Why is everything getting so expensive?

Diapers, food, rent - around the world, prices are rising. So what can we do about it?
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Right now, inflation is inescapable. At the grocery store, the gas station, and in almost every country in the world, people are playing more - way more - than they did just a couple of years ago for everything.
In this video, we explore three explanations for why prices are rising, as well as different policy options for bringing them down.
Further reading:
Coalition of Parent and Community Organizations Accuse Procter & Gamble of Price Gouging in Letter to CEO Jon Moeller About Skyrocketing Diaper Costs: parentstogetheraction.org/202....
America’s monopoly problem, in one chart: www.vox.com/2018/11/26/181126...
Inflation: No evidence of a wage-price spiral: seekingalpha.com/article/4548...
Prices, Profits, and Power: An Analysis of 2021 Firm-Level Markups: rooseveltinstitute.org/wp-con...
Inflation & Corporate Power Explained: Supply Disruptions & Corporate Power, The Groundwork Collaborative: groundworkcollaborative.org/n...
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[@Vox]

For another great perspective, check out my colleague Dylan Matthews’ piece on why he was wrong about inflation, here: bit.ly/3KAvnz7 Thanks for watching!

[@thegreatgamingkid8252]

Hmm….

[@kevinpaneque4581]

@thegreatgamingkid8252 👀

[@oleonard7319]

Greed that's why the CEOs openly and freely admit they are trying extract every cent they possibly can out of you and beyond that they have driven all their competitors out of business, in the past two decades, with what would have been considered illegal businesss practices prior to the 80's Beyond that on 2019 Trump made a deal with the OPEC and the Russian to cut production of oil and drive up prices.

[@123123padilla]

Monopolies control the supply to alter the prices, boosting profits. Capitalism needs competition!

[@Handle35667]

“Another” great perspective? Where was the first great perspective?

[@Rig0r_M0rtis]

The question is why is everything getting so expensive while companies are racking record profits

[@Rampala]

Companies literally wait until inflation is going up to raise prices so they can blame natural inflation, even though they're obviously driving unnatural inflation when it's near 10%.

[@8is]

Limited supply due to supply chain issues.

[@gayfield56]

@@8is Manufactured supply chain issues. 🤷🏾‍♂️

[@kevinpaneque4581]

@rigormortis1591 it got increasinglg more expensive for the companies as well... they have to pay their bills too they have families..

[@Dan99]

It's a type of inflation called demand pull inflation

[@tmer831]

In summary, things are bad and things will get worse and things might get out of hand if this man continues. Worse is our government pretends like they don't see it. I for one has been hit very hard and at this point, I am more interested in a solution because I don't think an end is near. What is the way forward for the less fortunate ones like me? How do we survive this phase? I am slowly losing my mind.

[@mikey43221]

Practical approaches: Vote wisely, Spend only on necessities, Pay attention to your health, Try to spread your assets (locally and internationally)but of course, you have to be well informed on the right ones or better still, get a pro to handle it for you (that way, you save time and minimize risks). . Made my first million this way earlier this year (got help though). Can comfortably wait out this "phase".

[@SteveDutton-v]

Amazing approach though its quite not that easy... What do you mean by you got help? I could definitely use help right now as my finances are in a mess. I look forward to your reply

[@mikey43221]

I can honestly relate and nobody said it was going to be very easy. I don't know if I am permitted to drop it here, but her name is "Vivian Carol Gioia ". she was in the news a lot in 2018. You can check her out online for more

[@DavidCovington-st2id]

This right here is the second time I am coming across this name in a week. Came across her podcast and it was lit

[@SteveDutton-v]

Thank you for this tip. It was easy to find your coach. Did my due diligence on her before scheduling a phone call with her. She seems proficient considering her resume.

[@PeterGrimm-dk3zc]

All I learned is that inflation is a poor person problem.

[@DennisMcKerley]

@@MemeBaby-dk9pl It might be more beneficial to consult with a financial advisor rather than solely relying on a video to navigate the current economic climate. A financial advisor can provide tailored advice to help you achieve your financial goals and increase your confidence in making decisions. This could be a helpful step in planning for your long-term objectives.

[@DennisMcKerley]

@@MemeBaby-dk9pl "ISABEL LINDA DUERI"

[@DennisMcKerley]

That's my licensed FA and you can easily look her up, Thank me later!

