“Greedflation” is the most under-reported economic news in years. This is largely because it’s hard to quantify. But it’s an indictment of unfettered capitalism and legions of CEOs.
It’s great that the Biden administration has accomplished so much economically for the country. But the sad reality is that so many basic needs remain obscenely expensive, causing widespread hardship.
“Greedflation” is the most under-reported economic news in years. This is largely because it’s hard to quantify. But it’s an indictment of unfettered capitalism and legions of CEOs.
It’s great that the Biden administration has accomplished so much economically for the country. But the sad reality is that so many basic needs remain obscenely expensive, causing widespread hardship.
Republicans claim the economy is bad but ALL of the Republican men I know, and some women, have purchased giant, new, shiny pickup trucks with sticker prices more than my first home cost.
So, if things are so bad for working Republicans, why are there millions of pickup trucks sold for $72,000 each to Republican men and women?
Yep, that is how much those trucks passing you at 56 mph in a 25 mph school zone cost.
The reality is: The economy rocks, Republicans know it and Republicans have wasted millions, perhaps trillions on pickup truck trinkets they do not need.
Republicans really just want to hate. And, so, they make stuff up that allows them to do so.
Like, "The economy is bad". So, "Democrats are bad".
Thanks, Mike, for this explanation of the truck bonanza. I thought I had somehow missed the day when the sky opened up and trucks fell out. They are many and everywhere.
And the stupid inside says you WILL look at me because you will hear me because I have installed LOUD exhaust pipes. But you can’t see my face because the windows are tinted very dark.
Not at my house, Jen. I fly the US Colors full time (correctly presented, properly illuminated in the dark, and replaced when worn or tattered) alongside a Ukranian Flag, or an inclusive Pride flag, or the COPS flag (concerns of police survivors; a black standard with a single blue line honoring police officers killed in the line of duty; flown during the month of May). Between the flags is an "In Our America" sign: In Our America: All People Are Equal, Love Wins, Black Lives Matter, Immigrants and Refugees Are Welcome, Disabilities Are Respected, Women Are In Charge Of Their Own Bodies, People and Planet Are Valued Over Profit, Diversity is Celebrated.
I will not fly the flag from the bed of my shiny new (now four years old) pick up truck that mostly hauls trash, yard debris, stone for more yard projects, delivers CostCo runs to friends, and hauls multiple musicians and instruments to gigs. I am a stickler for proper flag display, and absent being in a parade, flying it on my vehicle is not proper.
I agree that flying the flag in most cases means some wing nut R which includes our awful neighbor across the street. The problem with the flag has been around a long time. After 9/11, the newspaper put in a flag you could put in your window which we did. Our surrogate daughter wanted to complain about it, but we told her why it was there.
There are many thousands of Americans who display the American flag who want nothing to do with Trump or the republicans. We have one, right next to our Black Lives Matter sign.
We have a few of those around here. One of the loudest is a motorcycle and he has to shift constantly to make the most noise. Our dog also hates this and we try to explain that it's just the a.hole.
Then we get complaints about the price of groceries. Republicans are too stupid to recognize climate change and think groceries are “grown” in the grocery store. Big Ag isn’t going to tell them otherwise as long as they can keep selling greasy snack “foods.”
Nailed it. The pecking order, somebody to look down on. What if we couldn’t identify any “lessers?” Our egos would crash and burn. Think about it. What if we really had to assume that any creature that we came across was as deserving, as valuable to the community as we are. It would turn our world upside down. In fact, just giving some “lessers” a shot at a chance is more than most fancy pickup owners can abide. We have, not only the rich, but the newly affluent (or majorly in debt) “deserving” ready to stomp into the muck, those with their noses pressed to the glass for a chance to pluck our chickens, and labor in our behalf. Sort of what our ancestors did. Except for chump. His ancestors were grifters, mob bosses, military deserters, and pimps. Skills they passed down to any greedy bastard without a conscience.
"...any creature that we came across was as deserving, as valuable to the community as we are." Jeri, this is the crux of the Circle of Life we strive and strive to practice. It is balance, it is how we survived here for eons before the "western" ways swept it aside. You have hit it smack on the head. If we can only get us all on that path, we will be able to light the Eighth Fire.
It is also the thought that strikes fear into the hearts of those who have been able to ascend one rung up on the ladder. What happened to "there but for the grace of God go I."
You could be related! During the time I was consulting with the Bay Mills nurse, she was excited about a big tribal reunion with their Canadian Ojibwe relatives. But, sadly, when the large Canadian group got to the bridge, the U.S. Customs wouldn't let them through. Since then, when my husband goes to Canada, he just shows his "Indian card" and the customs officer at either border can't even ask him a question much less delay or deny his passage. You probably know more about this than I do. Just thrilled for Native power.
He is Mississauga First Nation (where his mother was born). In my public health nursing and advocacy career I worked with the Bay Mills clinical director, as well as with tribes here in Northern Michigan.
Good for you, Jeri, for your notes on the "pecking order."
If schools continue to be ruled by and for standardized tests, of course there's always "somebody to look down on," because life as only sets of numbers and categories has no room for seeing how "any creature that we came across was as deserving, as valuable to the community as we are."
To see and value others as individuals requires some skill, training, readiness to see and value others, life, as you do. Requires essay writing, discussion, humanities.
When the people of Finland determined to have the best schools in the world, they made it policy to hire only the best as teachers and, at the same time, to trust the teachers to decide everything themselves -- books, lesson plans, everything.
And the first thing the teachers decided? To abandon most all standardized testing in all schools.
Also, most teachers in the now-world's-best public schools assign no homework, as that really exists only to keep youth enslaved testing (and thus to the billionaires and corporations which ever reduce life to numbers and categories only).
Thank you. I know they don't teach empathy in school, but just being in the midst of so many others taught me that people come in all stripes. It most assuredly starts with parents. It doesn't take a genius to see that some struggle so much more than others. I always thought that a helping hand was much preferable to a crippling kick for most. Sorting, rating, and ranking have their places, but are so defining to an unnecessary extent. People are complicated. In fact, I used to get sort of upset at Sesame Street when my young child watched the song "This one thing is not like the other, one of these things does not belong." Useful and educational, but I think people generalize the concept to too many aspects of humanity. Sorry for another rant.
Thank you Phil. Just old, seen too much, and fed up. Hard to believe how other "elders" have been bamboozled by non-stop bull schitt, from the ugliest specimens of humanity.
To own those $72,000 trucks they borrowed big time, along with huge mortgages and large credit card balances. The redneck life ain't cheap and if Republicans gain control and the economy crashes, these people are going to be in deep trouble financially. Of course, their deep seated resentment of Democrats will be who they blame for their financial woes. These boom and bust cycles, largely created by the wealthy robber barons, will continue until We The People force politicians to reign in "greedflation" and pass stringent campaign finance laws.
Oh, and my pet peeve - trucks in today's world are mostly made for show, and are priced out of the working woman's price range!
My truck is so high off the ground I can't reach into the cab or bed without a step stool, and its still difficult even then. Forget my dog being able to jump in either.
I drive a 20 yr old 4x4 Tacoma 4 cyl (cheaper to work on) w/ just over 200,000 miles on it. I’d consider a new truck (I can only afford one vehicle & I haul yard goods like chips & mulch, etc., so need a truck), but they are awful! Full of widgets & do-dads & sometimes a computer screen in the dashboard—ha, what could possibly go wrong w/ that (not talking ‘bout back-up screens). Some of the trucks have hoods that are as high as my shoulder & have been shown to be more deadly to pedestrians, bicyclists & smaller vehicles. Other countries still make and sell small vehicles, but here in the USA we super-size everything. I liken the current truck size trend to the sci-fi movie Transformers (ginormous) characters. A pet peeve of mine….OK, end of rant!
Our Chevy suburban has 546,000 miles. The brake lines rusted off 🤣 so we had to buy a newer vehicle. We bought a Toyota Tundra. We have 10 acres, we need a truck. I'm a techtard, so figuring out how the operations work...eek. I don't touch anything. My husband loves to drive that goodness. I hate it. I've hit 11 deer and I've had too many accidents. I have given myself PTSD from my own driving.
I checked out some used trucks, but none had manual transmissions (dislike automatics for mountain driving—they never shift when I prefer to!) & all had electric windows. Where I live, driving alongside a river is common & one “oops” can land you in the drink….so I prefer manual hand-crank windows if I needed to escape the cab….don’t think they even make them anymore. I prefer knobs & buttons because muscle memory can guide turning on/off things (heat/cooling/radio) w/o having to take eyes off the road. My only upgrade from my first truck (a 1990) to my 2003, was getting air conditioning, something I do use.
I got another truck a few years ago - it does have power windows but nothing else except the basics. 8' truck bed, because like you, I haul and don't need anything to distract me. Yes, a backup alarm or camera is a must
Ram has what they call a 1500 Classic Tradesman truck - standard cab with 8' bed. I don't know of anyone else that offers that anymore AND one more thing - that's hard to find that this truck has, no carpet and vinyl (instead of cloth) seats. I want to be able to open both doors and hose it out!
I only watch old Brit dramas and I laugh when the police crusie down the streets in little mini cars! My town has a bunch of scary looking retired military vehicles they haul out during a storm. I feel like I am watching playground activities when the coppers drive them.
