.
@@thelibertyprojects.4747 But your response isn't weird, for a right wing believer in greedy oppression.
@@InnerMindCommunication what he says is objectively wrong. He calls Pepsi a monopoly while acknowledging that coke exists and then pretends like there no other cheaper option which is nonsense there is tons of off brand soft drinks that aren’t owned by Pepsi. He then goes on to say that they can coordinate price, again not true it’s illegal. Then goes on about a monopoly on meat which again is nonsense.
@@thelibertyprojects.4747 What he said was close enough. You are just trolling. IMHO Controlling almost all the ads is a kind of monopoly itself. Yes, legally speaking they aren't "monopolies" but that legal position is about supporting the very rich. Does this have proof? Yes. Just look at the great distance between the poor and the handful of people who own at the least 40 percent of all wealth in the nation. When such wealth controls our government and the laws themselves and who we get to vote for that proves a "monopolistic" system. For instance, consider the well financed large companies that can and have moved into competition with small businesses without such support.. Move in lower prices and get rid of the small business.
So tired of these corporations and their elitist ways. Unionize.
How's union going change things?
@@timconklin2164 because it is my belief that change only happens when there is concerted effort from the bottom. So I said “unionize”, but I really mean organize in anyway possible. Work, communal, political, etc.
@@Teamsterteacher isn't PepsiCo and Coke both unionized?
And if people feel that the big two are to expensive go for cheaper cola brands.
Unions promote monopolization.
The teachers union is investing their pension in things like apartments and housing while the teachers themselves can't even afford a home.
So true! I've been thinking about this for last 4yrs & slowly trying to reduce where & how much I spend.
I've even gone shopping with friends who have a costco(& other warehouse stores) to buy in bulk
Canceled Amazon 4yrs ago.
While I still order, it's maybe twice a year & use the free shipping (arrives in 5days instead of 2)
Thank you for posting Robert, I may have been tricked into thinking it was increasing wages that was contributing but it’s all a scam by these big companies. I’m buying even less and trying to be more mindful to buy from small businesses instead.
A few oligarchs shouldn’t own and control the means of production, distribution and exchange. Workers make the world run, workers should run the world.🇨🇦🇺🇸🌎
Socialism is starting to become popular among a few people, with more added each day.
@@31darkstar37 ❤🌍🌎🌏🌐
@@31darkstar37🤦♂️ socialism is the ultimate monopoly.
It’s not real social Justice if your union only represents the workers, what about those who can’t work?
Right of production isn't owned by the oligarchs yet but you guys are pushing towards it pretty quickly.
inflation is the autocracy of the capitalist class.
Another way to make a difference is with our spending habits. Save your money and healthcare costs and don't buy coke and pepsi products, fast food or any other non-essentials products that are engaging in price gouging. When demand goes down, prices will follow.
Corporations are ridiculously greedy and the so-called leadership of them ought to be ashamed of themselves.
I stop buying things when I think the prices are too high.
That is why I don't buy soft-drinks any more. They are way overpriced. And for something like soft-drinks, we can easily chose not to consume them. Other items may be more difficult to abstain from.
It’s tough for me not to buy them. I work such difficult long hours that I need lots of caffeine. I’m considering switching to no doze but it’s also expensive
@@colestaples2010 : Coffee or Black Tea. But exercise can work too. When I road a bicycle to work, I was more awake than any amount of caffeine ever did for me. Both are healthier, and in particular the bike is by far the healthiest, and works the best too.😊
@@colestaples2010 Just a suggestion; Coke's caffeine content is 34mg for a 12-oz can, and Diet Coke caffeine content is 46mg. That's three to four times less than coffee! The same-sized coffee, in this case a 12-oz cup, has 140mg or more. You can make coffee at home.
So what happened? How can big corporations get away with this?
It's not the president's fault. It's Congress' fault.
Congress COULD pass legislation to stop corporate greed but the republicvnts & the corpo democrats won't pass any type of legislation that does that. Additionally, republicvnts spent DECADES deregulating corporations.
Get $$$ out of politics (make lobbying ILLEGAL), enforce the laws we have against monopolies & corporate greed & it would go a fair distance to help us, the regular American citizen.
Exactly
get money AND religion the fuck out of politics. i'm sick of it.
Capitalism is a death cult.
Regular American citizen? Who cares about them. Economic growth, baby!!! We gotta make more profit every quarter!!!!
It’s the voter's fault if they still believe in those neoliberal fairytales like the Republican Golden Sh*wer (trickle-down economiy)
Why would corporations drop prices when they’ve already seen people will continue to pay?
Their soon will come a day where we'll have one telephone company, one or 2 banks so on and on with trucking airlines. MONOPOLY.
Thank you for this conversation. Many people need to hear about this.
Try listening to someone who actually knows what they are talking about.
