Price gouging as her first policy announcement? Really?

[Anonymous]

Harris’s Plan Is Economically Dumb but Politically Smart
The vice president’s campaign promises make no sense to people acquainted with supply and demand—but they might win elections.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/08/kamala-harris-economic-policies-price-gouging/679483/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OK, I think she just put her first foot wrong. Prices were up 1% on groceries this past year. This is bizarre - brings back memories of ‘70s price controls.

What do you think?

Y'all have been yapping about how inflation and the economy is the most important issue for you. Well, here you go.

+1 What should her first priority be? Price gouging especially on groceries is impacts 90% of us.

It’s almost cute that you think government controlled prices will lower inflation.

Bless your heart

Government won’t control prices. It will investigate price fixing, which is common among poultry, dairy, and many other agricultural and food processors and corporations. It’s not the farmers. It’s not the grocers. It’s the consolidation of food sector corporations.

If a few big corporations are colluding to fix prices they have been committing a crime. And if this is true, why hasn't the Biden-Harris administration been going after them?

My guess is that inflation was going up everywhere so it wasn't apparent that there was price gouging. But, now that inflation has eased, yet food prices haven't come down much, there were reports that corporations were price fixing.

Pricing fixing isn't immediately apparent. It takes time to uncover the scheme.

You make the argument about competition. Break up cartels, go after companies for price fixing and collusion, etc.

You double down on your Adam Smith before you try to set price controls.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OK, I think she just put her first foot wrong. Prices were up 1% on groceries this past year. This is bizarre - brings back memories of ‘70s price controls.

What do you think?

Y'all have been yapping about how inflation and the economy is the most important issue for you. Well, here you go.

+1 What should her first priority be? Price gouging especially on groceries is impacts 90% of us.

It’s almost cute that you think government controlled prices will lower inflation.

Bless your heart

Government won’t control prices. It will investigate price fixing, which is common among poultry, dairy, and many other agricultural and food processors and corporations. It’s not the farmers. It’s not the grocers. It’s the consolidation of food sector corporations.

If a few big corporations are colluding to fix prices they have been committing a crime. And if this is true, why hasn't the Biden-Harris administration been going after them?

Each state’s AG would prosecute price gouging businesses in their state.

But correct, Biden-Harris have done nothing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Harris’s Plan Is Economically Dumb but Politically Smart
The vice president’s campaign promises make no sense to people acquainted with supply and demand—but they might win elections.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/08/kamala-harris-economic-policies-price-gouging/679483/

IMO, this is like in 2016 when Trump said he was going to create the best healthcare plan to replace the ACA. It was politically smart, but "experts" realized that there was no way he could achieve this without raising premiums, which would go against what he was promising.

And we all know how this played out in real life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OK, I think she just put her first foot wrong. Prices were up 1% on groceries this past year. This is bizarre - brings back memories of ‘70s price controls.

What do you think?

Y'all have been yapping about how inflation and the economy is the most important issue for you. Well, here you go.

+1 What should her first priority be? Price gouging especially on groceries is impacts 90% of us.

It’s almost cute that you think government controlled prices will lower inflation.

Bless your heart

Government won’t control prices. It will investigate price fixing, which is common among poultry, dairy, and many other agricultural and food processors and corporations. It’s not the farmers. It’s not the grocers. It’s the consolidation of food sector corporations.

If a few big corporations are colluding to fix prices they have been committing a crime. And if this is true, why hasn't the Biden-Harris administration been going after them?

Each state’s AG would prosecute price gouging businesses in their state.

But correct, Biden-Harris have done nothing.

They are now investigating it. Like I said, it takes time for price gouging to be come apparent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OK, I think she just put her first foot wrong. Prices were up 1% on groceries this past year. This is bizarre - brings back memories of ‘70s price controls.

What do you think?

Y'all have been yapping about how inflation and the economy is the most important issue for you. Well, here you go.

+1 What should her first priority be? Price gouging especially on groceries is impacts 90% of us.

It’s almost cute that you think government controlled prices will lower inflation.

Bless your heart

Government won’t control prices. It will investigate price fixing, which is common among poultry, dairy, and many other agricultural and food processors and corporations. It’s not the farmers. It’s not the grocers. It’s the consolidation of food sector corporations.

If a few big corporations are colluding to fix prices they have been committing a crime. And if this is true, why hasn't the Biden-Harris administration been going after them?