I used to drive a ‘96 Silverado C1500. Loved that truck. She finally died 4 years ago. I miss her to this day. My son took me to the car dealership, because, retired or not, I needed a vehicle. The salesman asked if I wanted another truck. My son looked at me and said, “Do you want something you have to climb into, or something you can fall into? I’m getting older and shorter. Easy decision. I got a Toyota sedan.
I miss that truck to this day. When my grandson was a toddler, he got to sit in the front in his carseat and see the road out the windshield. He would look at me and just laugh. Good times.
I really wish the manufacturers would bring back the small trucks of the 1990s. My understanding is they quit making them because of the EPA emission standards. I guess the regulations for the heavier trucks are easier to meet? And they make more money on the big trucks. So frustrating.
My husband still drives his 1990 Mazda pick up. It is low to the ground and has a large bed. Everyone I know wants a small pickup and you just can't find them.
My mom's circa 1980 Ford F250 is still going strong. She sold it many years ago to a friend when she got she got out of the horse business. My daughter rides with the woman who owns it. She is driving it this weekend. I know my mother (who died at age 94 in 2020) is smiling.
Oh, those sexy huge boxy trucks with so much space that is never used. They are marvels of engineering and marketing genius. In Texas, more young women would have given me the time of day had I been driving a Ford F150 instead of a Mazda.
When looking for a vehicle in 2019 just before the pandemic, I sat in a souped up Ford that looked like a Transformer waiting to unfold into action. Seriously, I was grinning ear to ear just sitting in it, in the showroom. And then I thought about my senior citizen's spatial perception, my gasoline budget, the too-small 2-car garage in Texas, and oh yes, what do I really need, and decided to keep my 2007 Toyota (230,000 miles). But it was fun for a few minutes.
Mike, thanks for confirming my suspicion that those huge shiny pickups that tailgate me at high speeds are Republicans. The ownership of these vehicles is one demonstration of their need for power; their reckless driving is a symptom of their unceasing anger. As someone who has been rear-ended four times and has the injuries to prove it, I have a hard time not focusing on the rear view mirror when it fills with the grille of yet another Republican vehicle!
I agree Mike, especially about the trucks which tear around on city streets like they are on the freeway. Sometimes they have jacked up wheels. I not only see bad driving, but I also see low gas mileage. There is a local ad from a store in Portland which specializes on all the silly and expensive accouterments for such vehicles. And often they have big flags flying as well. We had a phone meeting with our financial advisor yesterday who told us that the economy is doing fine and he explained some about how the Federal Reserve works. He had some very apt and funny metaphors about how they go about things.
Mike, remember the movie “Time Machine”? I was little when it came out. I had nightmares about the Morlocks for years. Much later there was a trailer for a movie I refused to go see with a little girl staring into a fuzzy tv screen, “They’re baacck”
It seems that Horror Stories fascinate us cuz we thought we were safe cuz they’re real. We are mistaken about the reality part
Florida’s greedflation is unfettered with a Governor who is MIA and has taken political contributions from many corporations in order to fill political coffers. People are being driven out of their homes and communities because of it. It’s corruption on every level.
Now DeSantis says he’s sending a battalion of the Florida National Guard to Texas, as well as the State Guard to assist in Abbott's razor wire border barrier antics. Wasting more money, manpower, and resources on something that could be resolved much more diplomatically, sanely, and effectively than this Republican penchant for “nihilism and performative politics" as Jennifer Rubin of the Washingtion Post said today.
Yes, SCOTUS confirmed that only feds have jurisdiction over borders. So naturally Abbott has doubled down and says if feds cut the razor wire, he’ll just have it replaced.
Remember when the Covid-19 vaccinations were first released and DeSantis offered them to his rich donors if they contributed to his campaign. Quid pro quo much?
📣 Let’s make sure struggling Floridians are aware of our free-spending governor.
168 MILLION !!!
“The failed campaign and expansive political operation aiming to make Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis the Republican nominee for the White House cost $168 million, according to filings reported to the Federal Election Commission late Wednesday.”
Unfortunately, the campaign funds were not from tax dollars, Floridians will only get their heads out of the sand when an income tax is needed for the state to survive!
“TALLAHASSEE (The Borowitz Report)—Faced with mounting campaign bills and dwindling donations, Ron DeSantis revealed on Friday that he had been forced to sell his beloved white go-go boots.
The Florida governor appeared anguished by the loss of his go-go boots, which aides disclosed were by far the most cherished footwear he owned.
DeSantis said that he had tried to make cuts elsewhere to preserve his ownership of the boots but that, “in the end, the numbers didn’t add up.”
“In a perfect world, I could run for President and own white go-go boots,” he said. “Sadly, we do not live in that world.” 😂😂
Just think $168 million is gone, it has been wasted for nothing which is what desatan is, a nothing, and those donors don’t have that money to pass around anymore, that’s a big chunk of change that won’t be put to more nefarious uses. 😎
“Greedflation” is also the product of a less-competitive marketplace. In a competitive marketplace, competitors within an industry force each other to hold down prices; if they don’t, they’ll lose marketshare to companies which do. In the old, disproven free-market model, markets unfettered by govt remain free and competitive, but in fact, they are taken over by a few dominant corporations, and competition disappears.
The first year my company was in business CSC tried to bankrupt us by telling four of our clients in Nebraska that we weren't allowed to work on their computer systems. These four companies were all Fortune 100 companies headquartered in Nebraska. If we chose to fight them it would have quickly bankrupted us. (One of TFFG's favorite tactics).
Our brilliant attorney went to the NE AG's office and the AG wrote a letter to CSC telling them that they needed to rescind the letter ASAP since they were committing tortious interference with 4 large NE companies and our fledgling company.
Our rates were about half of what CSC was charging these companies and we were an easy mark. The day after the letter was delivered to CSC in Austin, TX their general counsel was in our attorney's office in Lincoln, NE. They wrote the letter to the 4 companies and gave us permission to work on their systems anywhere in the world.
We have no way of knowing how many companies and people TFFG has forced out of business with his greedflation and by being a "sick MF" as Biden called him yesterday, but it is likely a large number.
We were lucky that CSC wrote the letter to the Nebraska corporations and that our attorney had a friend that just happened to be the AG otherwise, we would have been finished.
This is one of the reasons why so many companies end up being monopolies charging whatever they can. The pharmaceutical industry has likely killed thousands of people with their overpriced drugs and yet Congress and the White House have done little until now.
Of course, another path to becoming a monopoly is to buy up your competition and jack up the prices on their products or to pull them off the market and jack up the prices on their own products.
Another way is to buy them and sell of the assets. Just ask Mitt Romney for more detailed explanation. Blue collar people lose their jobs and often their earned retirement.
The de-regulation of the airline industry has been a boon for about 5 airlines, and many a shareholder. And a horror for everyone else, unless you have your own jet.
So many good airlines swallowed up by the few that remain.
Stanley, I am ecstatic about the antimonopoly positions of the Biden Administration. But it must certainly increase the support of those monopolies for TFG….
Well, it started out as The Former Guy, to avoid using Trump’s name. Some people use the F to symbolize a little more dislike. And there are those who combine those two and use TFFG.
So true, the key elements of a true capitalist economy are missing such a competition for customer dollars! Exxon Mobil worst merger decision by federal regulators!
Yes, especially greedy real estate industry and landlords. Housing prices are a nightmare. I also think property taxes need to be reviewed as they’ve gone up so much that people are forced out of their homes and neighborhoods.
Let’s also not forget employers continuing to underpay employees. It should be a crime to not at least compensate for rising cost of living. This is an ongoing disaster, especially for Generation X who are now in their 40’s - 50’s and who will start to reach retirement age in 15-20 years and the majority won’t be able to afford it.
Employers have mostly stopped pensions in favor of 401k, but many couldn’t contribute if they didn’t earn enough to cover their expenses. I’ve seen discussions on social media that many people are looking for an “exit strategy” for when they can no longer work but can’t afford to retire. I have no doubt this is not a new problem, but it’s largely been ignored by mainstream media and society, but I feel certain that the numbers of people who will actually do this is going to be alarming.
If younger generations think they’re are being held back by student loans, wait until they are suddenly having to support their non-employable family members who have under-budgeted for retirement or who have no retirement funds.
Thanks for mentioning property taxes; mine are now over $10K and still climbing. I attribute this partly due to living in a city with many educational, religious and nonprofit institutions that pay no property taxes. But I suspect there is also declining interest by state legislators in Local Government Assistance - which used to provide funds for infrastructure to poorer cities. State income tax has been exceeding state budgets but politicians would rather give the excess to tax refunds and pet projects rather than LGA.
Just like freezing/cutting funding for poor people, it’s popular to treat poor cities the same way. So property taxes soar while streets are so bad that tires and axels are regularly destroyed.
The middle class is being bled dry because of wealth inequality and unfair tax cuts to the wealthy & corporations. If they paid their fair share, they could reduce property taxes accordingly.,
Yep. Absolutely. Property taxes are an outrageous way to support city services. Not to mention that increases in property values bear no relationship to the income of the homeowner. Retirees are particularly vulnerable to being taxed out of their homes.