@@yourdaddy-mq4km As I predicted you're back spewing the same old delusional babble Zachoff. You've been rendered irrelevant here by me. Bye bye buddy boy !!
@@yourdaddy-mq4km Same old projection from this channels corporate bootlicker, Zachoff.
"Inflation is dropping, but prices aren't going down"
*Shows the inflation rate*
my brother in Christ that does not say what you think it says
Serious question though, does ANYBODY consider this guy a serious economist?
Defining inflation as Cost of Production is, a little off bore. But its all generative anyway. Pepsico jacks prices without 'necessity', as in COP defined, everyone else in the chain, wholesalers, shipping, retailers do so as well. Now COP price increase at Pepsico becomes an operations mandate, as everywhere in their chain has raised prices. The first move, frivolous according to the vid, could only succeed absent meaningful competition. Its You Tube. A lot viewers stumbled in from a Cat vid, or Taylor Swift's poetry album. CSIC, Amer Econ Journ, Journ of Econ, and other, dry sources map his claims much better.
@@chieftain5571 I assume you are utilizing the PPI to calculate cost of production, as this video does as well? If so, that is breathtakingly dishonest. PPI and CPI calculate fundamentally different things. For example, PPI does not factor in imports, while CPI does.
Key distinction: lower inflation does not mean lower prices; that would be deflation.
And now you see why Reich doesn't show up for debates when economists call him out. He knows this. That's why he's not showing up. It's easy to deceive the average person.
In California, everything is expensive. Wake me at 200.00 a month in utilities and a one-bedroom apartment in Ventura is $2,000. Gas is 5 1/2 dollars per gallon. It's an atrocity to treat human beings like this😒
“It’s a paradox: Inflation is dropping but prices aren’t coming down.”
Do you even know what inflation is?
Same
This all started with citizens united. Corporations should not be able to support/buy politicians. We need to bring back Eisenhower levels of taxation. The monopolys need to be broken up. Good luck with all of that. What we have is people praying on other people.
It started with trickle down & deregulation (Reagan). NAFTA (Bush thing, Clinton signed into law) made it worse because it killed the unions. Greed is only good for the rich. Destroys everything else, including the planet.
Problem is the people who decide this are the ones who also benefit from this broken system and they are not enough altruistic people in power i feel like its 1 per 500 in all the offices combined lol
This is a nice video about oligopolies that the average person could understand. Maybe there's competition at the supermarket shelves for store-brand sodas, and third party-sodas or maybe not. But if you had a couple popular sodas in the 1980s like 7-Up and Doctor Pepper, you'd probably just sell out if you can't get your product to daily consumers. I mean nearly all soda fountains at fast food places are one or the other, not both and not a third option (if there were any left).
There was a series where the protagonists were asked to choose one side over the other. The responses were "Choose? But only from the choices you give us?" and "Maybe the right choice is not to choose at all."
Great video.
Americans need to wake up & demand monopolies be broken up.
Greedflation won't go away. At best what it is now is the new norm. At worst it'll just continue at the cost of the livelihood of the average American (so basically everyone and anyone who doesn't squeeze into the upper class) 😞
Even Wal-Mart continues to charge exhorbitant prices for their Pepsi products. Two big corporations making a killing off of us at once. Sorry! Sorry as heck!
Walmart is not cheap for groceries. I shop another chain that is a lot cheaper.
So don’t buy them. Anywhere. It’s really not at all difficult to drink something better for you, like water.
I own Pepsi and Cocoa Cola stock. I like this guy even if I don’t always agree with him. He is right on the money here.
I’m so thankful that I know about your podcasts.
Thank you for what you and your team do. 😊
Buy alternatives whenever you can, or nothing at all. If enough people hit their bottom line, they will have to listen. Until then,consumers will save some money.
They own the alternatives as well. When it comes to mass public action there’s a correlation between our morals and our convenience.
Most people aren’t going to sit in an aisle googling the parent company of each brand. Pepsi and Coke alone control most beverages including water. Good luck avoiding General Mills. Even if as consumers, we all boycott these companies they’d just buy the mom and pop shops.
The most effective measure to combat monopolies is enforcing and strengthening anti trust laws. We are now in the age where capitalist must be saved from themselves
@@charlieh1932 But those same big companies have pulled out all the stops to completely defang anti-trust law in the US. You cannot hope to change this, because to a big corporation, you are nothing but a flea.
It’s absolutely greedflation. There is no reason many companies couldn’t roll back the pandemic pricing that they pushed on us but they didn’t need the increased pricing any longer.
That's not how inflation works.
Inflation rates are down but it's still going up by about 3%. Negative inflation means the economy is failing.
@@yourdaddy-mq4km As I predicted you're back spewing the same old delusional babble Zachoff. You've been rendered irrelevant here by me. Buzz off !!