Each state’s AG would prosecute price gouging businesses in their state.

But correct, Biden-Harris have done nothing.

They are now investigating it. Like I said, it takes time for price gouging to be come apparent.

Citation?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OK, I think she just put her first foot wrong. Prices were up 1% on groceries this past year. This is bizarre - brings back memories of ‘70s price controls.

What do you think?

Y'all have been yapping about how inflation and the economy is the most important issue for you. Well, here you go.

+1 What should her first priority be? Price gouging especially on groceries is impacts 90% of us.

It’s almost cute that you think government controlled prices will lower inflation.

Bless your heart

Well, it's cute that you think Trump can make it all better, when he can't even speak coherently.

Bless.

Trump can't make it all better, but he's definitely for less federal govt intervention and that has always failed on all fronts.

I do expect him to do better than Kamala on the economics front.

He already has.
Her little speech expects us to forget that she is part of the current administration that brought all these problems on.
Yes, prices are too high. Because Biden/Harris spent way too much money, put in way too many regulations, and has signaled to oil and gas companies that they are not welcome in the US.
Yes, rent is too high and people cannot afford to buy homes. Because interests rates are sky high because of the inflation Biden/Harris caused.
She wants to give away more money - TAXPAYER MONEY - to first time homebuyers. Much like the college loan redistribution plan - she is taking hard earned money from taxpayers to give away to others.
She wants to go after price gouging (or, "price gauging" as she calls it) when that is not happening. The profit margin on food products is less than 2%. That is NOT price gouging. This is simply an effort to deflect from the FACT that it was HER administration that caused the higher prices to begin with.

The only ideas that are at all palatable are the ones she stole from the Trump campaign.... no tax on tips, higher child tax credit, and get rid of worthless regulations.
And, does anyone really believe that SHE will do away with needless regulations? Hell no. .....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Harris’s Plan Is Economically Dumb but Politically Smart
The vice president’s campaign promises make no sense to people acquainted with supply and demand—but they might win elections.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/08/kamala-harris-economic-policies-price-gouging/679483/

IMO, this is like in 2016 when Trump said he was going to create the best healthcare plan to replace the ACA. It was politically smart, but "experts" realized that there was no way he could achieve this without raising premiums, which would go against what he was promising.

And we all know how this played out in real life.

Nothing happens and life goes on.

That said, the SP500 profit margin has generally been trending up AND more volatile since 1995. Since 2016 the profit margin has been somewhere north of 9% on average. That's a lot of profits which is indicative of a less competitive market environment.

https://dqydj.com/sp-500-profit-margin/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OK, I think she just put her first foot wrong. Prices were up 1% on groceries this past year. This is bizarre - brings back memories of ‘70s price controls.

What do you think?

Y'all have been yapping about how inflation and the economy is the most important issue for you. Well, here you go.

+1 What should her first priority be? Price gouging especially on groceries is impacts 90% of us.

It’s almost cute that you think government controlled prices will lower inflation.

Bless your heart

Well, it's cute that you think Trump can make it all better, when he can't even speak coherently.

Bless.

Trump can't make it all better, but he's definitely for less federal govt intervention and that has always failed on all fronts.

I do expect him to do better than Kamala on the economics front.

He already has.
Her little speech expects us to forget that she is part of the current administration that brought all these problems on.
Yes, prices are too high. Because Biden/Harris spent way too much money, put in way too many regulations, and has signaled to oil and gas companies that they are not welcome in the US.
Yes, rent is too high and people cannot afford to buy homes. Because interests rates are sky high because of the inflation Biden/Harris caused.
She wants to give away more money - TAXPAYER MONEY - to first time homebuyers. Much like the college loan redistribution plan - she is taking hard earned money from taxpayers to give away to others.
She wants to go after price gouging (or, "price gauging" as she calls it) when that is not happening. The profit margin on food products is less than 2%. That is NOT price gouging. This is simply an effort to deflect from the FACT that it was HER administration that caused the higher prices to begin with.

The only ideas that are at all palatable are the ones she stole from the Trump campaign.... no tax on tips, higher child tax credit, and get rid of worthless regulations.
And, does anyone really believe that SHE will do away with needless regulations? Hell no. .....

Oil production is at an all time high, higher than when Trump was in office.