While you don’t want to chastise Wall Street too hard, corporations are investing $100’s of billions in America under President Biden, we also need to remember that lots of us have our 401K’s in the market, it is necessary to point out to the voters that prices not coming down is the fault of corporations. I don’t think there is anything the government can do in this regard.
Nikki Haley made a lot of noise in the lead up to the New Hampshire primary about a competency test for anyone over 75. She singled out the President in the ads. Besides trump, Grassley is the poster child for a competency test.
Probably only because Grassley has the R after his name. Habit and name recognition rule too many people's voting choices. And hey, Chuckie has been a Senator for 43 flippin' years...that is 8--count 'em EIGHT!!!--terms as Senator.
I don't particularly give a damn about his age, but 8 terms as Senator is more than time and far past to step aside and give the next generation a stab at helping run the government FOR THE PEOPLE (well, if Repubbies ever do remember how to actually govern, of course). The doddering old white guy has long been fossilized in his patriarchal, partisan thinking.
OK. The cost of "living" in today's world. Add up internet (and cable if you still have it) cell service, electricity, water, heating and cooling, car repair - that's just to function.
And if you have a kid or two, they could stay home and wear rags - or they would participate in sports, grow out of their clothes in days, maybe have some special healthcare needs...
Oh, there I go again, rattling on about the healthcare that costs us twice as much as other developed nations - healthcare if you can find a doctor who isn't booked out for several months. We are being robbed. But we are "exceptional Americans".
Fortunately I have very good healthcare insurance, however that company just reimbursed my retina specialist practice the Full amount billed over $10k!! The appointment took less than a cumulative hour of the practice time! The lions share of the cost is the medicine injected into my eye to hold macula degeneration in check.
I am pleased for you. And I wish you well with your eyesight.
I have a question that can't be answered. Who was the evil person who originally said that for purposes of health insurance - your eyes, your ears and your teeth were not part of our bodies - not part of our "health". It occurs to me that if I can't chew, my health will suffer. If I can't hear, I would have trouble finding the job I need. If I can't see...
Answer to your good Q, Bill, may be in biology as molecular only.
Most U.S. schools stress molecular models only in biology for the same reason most K-12 lets standardized testing order all teaching priorities.
See, Bill, it's a matter of seeing life as numbers and categories only.
I'm guessing the health and insurance industries leave out eyes, ears, and teeth as parts of the body because those things aren't as treatable by pills as are the other parts of the body. And pills are key to the molecular view of life, where everything -- everything -- is incremental. Just add more bits of this, bits of that -- more molecules, more pills, more profits for Big Pharma.
Standardized testing just doubles down on that view of life.
I receive injections hopefully every 8 weeks in my eyes to the tune of 2,500 each cycle. Without these injections I blink non stop due a neuro problem known as blepharaspsams. I am currently on a 12 week cycle and fighting with insurance companies for injections every eight weeks. Otherwise I am losing about 4 months a year blinking!
I need to keep working to afford the real estate taxs that skyrocketed!
Yes, Bill! Add housing to the list. The numbers of homeless families has increased in lockstep with rent increases, while TANF (previously AFDC) did not increase by a dime in 25 years.
BTW, that was possible because President Clinton’s “Welfare Reform” converted what had been an entitlement income supplement for the poorest families into a block grant program. This allowed states to spend the federal money on drug testing and parenting classes rather than cash that paid the rent.
Randall, did your price per killowatt hour increase 18% or did your power usage increase due to the winter weather thus increasing your monthly bill? We live in "the middle of nowhere" in the rural northern Arkansas Ozarks. Our power is provided by a member-owned rural electric cooperative. We pay 10 cents per killowatt hour for the first 500 hours used and then 8 cents per kilowatt for the usage above that. Because those who are served by the co-op are also the owners we do not pay inflated rates to provide profits to shareholders.
The winter rates on electricity here in Connecticut are tough. My electric bills thru November were under $60. In December, it was $95. In January, $135. I keep my thermostat at 62°.
You did see the part where the thermostat is set at 62, right? It's an apartment with all electric heat. You may have a different supplier, too. Good for you! I never switched from Eversource. :-)
Randall, here in far northern CA I’m awaiting my PG&E bill…an PUC approved rate hike (what were they thinking?) is slated to go into effect w/ hefty increases expected. PG&E for all their profits have not been good caretakers of their infrastructure & have been held liable for deadly & costly BIG fires. I, too, would like to see our utilities be publicly held, with hawk-eyed oversight. Sure, the management and on-the-ground workers should be paid decently and have decent benefits as well (a “good” job), but w/o the massive profits going to shareholders instead.
That's a winter usage rate. Not inflation. Jeez. I don't pay anything for electric where I live. By far the highest expense is food since I don't cook much and delivery is expensive.
I do cook and a price shop. One of my healthy choices is making my own black bean burgers using dry beans and brown rice including lots of fixings. My patties cost per unit about .13 cents per burger. Opps, inflation must have sent the price sky high to .15 cents per burger.
For you, I will only charge $5.00 a burger. Because you’re hungry. As a tire salesman once responded to my gasp when he told me their tire prices, “…You know I gotta eat steak.” I didn’t buy his tires. Wrong thing to say to a guy who loves cows.
Housing costs, especially for rental housing. According to the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, rent increases have been outpacing income gains. "Median rents have risen nearly continuously since 2001 in inflation-adjusted terms and are 21 percent higher as of 2022. Meanwhile, renters’ incomes have risen just 2 percent during the same period." The number of cost-burdened renters in the U.S. - households that pay more than 30% of their income for rent and utilities - is at a record high 22.4 million. More than 12 million renter households have housing costs that consume more than HALF of their income. Needless to say, this leaves little left over for food, transportation, and other basic needs.
I live in the most expensive city in the US, San Francisco, CA and I have NEVER paid $14 for butter. I buy the most expensive brand and just paid $6.69 for a pound of Danish Creamery my preferred brand.
I stock up when it's in stock. It's the best and the only one that I've found that wraps each quarter in paper backed foil. Keeps it fresh! Never, ever paid $14.00 for Horizon brand organic. 😕
Sad to say, the renowned Fairway market in NYC has been charging $14 for Horizon organic butter and about $7 for non-organic. Not sure why. Probably a northeast problem.
BUTTER: Grade AA closed at $2.7600. The weekly average for Grade AA is $2.6230 (+0.0586).
CHEESE: Barrels closed at $1.4700 and 40# blocks at $1.5375. The weekly average for barrels is $1.4590 (-0.0023) and blocks, $1.5120 (+0.0295).
NONFAT DRY MILK: Grade A closed at $1.2200. The weekly average for Grade A is $1.1960 (+0.0091).
DRY WHEY: Extra grade dry whey closed at $0.4425. The weekly average for dry whey is $0.4380 (+0.0249).
BUTTER HIGHLIGHTS: Retail demand is steady, aside from winter storm activity negatively impacting demand in some northwestern parts of the West region. Food service demand across the nation is mixed. Harsh snow and ice storms in the West have lightened buyer activity in the region. Food service demand is reported as increasing slightly in the East region. Bulk butter demand is steady. Cream loads are readily available. However, butter production is mixed throughout the country. Some butter makers in the Pacific Northwest have contended with power losses and transportation difficulties from harsh winter weather. Some stakeholders note tight unsalted butter availability. That said, current salted and unsalted inventory levels are sufficient to meet most immediate buyer needs. Bulk butter overages range from 1 to 8 cents above market, across all regions.
Agreed. I have been paying $3.99/pound for their butter at Trader Joe's for years. Organic butter at Wegmans is $4,29/lb. That price hasn't fluctuated in probably 10 years.
Horizon organic butter is still $14 where I shop. Dairy prices in general inflated far more than needed to maintain normal cut-throat, minimally taxed profits.
Horizon butter is $8.08 a pound here in San Francisco. I don't know where you shop or where you live but I call BS on your claim. I personally don't like that brand which is why I pay $6.69 a pound. Again the MOST expensive city in the entire US. As for inflation? It has been documented to be under control and since I live in the most expensive city, I wouldn't say it if it weren't true. You are conflating and that is not useful.
Why 'call BS' on my claim? Give me a little credit; why would I lie to you? Fairway market in NYC has been charging $14 a pound for Horizon organic butter for over a year. Not sure why. Prices might be lower now; I've been buying other brands.
Clover unsalted butter is on sale at Lunardi's just outside San Francisco (San Bruno) for 6.69 a lb. Usually 9.99. I love Clover because it is locally owned. Never have I see any brand at 14.00.
Not kidding. Fairway market, among others in NYC. have been charging$14 a pound for Horizon organic butter. Of course I've been buying other brands, non-organic. And by the way, Linda, think twice before calling someone a troll or a fool.
I'm glad my grandson is finally potty trained. We bought a lot of diapers. I'm pissed off about garbage bags. Hefty and Glad bags are such crap. I was filing a bag with paper and it ripped. Paper? So I took a picture and sent a lovely email to these two companies. There answer is to buy their more expensive bags...$11.36 for a box of 20.
Looooong past time for Windfall Taxes. Record profits = we are getting gouged.
Feb 1 (Reuters) - Shell (SHEL.L) , opens new tab reported a $28 billion profit for 2023 on Thursday after beating fourth quarter earnings forecasts on strong liquefied natural gas (LNG) trading, allowing the oil giant to increase its dividend and extend share repurchases.