@@yourdaddy-mq4km As I predicted you're back spewing the same old delusional babble Zachoff. You've been rendered irrelevant here by me.
@@yourdaddy-mq4km no negative inflation means prices are falling instead of rising. its a capitalist myth that deflation is bad. its literally how prices are supposed to work. there is supposed to be a cheaper option, when prices fall consumers can consume. but monopolistic practices like Prof Reich here points out. prevent any new cheaper alternatives as they're either to small to make a dent or they get bought up. Deflation is literally what (the Canadian) economy needs right now. Prices need to fall or there will be no money left for the economy to function.
In my opinion. When companies are making record profits it’s obviously GREEDFLATION❗️
It's greed-flation. Corporations are keeping prices high to maximum profit. We had supply chain problems during covid. Everything's back to normal now, except prices of goods.
Greedflation!!!!!!!!!
Definitely! Hell, even COOKIE MONSTER cannot ignore it! LOL!
Right. Why haven't prices lowered back down after inflation. It's gotta be the boogie man.
@@yourdaddy-mq4km As I predicted you're back spewing the same old delusional babble Zachoff. You've been rendered irrelevant here by me. Go play in traffic..
Colluflation
Just don't tell any Republicans about greedflations, they believe that corporations deserve the profits while complaining about the high prices and they can't afford it 😢😅
I think a lot of people forget that dropping inflation means the speed at which prices go up has dropped. Not that the price is dropping. You need deflation to see prices dropping. But Corporations have hidden their price increases behind reported inflation.
Good point👍
I was also going to correct Mr. Reich on that point, but I forgot.
Yes. Finally someone gets it. Shame politicians lie about it to confuse the issue.
Prices increases ARE inflation not something hidden behind it.
Thats what Robert the economist isn't saying, he makes it sound like raising prices isn't inflation, but it's the sole measurement of inflation.
You should recognize it's all propoganda when he can pretend like you can have no inflation alongside rising prices.
deflation? HAH!! these corporations are powerful enough to remove the word deflation from our vocabulary altogether. we will NEVER see deflation during our lives. hope no one is waiting for it.
One month ago, a cheap bag of vanilla wafers was $1. The day before Easter, I had to pay $4 for that cheap off brand cookie!!!
Thank you for this. I encourage everyone to do what he says and share it. I'm tired of the way this country is allowing these greedy monsters to continue business as usual and keep our wages down with higher-than-ever prices. We need to do something and we needed it done yesterday.
No, Reich doesn't know anything about economics which is why he refuses to debate anyone despite being called out by many economists. He refuses to address any counter points. This video is 100 percent BS.
Prices rose due to the increase in the money supply. That increases demand which increases prices. If price gouging existed a bottle of Pepsi like he used as an example would be 100 dollars but it's not because Reich isn't being factual.
Inflation is down that's correct but it's not in the negatives meaning a deflation. Therefore, prices won't decreasing. As long as inflation out paces economic growth, prices will continue to rise. A deflation would need to happen for prices to decrease.
He's not taking demand curves into account or anything. This is why Reich refuses debates because even an entry level economists can run through him.
My fave is Goya. The can of beans I bought for $.79 eight months ago now cost $2.50. It doesn't cost me that much because I won't buy at that price especially as I know that Goya is reporting, very proudly announcing all time record profits. I live in a community that is heavily weighted to recent Hispanic immigrants. They literally don't know any alternative products. Robert Unanue, the CEO of Goya was borne in Wykoff, NJ. An affluent town in Bergen Co NJ and is a close friend and supporter of Donald Trump
Sadly, in all these cases, the company makes more money with fewer sales because of the exorbitant price hikes.
So the money printing has nothing to do with inflation?
Fr Fr? By God?
there is nothing, no law, no agency to slow this down. lets have lengthy discussions on corporate profit, executive compensation and stock buybacks. never hear much about that.
If inflation is caused by corporate greed, are you seriously implying that companies just suddenly became greedy recently and it's just a big coincidence its happening at the same time as the biggest increase to money printing we've ever had?
Robert, thank you for your brilliant analysis!💙
Thank you for addressing this. Bain of my existence for the past couple of years. I have stopped buying the products that keep rising in prices. I was glad to hear at Biden’s last state of the union that he intended to put together a committee. Thanks!
Inflation is a monetary event. Blaming "greed" is just a lame excuse for reckless monetary policy. The FED doubled the money supply in 10 years. Companies have always been greedy yet we had 2% inflation for years. Companies didn't change- the money supply did.
We have changed our spending habits. Less meat no Pepsi etc and only use products that are reasonably priced (ie “on sale”) or not at all. We consider with each item “ do we really need this?” We have become frugal and life is better and healthier. The price gougers will never have our loyalty again.
It’s greed