Profit margins are up. Great for investors; not great for consumers.

https://thehill.com/business/4562244-how-retailers-are-profiting-from-food-inflation-profit-inflation-question-gains-new-urgency-from-ftc-report/

While a supply crunch and a massive injection of stimulus following the pandemic initially allowed companies to charge more for their products, experts have battled for years over whether margins – now at a record high – have themselves become a cause of inflation, keeping prices higher for longer than they should otherwise have been.

The report released last week by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) calls out margin expansion as a primary driver of recent price increases, citing dynamics in the increasingly concentrated grocery sector.

“Some firms seem to have used rising costs as an opportunity to further hike prices to increase their profits, and profits remain elevated even as supply chain pressures have eased. Larger retailers and wholesalers with considerable leverage over their suppliers were able to take more aggressive action to protect themselves,” FTC researchers concluded.

Retail grocery revenues increased to more than 6 percent above costs in 2021 and more than 7 percent in 2023, “substantially higher” than their most recent high point of 5.6 percent in 2015. The FTC’s calculation controls for fixed and labor costs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OK, I think she just put her first foot wrong. Prices were up 1% on groceries this past year. This is bizarre - brings back memories of ‘70s price controls.

What do you think?

Y'all have been yapping about how inflation and the economy is the most important issue for you. Well, here you go.

+1 What should her first priority be? Price gouging especially on groceries is impacts 90% of us.

It’s almost cute that you think government controlled prices will lower inflation.

Bless your heart

Government won’t control prices. It will investigate price fixing, which is common among poultry, dairy, and many other agricultural and food processors and corporations. It’s not the farmers. It’s not the grocers. It’s the consolidation of food sector corporations.

If a few big corporations are colluding to fix prices they have been committing a crime. And if this is true, why hasn't the Biden-Harris administration been going after them?

Each state’s AG would prosecute price gouging businesses in their state.

But correct, Biden-Harris have done nothing.

They are now investigating it. Like I said, it takes time for price gouging to be come apparent.

Citation?

https://thehill.com/business/4562244-how-retailers-are-profiting-from-food-inflation-profit-inflation-question-gains-new-urgency-from-ftc-report/

The FTC findings on expanded margins’ driving pricing are echoed in a 2022 United Nations report that found inflation was a result of cost increases “amplified by price-setting firms in highly concentrated markets raising their mark-ups.”

While further research will reveal more about the interplay between profit margins and private-sector market power in the aftermath of the pandemic, the FTC is cautioning that the effects of boosted profits at the grocery store are still having an economic effect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OK, I think she just put her first foot wrong. Prices were up 1% on groceries this past year. This is bizarre - brings back memories of ‘70s price controls.

What do you think?

Y'all have been yapping about how inflation and the economy is the most important issue for you. Well, here you go.

+1 What should her first priority be? Price gouging especially on groceries is impacts 90% of us.

It’s almost cute that you think government controlled prices will lower inflation.

Bless your heart

Well, it's cute that you think Trump can make it all better, when he can't even speak coherently.

Bless.

Trump can't make it all better, but he's definitely for less federal govt intervention and that has always failed on all fronts.

I do expect him to do better than Kamala on the economics front.

He already has.
Her little speech expects us to forget that she is part of the current administration that brought all these problems on.
Yes, prices are too high. Because Biden/Harris spent way too much money, put in way too many regulations, and has signaled to oil and gas companies that they are not welcome in the US.
Yes, rent is too high and people cannot afford to buy homes. Because interests rates are sky high because of the inflation Biden/Harris caused.
She wants to give away more money - TAXPAYER MONEY - to first time homebuyers. Much like the college loan redistribution plan - she is taking hard earned money from taxpayers to give away to others.
She wants to go after price gouging (or, "price gauging" as she calls it) when that is not happening. The profit margin on food products is less than 2%. That is NOT price gouging. This is simply an effort to deflect from the FACT that it was HER administration that caused the higher prices to begin with.

The only ideas that are at all palatable are the ones she stole from the Trump campaign.... no tax on tips, higher child tax credit, and get rid of worthless regulations.
And, does anyone really believe that SHE will do away with needless regulations? Hell no. .....

Oil production is at an all time high, higher than when Trump was in office.