Just one example. Do we exist solely to help companies have huge profits? Why do we allow this? Why do we allow massive wealth for a few and hard capitalism for the rest of us?
Republican majorities in Congress and unchecked campaign contributions (bribery to a certain degree) are the biggest reasons. And there’s a reluctance among Democrats as well to mess with “free enterprise,” which is bizarrely worshipped like a god.
Today's Letter states, 'President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen, and the Democrats embraced the idea that using the government to support ordinary Americans—those on the “demand” side of the economy—would nurture strong economic growth. Republicans have insisted since the 1980s that the way to expand the economy is the opposite: to invest in the “supply side,” investors who use their capital to build businesses. '
The proof is in the pudding:
'Labor market grew 353,000 in January, soaring past expectations
The unemployment rate held at 3.7 percent.' (WAPO, excerpts)
By Lauren Kaori Gurley, Updated February 2, 2024 at 8:39 a.m. EST
'The unemployment rate held at 3.7 percent.'
'The gains were roughly double economists predictions of 177,000 reinforcing that the economy remains firmly out of recession territory with the labor market propelling the economy forward, despite some high-profile layoffs at technology and media companies.'
'Robust consumer spending has allowed employers to hire at a rate that’s fast enough to keep up with population growth and wages continue to outpace inflation, boosting workers’ spending power.'
The picture of a U.S. economy that has defied recession predictions has also been bolstered by stronger than anticipated GDP growth in the final quarter of 2023. A hardy labor market and rising wages have allowed households to spend liberally, fueling a resilient economy.
'Payrolls swelled across a variety of industries, after months of job growth concentrated in a few industries that aren’t sensitive to interest rate hikes. Professional and business services added 74,000 jobs in January, soaring past the sluggish average monthly gain of 14,000 jobs in 2023. Fueled by a rapidly aging baby boomer population, health care added 70,000 jobs, with the strongest gains in ambulatory health care, hospitals and nursing homes.'
'Retail gained 45,000 new jobs mostly at general merchandise retailers and manufacturing added 23,000 jobs though both industries have shown little overall change since early 2023. Government added 36,000 new roles, mostly in federal and local government, as wages have risen enough to keep up with the private sector.'
''Average hourly wage growth accelerated sharply in January, rising by 0.6 percent, to $34.55. Over the past 12 months, hourly wages have risen by 4.5 percent, beating inflation and boosting workers’ spending power. Federal Reserve policymakers are closely watching wages, hoping to see more moderated wage growth as a sign that inflation is under control.'
'President Biden, headed into an election year, has received a political boost from strong jobs creation and more than two years of unemployment below four percent, a stretch last seen in the 1960s, despite much criticism about rising prices throughout the economy.'
“In this low-unemployment environment, most of the laid-off workers will likely manage to find new jobs fairly quickly,” said Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecruiter. “While some individual workers may struggle to find comparable work, the layoffs are unlikely to have an effect in the aggregate.”
'The labor market has been buoyed recently by a few booming industries that are less reactive to high interest rates: health care, government, and leisure and hospitality. Last year the public sector, which includes education, finally caught up with its pre-pandemic employment levels, after struggling for years with an understaffing crisis. That has been chalked up to stagnant wages and high rates of burnout. But more robust pay and benefits packages and streamlined hiring processes have recently made these jobs more attractive to workers.' (WAPO)
One thing I have been noticing from living in Germany is that while people for the most part earn less, and they have some higher costs, although housing and food are much lower here, is that people typically have insurance for almost everything that they can do in life. Health and long term care insurance are a package deal. Personal liability insurance of millions, and legal insurance, which are more reasonable in fees than in the USA are generally purchased. So, fewer catastrophic things can happen because it is covered by your insurance. A friend, who is a teacher is burned out. She has been off this school year and is being paid because she is written off as sick. There is personal work insurance for getting sick at work and not being able to work. Right now she is spending a few weeks in a spa. Now, American teachers could use this, because burnout is a big thing. Instead of the teachers and students suffering, no one has to. The insurance companies make money off of the young not using these services so often, and then after people have paid in a long time they use them. Still, it means less catatstrophe, even if the economy is not growing as much. Still, the farmers are right to be concerned with their bottom line, although all of the farmers in our family here in Germany live quite well. This is with hard work and being able to hire Romanians to work for them during harvest time. Food is subsidized here, but differently than in the US. I appreciate going to the grocery store and having much lower bills. Still, I also live in the US, and I am glad that Biden and the Dems are trying to get the average citizen the kind of supports that are here in Germany where instead of tax credits people can get 292 € a month for each child as direct support. Also, moms and dads get longer time off from work paid, and the requirement to have their jobs held. I know there are European countries that have even more supports, but the goal is for the USA to get there too. Biden is the one to take us there.
Michael ..they have quantified greedflation, by comparing previous years percentage of profit to current year...and the conclusion was that greed was a significant driver (supply chain issues were not the bigger party in the inflation equation...but it's all we heard from the media) of last year's inflation. So back to your point...why hasn't it been a bigger story?
I hadn't see reporting of this study, which may be what you're referring to. It's damning. The CEO of Walmart said prices may start dropping soon. Color me skeptical.
As why it hasn't been a bigger story? I don't know.
Greed flatiron replaces price gouging! Unfortunately, those most vulnerable citizens rarely if ever reap the benefits of the dividends paid by these price gouging companies!
I agree. Greed is a kind of addiction and most of us have been convinced that more stuff and distractions will make us feel safe and secure. Not true. Pres. Regan led the way to a sick culture that I hope we are easing out of. Biden is leading the way not only with his policies, but with his genuine decency as a human being. I really don't think there would have been a pres. trump without the path Regan set us on. And hopefully, just as a drug or alcohol addict needs to hit a painful "bottom" to turn their life around, trump was our bottom. For millions of us, he certainly was.
“Greedflation” is the most under-reported economic news in years. This is largely because it’s hard to quantify. But it’s an indictment of unfettered capitalism and legions of CEOs.
It’s great that the Biden administration has accomplished so much economically for the country. But the sad reality is that so many basic needs remain obscenely expensive, causing widespread hardship.
Michael,
Republicans claim the economy is bad but ALL of the Republican men I know, and some women, have purchased giant, new, shiny pickup trucks with sticker prices more than my first home cost.
So, if things are so bad for working Republicans, why are there millions of pickup trucks sold for $72,000 each to Republican men and women?
Yep, that is how much those trucks passing you at 56 mph in a 25 mph school zone cost.
The reality is: The economy rocks, Republicans know it and Republicans have wasted millions, perhaps trillions on pickup truck trinkets they do not need.
Republicans really just want to hate. And, so, they make stuff up that allows them to do so.
Like, "The economy is bad". So, "Democrats are bad".
For a Republican, hating is the goal.
Thanks, Mike, for this explanation of the truck bonanza. I thought I had somehow missed the day when the sky opened up and trucks fell out. They are many and everywhere.
Environment be damned!
The beds of said pick' up trucks have never seen a 2x4 much less a load of mulch. But there's stupid inside.
And the stupid inside says you WILL look at me because you will hear me because I have installed LOUD exhaust pipes. But you can’t see my face because the windows are tinted very dark.
And you can't miss me because I'm also flying an American flag.
It disgusts me that the flag is now nazi signaling of righteousness. You see one on an house, you know there is stupid living there, not patriotism.
Not at my house, Jen. I fly the US Colors full time (correctly presented, properly illuminated in the dark, and replaced when worn or tattered) alongside a Ukranian Flag, or an inclusive Pride flag, or the COPS flag (concerns of police survivors; a black standard with a single blue line honoring police officers killed in the line of duty; flown during the month of May). Between the flags is an "In Our America" sign: In Our America: All People Are Equal, Love Wins, Black Lives Matter, Immigrants and Refugees Are Welcome, Disabilities Are Respected, Women Are In Charge Of Their Own Bodies, People and Planet Are Valued Over Profit, Diversity is Celebrated.
I will not fly the flag from the bed of my shiny new (now four years old) pick up truck that mostly hauls trash, yard debris, stone for more yard projects, delivers CostCo runs to friends, and hauls multiple musicians and instruments to gigs. I am a stickler for proper flag display, and absent being in a parade, flying it on my vehicle is not proper.
https://www.inouramericalovewins.org/shop
I agree that flying the flag in most cases means some wing nut R which includes our awful neighbor across the street. The problem with the flag has been around a long time. After 9/11, the newspaper put in a flag you could put in your window which we did. Our surrogate daughter wanted to complain about it, but we told her why it was there.
There are many thousands of Americans who display the American flag who want nothing to do with Trump or the republicans. We have one, right next to our Black Lives Matter sign.
We have a few of those around here. One of the loudest is a motorcycle and he has to shift constantly to make the most noise. Our dog also hates this and we try to explain that it's just the a.hole.
And while much bigger, the beds are much smaller than you remember as a kid - can't buy a pick-up that can pick-up a load.
Nicely put. Totally stupid and a cult member for death star.
These days those Republican Tricked Out Gas Guzzlers actually cost $85k to $90k out the door. Greedflation.
Some money is saved by using the "turn signal delete option", also commonly used by Cadillac and Lincoln buyers.
🤣🤣🤣
I just say they forgot the blinker fluid.
Gotta remember that one! Thanks Ally!
Then we get complaints about the price of groceries. Republicans are too stupid to recognize climate change and think groceries are “grown” in the grocery store. Big Ag isn’t going to tell them otherwise as long as they can keep selling greasy snack “foods.”
Nailed it. The pecking order, somebody to look down on. What if we couldn’t identify any “lessers?” Our egos would crash and burn. Think about it. What if we really had to assume that any creature that we came across was as deserving, as valuable to the community as we are. It would turn our world upside down. In fact, just giving some “lessers” a shot at a chance is more than most fancy pickup owners can abide. We have, not only the rich, but the newly affluent (or majorly in debt) “deserving” ready to stomp into the muck, those with their noses pressed to the glass for a chance to pluck our chickens, and labor in our behalf. Sort of what our ancestors did. Except for chump. His ancestors were grifters, mob bosses, military deserters, and pimps. Skills they passed down to any greedy bastard without a conscience.
"...any creature that we came across was as deserving, as valuable to the community as we are." Jeri, this is the crux of the Circle of Life we strive and strive to practice. It is balance, it is how we survived here for eons before the "western" ways swept it aside. You have hit it smack on the head. If we can only get us all on that path, we will be able to light the Eighth Fire.
It is also the thought that strikes fear into the hearts of those who have been able to ascend one rung up on the ladder. What happened to "there but for the grace of God go I."
Oh, it's been replaced with "I'm rich because GOD MADE ME rich (and didn't care that I got that way by exploiting the weakness and folly of others)."
Bad omen
Thanks for the Eighth Fire reference, Elaine. (From Up North, married to Ojibwe). wehttps://arpbooks.org/product/lighting-the-eighth-fire/
That's interesting, we are probably related. BMIC here.
You could be related! During the time I was consulting with the Bay Mills nurse, she was excited about a big tribal reunion with their Canadian Ojibwe relatives. But, sadly, when the large Canadian group got to the bridge, the U.S. Customs wouldn't let them through. Since then, when my husband goes to Canada, he just shows his "Indian card" and the customs officer at either border can't even ask him a question much less delay or deny his passage. You probably know more about this than I do. Just thrilled for Native power.
He is Mississauga First Nation (where his mother was born). In my public health nursing and advocacy career I worked with the Bay Mills clinical director, as well as with tribes here in Northern Michigan.
Billionaire welfare is an approved Christian value.
Just what Jesus advocated. Maybe when Paul started spreading the word, things got garbled beyond recognition.
Ya think? As in Biden's description of tfg that's just come to light (to my glee), the former tax collector was IMO a "sick f---."
Yup.
Jeri, that’s a bazinga.
Don't know what that is, but thanks, I think...
Good for you, Jeri, for your notes on the "pecking order."
If schools continue to be ruled by and for standardized tests, of course there's always "somebody to look down on," because life as only sets of numbers and categories has no room for seeing how "any creature that we came across was as deserving, as valuable to the community as we are."
To see and value others as individuals requires some skill, training, readiness to see and value others, life, as you do. Requires essay writing, discussion, humanities.
When the people of Finland determined to have the best schools in the world, they made it policy to hire only the best as teachers and, at the same time, to trust the teachers to decide everything themselves -- books, lesson plans, everything.
And the first thing the teachers decided? To abandon most all standardized testing in all schools.
Also, most teachers in the now-world's-best public schools assign no homework, as that really exists only to keep youth enslaved testing (and thus to the billionaires and corporations which ever reduce life to numbers and categories only).
Thank you. I know they don't teach empathy in school, but just being in the midst of so many others taught me that people come in all stripes. It most assuredly starts with parents. It doesn't take a genius to see that some struggle so much more than others. I always thought that a helping hand was much preferable to a crippling kick for most. Sorting, rating, and ranking have their places, but are so defining to an unnecessary extent. People are complicated. In fact, I used to get sort of upset at Sesame Street when my young child watched the song "This one thing is not like the other, one of these things does not belong." Useful and educational, but I think people generalize the concept to too many aspects of humanity. Sorry for another rant.
Rant on, dear Jeri.
Love how you draw from life experience, and from our culture.
Thank you Phil. Just old, seen too much, and fed up. Hard to believe how other "elders" have been bamboozled by non-stop bull schitt, from the ugliest specimens of humanity.
So, so accurate!! Thanks ❣️
To own those $72,000 trucks they borrowed big time, along with huge mortgages and large credit card balances. The redneck life ain't cheap and if Republicans gain control and the economy crashes, these people are going to be in deep trouble financially. Of course, their deep seated resentment of Democrats will be who they blame for their financial woes. These boom and bust cycles, largely created by the wealthy robber barons, will continue until We The People force politicians to reign in "greedflation" and pass stringent campaign finance laws.
And enforce anti-trust laws already on the books.
Oh, and my pet peeve - trucks in today's world are mostly made for show, and are priced out of the working woman's price range!
My truck is so high off the ground I can't reach into the cab or bed without a step stool, and its still difficult even then. Forget my dog being able to jump in either.
I drive a 20 yr old 4x4 Tacoma 4 cyl (cheaper to work on) w/ just over 200,000 miles on it. I’d consider a new truck (I can only afford one vehicle & I haul yard goods like chips & mulch, etc., so need a truck), but they are awful! Full of widgets & do-dads & sometimes a computer screen in the dashboard—ha, what could possibly go wrong w/ that (not talking ‘bout back-up screens). Some of the trucks have hoods that are as high as my shoulder & have been shown to be more deadly to pedestrians, bicyclists & smaller vehicles. Other countries still make and sell small vehicles, but here in the USA we super-size everything. I liken the current truck size trend to the sci-fi movie Transformers (ginormous) characters. A pet peeve of mine….OK, end of rant!
Our Chevy suburban has 546,000 miles. The brake lines rusted off 🤣 so we had to buy a newer vehicle. We bought a Toyota Tundra. We have 10 acres, we need a truck. I'm a techtard, so figuring out how the operations work...eek. I don't touch anything. My husband loves to drive that goodness. I hate it. I've hit 11 deer and I've had too many accidents. I have given myself PTSD from my own driving.
I checked out some used trucks, but none had manual transmissions (dislike automatics for mountain driving—they never shift when I prefer to!) & all had electric windows. Where I live, driving alongside a river is common & one “oops” can land you in the drink….so I prefer manual hand-crank windows if I needed to escape the cab….don’t think they even make them anymore. I prefer knobs & buttons because muscle memory can guide turning on/off things (heat/cooling/radio) w/o having to take eyes off the road. My only upgrade from my first truck (a 1990) to my 2003, was getting air conditioning, something I do use.
I learned how to drive with old pickup truck with a manual transmission. I couldn't reach the pedals very well and hit a couple mailboxes.
I got another truck a few years ago - it does have power windows but nothing else except the basics. 8' truck bed, because like you, I haul and don't need anything to distract me. Yes, a backup alarm or camera is a must
Where did you get an 8 ft bed?
Ram has what they call a 1500 Classic Tradesman truck - standard cab with 8' bed. I don't know of anyone else that offers that anymore AND one more thing - that's hard to find that this truck has, no carpet and vinyl (instead of cloth) seats. I want to be able to open both doors and hose it out!
I only watch old Brit dramas and I laugh when the police crusie down the streets in little mini cars! My town has a bunch of scary looking retired military vehicles they haul out during a storm. I feel like I am watching playground activities when the coppers drive them.
Also ranting here in northern Michigan.
Henry Ford would be proud though.
I used to drive a ‘96 Silverado C1500. Loved that truck. She finally died 4 years ago. I miss her to this day. My son took me to the car dealership, because, retired or not, I needed a vehicle. The salesman asked if I wanted another truck. My son looked at me and said, “Do you want something you have to climb into, or something you can fall into? I’m getting older and shorter. Easy decision. I got a Toyota sedan.
I miss that truck to this day. When my grandson was a toddler, he got to sit in the front in his carseat and see the road out the windshield. He would look at me and just laugh. Good times.
I really wish the manufacturers would bring back the small trucks of the 1990s. My understanding is they quit making them because of the EPA emission standards. I guess the regulations for the heavier trucks are easier to meet? And they make more money on the big trucks. So frustrating.
My husband still drives his 1990 Mazda pick up. It is low to the ground and has a large bed. Everyone I know wants a small pickup and you just can't find them.
My mom's circa 1980 Ford F250 is still going strong. She sold it many years ago to a friend when she got she got out of the horse business. My daughter rides with the woman who owns it. She is driving it this weekend. I know my mother (who died at age 94 in 2020) is smiling.
Mike S. Perfect. I cringe thinking how many of these truck owners have no interest in the environment.
...as exemplified by the trucks driving across beaches -- where shorebirds and turtles nest -- in places like Texas and North Carolina.
I live where everyone has a truck. What I notice is all the cars lining up @ drive thru coffee places & casino parking lots
Carole that drives me nuts.
Oh, those sexy huge boxy trucks with so much space that is never used. They are marvels of engineering and marketing genius. In Texas, more young women would have given me the time of day had I been driving a Ford F150 instead of a Mazda.