Profit margins are up. Great for investors; not great for consumers.

https://thehill.com/business/4562244-how-retailers-are-profiting-from-food-inflation-profit-inflation-question-gains-new-urgency-from-ftc-report/

While a supply crunch and a massive injection of stimulus following the pandemic initially allowed companies to charge more for their products, experts have battled for years over whether margins – now at a record high – have themselves become a cause of inflation, keeping prices higher for longer than they should otherwise have been.

The report released last week by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) calls out margin expansion as a primary driver of recent price increases, citing dynamics in the increasingly concentrated grocery sector.

“Some firms seem to have used rising costs as an opportunity to further hike prices to increase their profits, and profits remain elevated even as supply chain pressures have eased. Larger retailers and wholesalers with considerable leverage over their suppliers were able to take more aggressive action to protect themselves,” FTC researchers concluded.

Retail grocery revenues increased to more than 6 percent above costs in 2021 and more than 7 percent in 2023, “substantially higher” than their most recent high point of 5.6 percent in 2015. The FTC’s calculation controls for fixed and labor costs.

Good grief.
You do understand that REVENUES DO NOT MEAN PROFITS, right?
You know what is causing the higher prices in grocery prices? Increased fuel costs - it costs more from the growers, to the producers, to the shippers...... and the increased revenue is because the prices are higher. That does NOT mean increased profits.

[Anonymous]

I'm not vice president or a presidential candidate, or an economist and I can tell there is significant price gouging going on by large corporations. They are making huge profits, laying off people in some cases and not paying others that much more...while their prices go through the roof!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OK, I think she just put her first foot wrong. Prices were up 1% on groceries this past year. This is bizarre - brings back memories of ‘70s price controls.

What do you think?

Y'all have been yapping about how inflation and the economy is the most important issue for you. Well, here you go.

+1 What should her first priority be? Price gouging especially on groceries is impacts 90% of us.

It’s almost cute that you think government controlled prices will lower inflation.

Bless your heart

Well, it's cute that you think Trump can make it all better, when he can't even speak coherently.

Bless.

Trump can't make it all better, but he's definitely for less federal govt intervention and that has always failed on all fronts.

I do expect him to do better than Kamala on the economics front.

He already has.
Her little speech expects us to forget that she is part of the current administration that brought all these problems on.
Yes, prices are too high. Because Biden/Harris spent way too much money, put in way too many regulations, and has signaled to oil and gas companies that they are not welcome in the US.
Yes, rent is too high and people cannot afford to buy homes. Because interests rates are sky high because of the inflation Biden/Harris caused.
She wants to give away more money - TAXPAYER MONEY - to first time homebuyers. Much like the college loan redistribution plan - she is taking hard earned money from taxpayers to give away to others.
She wants to go after price gouging (or, "price gauging" as she calls it) when that is not happening. The profit margin on food products is less than 2%. That is NOT price gouging. This is simply an effort to deflect from the FACT that it was HER administration that caused the higher prices to begin with.

The only ideas that are at all palatable are the ones she stole from the Trump campaign.... no tax on tips, higher child tax credit, and get rid of worthless regulations.
And, does anyone really believe that SHE will do away with needless regulations? Hell no. .....

Oil production is at an all time high, higher than when Trump was in office.

Profit margins are up. Great for investors; not great for consumers.

https://thehill.com/business/4562244-how-retailers-are-profiting-from-food-inflation-profit-inflation-question-gains-new-urgency-from-ftc-report/

While a supply crunch and a massive injection of stimulus following the pandemic initially allowed companies to charge more for their products, experts have battled for years over whether margins – now at a record high – have themselves become a cause of inflation, keeping prices higher for longer than they should otherwise have been.

The report released last week by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) calls out margin expansion as a primary driver of recent price increases, citing dynamics in the increasingly concentrated grocery sector.

“Some firms seem to have used rising costs as an opportunity to further hike prices to increase their profits, and profits remain elevated even as supply chain pressures have eased. Larger retailers and wholesalers with considerable leverage over their suppliers were able to take more aggressive action to protect themselves,” FTC researchers concluded.

Retail grocery revenues increased to more than 6 percent above costs in 2021 and more than 7 percent in 2023, “substantially higher” than their most recent high point of 5.6 percent in 2015. The FTC’s calculation controls for fixed and labor costs.

Exactly.

[Anonymous]

If an elected official can’t pronounce a word, they should not be in charge of any laws or policies or regulations concerning the word.

[Anonymous]

She’s even dumber than I thought