When looking for a vehicle in 2019 just before the pandemic, I sat in a souped up Ford that looked like a Transformer waiting to unfold into action. Seriously, I was grinning ear to ear just sitting in it, in the showroom. And then I thought about my senior citizen's spatial perception, my gasoline budget, the too-small 2-car garage in Texas, and oh yes, what do I really need, and decided to keep my 2007 Toyota (230,000 miles). But it was fun for a few minutes.
Mike, thanks for confirming my suspicion that those huge shiny pickups that tailgate me at high speeds are Republicans. The ownership of these vehicles is one demonstration of their need for power; their reckless driving is a symptom of their unceasing anger. As someone who has been rear-ended four times and has the injuries to prove it, I have a hard time not focusing on the rear view mirror when it fills with the grille of yet another Republican vehicle!
I agree Mike, especially about the trucks which tear around on city streets like they are on the freeway. Sometimes they have jacked up wheels. I not only see bad driving, but I also see low gas mileage. There is a local ad from a store in Portland which specializes on all the silly and expensive accouterments for such vehicles. And often they have big flags flying as well. We had a phone meeting with our financial advisor yesterday who told us that the economy is doing fine and he explained some about how the Federal Reserve works. He had some very apt and funny metaphors about how they go about things.
Not to mention those pretty new House pins they're all sporting. Essential business only for our House Republicans!
Mike, remember the movie “Time Machine”? I was little when it came out. I had nightmares about the Morlocks for years. Much later there was a trailer for a movie I refused to go see with a little girl staring into a fuzzy tv screen, “They’re baacck”
It seems that Horror Stories fascinate us cuz we thought we were safe cuz they’re real. We are mistaken about the reality part
“They’re Baacck”
Florida’s greedflation is unfettered with a Governor who is MIA and has taken political contributions from many corporations in order to fill political coffers. People are being driven out of their homes and communities because of it. It’s corruption on every level.
Now DeSantis says he’s sending a battalion of the Florida National Guard to Texas, as well as the State Guard to assist in Abbott's razor wire border barrier antics. Wasting more money, manpower, and resources on something that could be resolved much more diplomatically, sanely, and effectively than this Republican penchant for “nihilism and performative politics" as Jennifer Rubin of the Washingtion Post said today.
Isn't he breaking some federal law? One more day I feel so glad I escaped from Florida.
Me too!
Yes, SCOTUS confirmed that only feds have jurisdiction over borders. So naturally Abbott has doubled down and says if feds cut the razor wire, he’ll just have it replaced.
Admit it, DeSatan, you are just the runner up to best hater. The Abbott trio has a lock on the title.
Remember when the Covid-19 vaccinations were first released and DeSantis offered them to his rich donors if they contributed to his campaign. Quid pro quo much?
EXACTLY!!
📣 Let’s make sure struggling Floridians are aware of our free-spending governor.
168 MILLION !!!
“The failed campaign and expansive political operation aiming to make Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis the Republican nominee for the White House cost $168 million, according to filings reported to the Federal Election Commission late Wednesday.”
https://apnews.com/article/desantis-2024-trump-election-campaign-25c1c062f2646020cce743acf42233a7
Unfortunately, the campaign funds were not from tax dollars, Floridians will only get their heads out of the sand when an income tax is needed for the state to survive!
Yes. We once had a financial consultant whose retirement plan was built on moving to Florida. We left her.
Did he get to keep the White Boots…asking for a friend …
“TALLAHASSEE (The Borowitz Report)—Faced with mounting campaign bills and dwindling donations, Ron DeSantis revealed on Friday that he had been forced to sell his beloved white go-go boots.
The Florida governor appeared anguished by the loss of his go-go boots, which aides disclosed were by far the most cherished footwear he owned.
DeSantis said that he had tried to make cuts elsewhere to preserve his ownership of the boots but that, “in the end, the numbers didn’t add up.”
“In a perfect world, I could run for President and own white go-go boots,” he said. “Sadly, we do not live in that world.” 😂😂
https://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/cash-strapped-desantis-forced-to-sell-beloved-go-go-boots
Just think $168 million is gone, it has been wasted for nothing which is what desatan is, a nothing, and those donors don’t have that money to pass around anymore, that’s a big chunk of change that won’t be put to more nefarious uses. 😎
Did all that money maybe employ people who suppled services? Got to find some bright side to this nonsense.
“Greedflation” is also the product of a less-competitive marketplace. In a competitive marketplace, competitors within an industry force each other to hold down prices; if they don’t, they’ll lose marketshare to companies which do. In the old, disproven free-market model, markets unfettered by govt remain free and competitive, but in fact, they are taken over by a few dominant corporations, and competition disappears.
Just like the MSM Stanley.
The first year my company was in business CSC tried to bankrupt us by telling four of our clients in Nebraska that we weren't allowed to work on their computer systems. These four companies were all Fortune 100 companies headquartered in Nebraska. If we chose to fight them it would have quickly bankrupted us. (One of TFFG's favorite tactics).
Our brilliant attorney went to the NE AG's office and the AG wrote a letter to CSC telling them that they needed to rescind the letter ASAP since they were committing tortious interference with 4 large NE companies and our fledgling company.
Our rates were about half of what CSC was charging these companies and we were an easy mark. The day after the letter was delivered to CSC in Austin, TX their general counsel was in our attorney's office in Lincoln, NE. They wrote the letter to the 4 companies and gave us permission to work on their systems anywhere in the world.
We have no way of knowing how many companies and people TFFG has forced out of business with his greedflation and by being a "sick MF" as Biden called him yesterday, but it is likely a large number.
We were lucky that CSC wrote the letter to the Nebraska corporations and that our attorney had a friend that just happened to be the AG otherwise, we would have been finished.
This is one of the reasons why so many companies end up being monopolies charging whatever they can. The pharmaceutical industry has likely killed thousands of people with their overpriced drugs and yet Congress and the White House have done little until now.
Of course, another path to becoming a monopoly is to buy up your competition and jack up the prices on their products or to pull them off the market and jack up the prices on their own products.
Another way is to buy them and sell of the assets. Just ask Mitt Romney for more detailed explanation. Blue collar people lose their jobs and often their earned retirement.
I was thinking about Mitt Romney when I wrote my comment. How many people lost their jobs so that he could get wealthy?
And then Trump exploits their anger and gets re-elected.
Thank you Gary for sharing your story. It is an important one, that I know the American public never hears. But, one we all should hear.
I’m grateful to Biden for returning to pre-Reagan anti-trust, anti-monopoly policies. Example: rejecting Jet Blue-Spirit merger.
I hope to see more of this practice in the future.
The de-regulation of the airline industry has been a boon for about 5 airlines, and many a shareholder. And a horror for everyone else, unless you have your own jet.
So many good airlines swallowed up by the few that remain.
Stanley, I am ecstatic about the antimonopoly positions of the Biden Administration. But it must certainly increase the support of those monopolies for TFG….
Marge, what’s TFG?
Well, it started out as The Former Guy, to avoid using Trump’s name. Some people use the F to symbolize a little more dislike. And there are those who combine those two and use TFFG.
So true, the key elements of a true capitalist economy are missing such a competition for customer dollars! Exxon Mobil worst merger decision by federal regulators!
Yes, especially greedy real estate industry and landlords. Housing prices are a nightmare. I also think property taxes need to be reviewed as they’ve gone up so much that people are forced out of their homes and neighborhoods.
Let’s also not forget employers continuing to underpay employees. It should be a crime to not at least compensate for rising cost of living. This is an ongoing disaster, especially for Generation X who are now in their 40’s - 50’s and who will start to reach retirement age in 15-20 years and the majority won’t be able to afford it.
Employers have mostly stopped pensions in favor of 401k, but many couldn’t contribute if they didn’t earn enough to cover their expenses. I’ve seen discussions on social media that many people are looking for an “exit strategy” for when they can no longer work but can’t afford to retire. I have no doubt this is not a new problem, but it’s largely been ignored by mainstream media and society, but I feel certain that the numbers of people who will actually do this is going to be alarming.
If younger generations think they’re are being held back by student loans, wait until they are suddenly having to support their non-employable family members who have under-budgeted for retirement or who have no retirement funds.
Thanks for mentioning property taxes; mine are now over $10K and still climbing. I attribute this partly due to living in a city with many educational, religious and nonprofit institutions that pay no property taxes. But I suspect there is also declining interest by state legislators in Local Government Assistance - which used to provide funds for infrastructure to poorer cities. State income tax has been exceeding state budgets but politicians would rather give the excess to tax refunds and pet projects rather than LGA.
Just like freezing/cutting funding for poor people, it’s popular to treat poor cities the same way. So property taxes soar while streets are so bad that tires and axels are regularly destroyed.
The middle class is being bled dry because of wealth inequality and unfair tax cuts to the wealthy & corporations. If they paid their fair share, they could reduce property taxes accordingly.,
Yep. Absolutely. Property taxes are an outrageous way to support city services. Not to mention that increases in property values bear no relationship to the income of the homeowner. Retirees are particularly vulnerable to being taxed out of their homes.
This!
While you don’t want to chastise Wall Street too hard, corporations are investing $100’s of billions in America under President Biden, we also need to remember that lots of us have our 401K’s in the market, it is necessary to point out to the voters that prices not coming down is the fault of corporations. I don’t think there is anything the government can do in this regard.
Nikki Haley made a lot of noise in the lead up to the New Hampshire primary about a competency test for anyone over 75. She singled out the President in the ads. Besides trump, Grassley is the poster child for a competency test.
Can we question a Grassley voter as to why the vote for Chuck.
Probably only because Grassley has the R after his name. Habit and name recognition rule too many people's voting choices. And hey, Chuckie has been a Senator for 43 flippin' years...that is 8--count 'em EIGHT!!!--terms as Senator.
I don't particularly give a damn about his age, but 8 terms as Senator is more than time and far past to step aside and give the next generation a stab at helping run the government FOR THE PEOPLE (well, if Repubbies ever do remember how to actually govern, of course). The doddering old white guy has long been fossilized in his patriarchal, partisan thinking.
"so many basic needs remain obsceinely epensive.." Please give some concrete examples.
Child care, health care, education...need more?
OK. The cost of "living" in today's world. Add up internet (and cable if you still have it) cell service, electricity, water, heating and cooling, car repair - that's just to function.
And if you have a kid or two, they could stay home and wear rags - or they would participate in sports, grow out of their clothes in days, maybe have some special healthcare needs...
Oh, there I go again, rattling on about the healthcare that costs us twice as much as other developed nations - healthcare if you can find a doctor who isn't booked out for several months. We are being robbed. But we are "exceptional Americans".
https://billalstrom.substack.com/p/suffering-for-profits
Fortunately I have very good healthcare insurance, however that company just reimbursed my retina specialist practice the Full amount billed over $10k!! The appointment took less than a cumulative hour of the practice time! The lions share of the cost is the medicine injected into my eye to hold macula degeneration in check.
I am pleased for you. And I wish you well with your eyesight.
I have a question that can't be answered. Who was the evil person who originally said that for purposes of health insurance - your eyes, your ears and your teeth were not part of our bodies - not part of our "health". It occurs to me that if I can't chew, my health will suffer. If I can't hear, I would have trouble finding the job I need. If I can't see...
Who devised this diabolical device?
The American Medical Association, 1930's.
Suspect better lobbyists.
Answer to your good Q, Bill, may be in biology as molecular only.
Most U.S. schools stress molecular models only in biology for the same reason most K-12 lets standardized testing order all teaching priorities.
See, Bill, it's a matter of seeing life as numbers and categories only.
I'm guessing the health and insurance industries leave out eyes, ears, and teeth as parts of the body because those things aren't as treatable by pills as are the other parts of the body. And pills are key to the molecular view of life, where everything -- everything -- is incremental. Just add more bits of this, bits of that -- more molecules, more pills, more profits for Big Pharma.
Standardized testing just doubles down on that view of life.
Makes sense. You aren't suggesting that profits have been more important than the health of our citizens...oh no, say it isn't so!
Check out my latest substack to see how I feel. In a word? Outraged.
NO SH-T! I ask this question repeatedly!
I hope the injection works Louis!
I receive injections hopefully every 8 weeks in my eyes to the tune of 2,500 each cycle. Without these injections I blink non stop due a neuro problem known as blepharaspsams. I am currently on a 12 week cycle and fighting with insurance companies for injections every eight weeks. Otherwise I am losing about 4 months a year blinking!
I need to keep working to afford the real estate taxs that skyrocketed!
Best of luck Louis!
Working two minimum wage jobs keeps you poor.
Yes, Bill! Add housing to the list. The numbers of homeless families has increased in lockstep with rent increases, while TANF (previously AFDC) did not increase by a dime in 25 years.
BTW, that was possible because President Clinton’s “Welfare Reform” converted what had been an entitlement income supplement for the poorest families into a block grant program. This allowed states to spend the federal money on drug testing and parenting classes rather than cash that paid the rent.
Our electricity ⚡️ bill went up 18% this month.
Randall, did your price per killowatt hour increase 18% or did your power usage increase due to the winter weather thus increasing your monthly bill? We live in "the middle of nowhere" in the rural northern Arkansas Ozarks. Our power is provided by a member-owned rural electric cooperative. We pay 10 cents per killowatt hour for the first 500 hours used and then 8 cents per kilowatt for the usage above that. Because those who are served by the co-op are also the owners we do not pay inflated rates to provide profits to shareholders.
Damn, cheating those greedy bastards, good for you. Ditch them and do it yourself. Good for you.
The winter rates on electricity here in Connecticut are tough. My electric bills thru November were under $60. In December, it was $95. In January, $135. I keep my thermostat at 62°.
We live in a condo in MA. Gas heat.
January electric bill just landed $332
July was $532
Wow. Just ... wow.
Between this, a big bump in RE taxes (cost of school system health insurance and SPED) and our auto insurance hike, we are getting priced out of life.
WHAT! I live in MA and my utilities are kinda affordable.
I live in CT too and I paid under $70. Use less pay less.
By the way, I like your avatar photo!
You did see the part where the thermostat is set at 62, right? It's an apartment with all electric heat. You may have a different supplier, too. Good for you! I never switched from Eversource. :-)
I see. Electric heating I guess costs more. And thank you on my avatar and yours, too.
My bill didn't change much but someone in this area received a bill from PG&E for >$950 for one month! The PUC approvef that increase!
So do we need a PUD or something other than PGE?
Randall, here in far northern CA I’m awaiting my PG&E bill…an PUC approved rate hike (what were they thinking?) is slated to go into effect w/ hefty increases expected. PG&E for all their profits have not been good caretakers of their infrastructure & have been held liable for deadly & costly BIG fires. I, too, would like to see our utilities be publicly held, with hawk-eyed oversight. Sure, the management and on-the-ground workers should be paid decently and have decent benefits as well (a “good” job), but w/o the massive profits going to shareholders instead.
Perhaps Finland should govern the US. Not joking.
That's a winter usage rate. Not inflation. Jeez. I don't pay anything for electric where I live. By far the highest expense is food since I don't cook much and delivery is expensive.
I do cook and a price shop. One of my healthy choices is making my own black bean burgers using dry beans and brown rice including lots of fixings. My patties cost per unit about .13 cents per burger. Opps, inflation must have sent the price sky high to .15 cents per burger.
I do same! Much tastier too!
OK, Bill, now I’m hungry!
For you, I will only charge $5.00 a burger. Because you’re hungry. As a tire salesman once responded to my gasp when he told me their tire prices, “…You know I gotta eat steak.” I didn’t buy his tires. Wrong thing to say to a guy who loves cows.
Housing costs, especially for rental housing. According to the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, rent increases have been outpacing income gains. "Median rents have risen nearly continuously since 2001 in inflation-adjusted terms and are 21 percent higher as of 2022. Meanwhile, renters’ incomes have risen just 2 percent during the same period." The number of cost-burdened renters in the U.S. - households that pay more than 30% of their income for rent and utilities - is at a record high 22.4 million. More than 12 million renter households have housing costs that consume more than HALF of their income. Needless to say, this leaves little left over for food, transportation, and other basic needs.
Butter at 14 dollars per pound.
I live in the most expensive city in the US, San Francisco, CA and I have NEVER paid $14 for butter. I buy the most expensive brand and just paid $6.69 for a pound of Danish Creamery my preferred brand.
Nicole, I LOVE Danish Creamery!
(Sorry, off topic. :)
I stock up when it's in stock. It's the best and the only one that I've found that wraps each quarter in paper backed foil. Keeps it fresh! Never, ever paid $14.00 for Horizon brand organic. 😕
Me either.
In fairness, Nicole, the price of groceries in San Francisco has relatively little to do with why San Francisco is the most expensive city in the US.
Sad to say, the renowned Fairway market in NYC has been charging $14 for Horizon organic butter and about $7 for non-organic. Not sure why. Probably a northeast problem.
Average Price: Butter, Stick (Cost per Pound/453.6 Grams) in U.S. City Average (APU0000FS1101)
Dec 2023: 4.505
Nov 2023: 4.520
Oct 2023: 4.550
Sep 2023: 4.407
Aug 2023: 4.411
Good "concrete examples", Janet!
Go vegan, ditch dairy!
Week of January 22-> 2024
CME GROUP CASH MARKETS (1/26)
BUTTER: Grade AA closed at $2.7600. The weekly average for Grade AA is $2.6230 (+0.0586).
CHEESE: Barrels closed at $1.4700 and 40# blocks at $1.5375. The weekly average for barrels is $1.4590 (-0.0023) and blocks, $1.5120 (+0.0295).
NONFAT DRY MILK: Grade A closed at $1.2200. The weekly average for Grade A is $1.1960 (+0.0091).
DRY WHEY: Extra grade dry whey closed at $0.4425. The weekly average for dry whey is $0.4380 (+0.0249).
BUTTER HIGHLIGHTS: Retail demand is steady, aside from winter storm activity negatively impacting demand in some northwestern parts of the West region. Food service demand across the nation is mixed. Harsh snow and ice storms in the West have lightened buyer activity in the region. Food service demand is reported as increasing slightly in the East region. Bulk butter demand is steady. Cream loads are readily available. However, butter production is mixed throughout the country. Some butter makers in the Pacific Northwest have contended with power losses and transportation difficulties from harsh winter weather. Some stakeholders note tight unsalted butter availability. That said, current salted and unsalted inventory levels are sufficient to meet most immediate buyer needs. Bulk butter overages range from 1 to 8 cents above market, across all regions.
Where? My organic butter costs <$4.00 per pound.
Agreed. I have been paying $3.99/pound for their butter at Trader Joe's for years. Organic butter at Wegmans is $4,29/lb. That price hasn't fluctuated in probably 10 years.
I just paid $4 for a pound of butter.
Maybe you should shop somewhere else?
Or are you exaggerating?
It is a fact of life in NYC.
Lucerne European Style Salted Butter - 8 Oz
($0.46 / Ounce)
4.786 Reviews
Your Price$3.69 each/ each at a QFC store
Horizon organic butter is still $14 where I shop. Dairy prices in general inflated far more than needed to maintain normal cut-throat, minimally taxed profits.
Horizon butter is $8.08 a pound here in San Francisco. I don't know where you shop or where you live but I call BS on your claim. I personally don't like that brand which is why I pay $6.69 a pound. Again the MOST expensive city in the entire US. As for inflation? It has been documented to be under control and since I live in the most expensive city, I wouldn't say it if it weren't true. You are conflating and that is not useful.
$7.57 at my local Walmart! Just checked.
Why 'call BS' on my claim? Give me a little credit; why would I lie to you? Fairway market in NYC has been charging $14 a pound for Horizon organic butter for over a year. Not sure why. Prices might be lower now; I've been buying other brands.
Sadly, the proportion of that $14 that goes to the dairy farmer is minimal.
You are probably right.
Clover unsalted butter is on sale at Lunardi's just outside San Francisco (San Bruno) for 6.69 a lb. Usually 9.99. I love Clover because it is locally owned. Never have I see any brand at 14.00.
Things are different in NYC.
Who are you kidding? And what fool would buy it. Use your head. Or are you just trolling?
Not kidding. Fairway market, among others in NYC. have been charging$14 a pound for Horizon organic butter. Of course I've been buying other brands, non-organic. And by the way, Linda, think twice before calling someone a troll or a fool.
Diapers
https://otherwords.org/its-not-inflation-were-just-getting-ripped-off-heres-proof/
I'm glad my grandson is finally potty trained. We bought a lot of diapers. I'm pissed off about garbage bags. Hefty and Glad bags are such crap. I was filing a bag with paper and it ripped. Paper? So I took a picture and sent a lovely email to these two companies. There answer is to buy their more expensive bags...$11.36 for a box of 20.
Go to Costco.
I used to when the kids were around. Now, it's just too much stuff. I'll never use it all. I'm trying to use and buy less products.
Washed all my own diapers with 4 kids (1 came after my tubes were tied).
Housing and medical care.
Can Trump and MAGA reduce them?
Looooong past time for Windfall Taxes. Record profits = we are getting gouged.
Feb 1 (Reuters) - Shell (SHEL.L) , opens new tab reported a $28 billion profit for 2023 on Thursday after beating fourth quarter earnings forecasts on strong liquefied natural gas (LNG) trading, allowing the oil giant to increase its dividend and extend share repurchases.
Just one example. Do we exist solely to help companies have huge profits? Why do we allow this? Why do we allow massive wealth for a few and hard capitalism for the rest of us?
Republican majorities in Congress and unchecked campaign contributions (bribery to a certain degree) are the biggest reasons. And there’s a reluctance among Democrats as well to mess with “free enterprise,” which is bizarrely worshipped like a god.
Today's Letter states, 'President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen, and the Democrats embraced the idea that using the government to support ordinary Americans—those on the “demand” side of the economy—would nurture strong economic growth. Republicans have insisted since the 1980s that the way to expand the economy is the opposite: to invest in the “supply side,” investors who use their capital to build businesses. '
The proof is in the pudding:
'Labor market grew 353,000 in January, soaring past expectations
The unemployment rate held at 3.7 percent.' (WAPO, excerpts)
By Lauren Kaori Gurley, Updated February 2, 2024 at 8:39 a.m. EST
'The unemployment rate held at 3.7 percent.'
'The gains were roughly double economists predictions of 177,000 reinforcing that the economy remains firmly out of recession territory with the labor market propelling the economy forward, despite some high-profile layoffs at technology and media companies.'
'Robust consumer spending has allowed employers to hire at a rate that’s fast enough to keep up with population growth and wages continue to outpace inflation, boosting workers’ spending power.'
The picture of a U.S. economy that has defied recession predictions has also been bolstered by stronger than anticipated GDP growth in the final quarter of 2023. A hardy labor market and rising wages have allowed households to spend liberally, fueling a resilient economy.
'Payrolls swelled across a variety of industries, after months of job growth concentrated in a few industries that aren’t sensitive to interest rate hikes. Professional and business services added 74,000 jobs in January, soaring past the sluggish average monthly gain of 14,000 jobs in 2023. Fueled by a rapidly aging baby boomer population, health care added 70,000 jobs, with the strongest gains in ambulatory health care, hospitals and nursing homes.'
'Retail gained 45,000 new jobs mostly at general merchandise retailers and manufacturing added 23,000 jobs though both industries have shown little overall change since early 2023. Government added 36,000 new roles, mostly in federal and local government, as wages have risen enough to keep up with the private sector.'
''Average hourly wage growth accelerated sharply in January, rising by 0.6 percent, to $34.55. Over the past 12 months, hourly wages have risen by 4.5 percent, beating inflation and boosting workers’ spending power. Federal Reserve policymakers are closely watching wages, hoping to see more moderated wage growth as a sign that inflation is under control.'
'President Biden, headed into an election year, has received a political boost from strong jobs creation and more than two years of unemployment below four percent, a stretch last seen in the 1960s, despite much criticism about rising prices throughout the economy.'
“In this low-unemployment environment, most of the laid-off workers will likely manage to find new jobs fairly quickly,” said Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecruiter. “While some individual workers may struggle to find comparable work, the layoffs are unlikely to have an effect in the aggregate.”
'The labor market has been buoyed recently by a few booming industries that are less reactive to high interest rates: health care, government, and leisure and hospitality. Last year the public sector, which includes education, finally caught up with its pre-pandemic employment levels, after struggling for years with an understaffing crisis. That has been chalked up to stagnant wages and high rates of burnout. But more robust pay and benefits packages and streamlined hiring processes have recently made these jobs more attractive to workers.' (WAPO)
Thanks Fern!
One thing I have been noticing from living in Germany is that while people for the most part earn less, and they have some higher costs, although housing and food are much lower here, is that people typically have insurance for almost everything that they can do in life. Health and long term care insurance are a package deal. Personal liability insurance of millions, and legal insurance, which are more reasonable in fees than in the USA are generally purchased. So, fewer catastrophic things can happen because it is covered by your insurance. A friend, who is a teacher is burned out. She has been off this school year and is being paid because she is written off as sick. There is personal work insurance for getting sick at work and not being able to work. Right now she is spending a few weeks in a spa. Now, American teachers could use this, because burnout is a big thing. Instead of the teachers and students suffering, no one has to. The insurance companies make money off of the young not using these services so often, and then after people have paid in a long time they use them. Still, it means less catatstrophe, even if the economy is not growing as much. Still, the farmers are right to be concerned with their bottom line, although all of the farmers in our family here in Germany live quite well. This is with hard work and being able to hire Romanians to work for them during harvest time. Food is subsidized here, but differently than in the US. I appreciate going to the grocery store and having much lower bills. Still, I also live in the US, and I am glad that Biden and the Dems are trying to get the average citizen the kind of supports that are here in Germany where instead of tax credits people can get 292 € a month for each child as direct support. Also, moms and dads get longer time off from work paid, and the requirement to have their jobs held. I know there are European countries that have even more supports, but the goal is for the USA to get there too. Biden is the one to take us there.
Michael ..they have quantified greedflation, by comparing previous years percentage of profit to current year...and the conclusion was that greed was a significant driver (supply chain issues were not the bigger party in the inflation equation...but it's all we heard from the media) of last year's inflation. So back to your point...why hasn't it been a bigger story?
I hadn't see reporting of this study, which may be what you're referring to. It's damning. The CEO of Walmart said prices may start dropping soon. Color me skeptical.
As why it hasn't been a bigger story? I don't know.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/biggest-study-greedflation-yet-looked-112722227.html
Greed flatiron replaces price gouging! Unfortunately, those most vulnerable citizens rarely if ever reap the benefits of the dividends paid by these price gouging companies!
The flip side of that is described in the Heritage Project 2025. They are bringing Milton Friedman back from the grave.
😱😱😱🤯😡
Mike
Companies are making huge profits at the expense of our economy!
I agree. Greed is a kind of addiction and most of us have been convinced that more stuff and distractions will make us feel safe and secure. Not true. Pres. Regan led the way to a sick culture that I hope we are easing out of. Biden is leading the way not only with his policies, but with his genuine decency as a human being. I really don't think there would have been a pres. trump without the path Regan set us on. And hopefully, just as a drug or alcohol addict needs to hit a painful "bottom" to turn their life around, trump was our bottom. For millions of us, he certainly was.
Money worshipping of the worst kind.