[@lofimonkeyjazz]

​@@MemeBaby-dk9pl best of lucks with that, hope you gain something good out of this :)

[@KazumaSatouReal]

Bots

[@andresbard]

Inflation is far more harmful to individuals than a collapsing stock or property market because it directly affects people's cost of living, which they immediately feel. It is not surprising that the current market sentiment is extremely pessimistic. In today's economy, assistance is critical if we are to survive.

[@danieljackson87]

If you lack market knowledge, your best bet is to seek advice or support from a consultant or investing coach. Contacting a consultant may sound simple, but it's how I've managed to stay afloat in the market and increase my portfolio to roughly 65% since January. It is, in my opinion, the best way to get started in the industry right now.

[@andrewlogan7737]

@@danieljackson87 Where may one locate an experienced FA? I like the notion of employing their services, but it's terrible that recent stock market tragedies have started to happen more frequently.

[@danieljackson87]

@@andrewlogan7737 I encountered Ruth Loralann Brennan through a CNBC interview, and I emailed her. She is guiding me. Since then, she has given me chances to buy and sell the stocks in which I'm interested. You can hunt her up online if you require care supervision.

[@pauledwin]

@@danieljackson87 Insightful... I was curious after reading what you shared, so I Googled her name. I came across her webpage.

[@cfeanubis547]

Literally thanks u for saying this

[@32srt32]

use to be illegal to have a monopoly now companies are buying all the competition so they dont have to compete with pricing

[@loveja1234]

Uhmm it's still illegal to merge with the result of creating or strengthening a dominant position

[@lizzy777]

@@loveja1234 Sadly Congress hasn't enforced those anti-trust laws in over 20 years.

[@mehere8038]

@@loveja1234 Do you know why you have Murdock in the US? Cause Australia did actually enforce those laws, so he moved ot the US & bought off the polititians. Murdock is still in the process of buying all local news outlets in the US, in progress as we speak, with nothing being done to stop him & that's just one example, this is the norm in business today. Look at the site you're having this discussion on & who owns it & what else they own!

[@kevinpaneque4581]

Grr i hate big companies but yt is owned by google which owns everything? All of our information, sadly

[@zazadezac]

I think they're exploiting a massive loophole since there's 2 mother compannies that then go on on to buy multiple other sister compannies not saying its right but i think it technically isnt a monopoly because they still have "competition" I wish comppannies owning comppanies wasnt a thing. it shouldnt be legal.

[@kaseywahl]

I'm so tired of every economic catastrophe falling on the working class.

[@jimbojimbo6873]

It doesn’t, it falls on everyone, the rich guys handle it best because… they have money. Its the middle class that get squeezed the worst

[@kaseywahl]

@@jimbojimbo6873 Right, but that's kinda what I mean "because the rich have money" generally means the rich get bailouts or find ways to shift costs to the working class.

[@Gameboob]

We need more videos on how economic downturns ruined the lives of the rich. I'm sure it's out there even if only just a little

[@dc2guy2]

I'm ready to see some heads roll 😁.... 🔪🙂🙃🙂🙃 Bet we'll see some changes then! 😈

[@siegfriedfurtwanglerknappe6188]

@@kaseywahl The rich get bailouts? The government prints a lot of stimulus checks to support the poor. This money printing hurts the poor by causing record inflation. When will people learn the government does more harm than good?

[@StopThatSquirrel]

I'm surprised there was no mention of the stagnant minimum wage as well. Not only are things more expensive on a technical level but they additionally ~feel~ more expensive because nobody is getting a raise alongside it.

[@jeffbenton6183]

4:47 - 5:29 It was phrased as "labor costs" as a way of trying to look at it from the companies' perspective (at least at first). It was mentioned, though indirectly.

[@ajgerbi]

For real. The average minimum wage in the US during the 50s is equivalent to 12 dollars an hour today (if accounting for inflation). Why is the average minimum wage today still around 8 dollars? It might only seem like a 4 dollar difference right now but the fact that we aren’t seeing wage increases keep up with inflation is very alarming. The gap is only gonna grow in the future.

[@ajgerbi]

Also not to mention that life was much less expensive during the 50s. You could pay for college, buy a house, and start a family with minimum wage. You can barely afford groceries today.

[@rogerwilco1777]

@@ajgerbi Min wage in oregon is $13something but McDonalds is so desperate they start shift managers at 22$ with huge sign on bonus's, hire young as 14yr olds, and they still cant keep staffed.. (Lowest paying fast food is little caesars at $17-18/hr) Avg rent has shot up to $1,800+month though.. ..a 1,200sqft manufactured home that was valued around 150k$ a few yrs ago is now in the $600k-700k range.. We have poor 80yr old walmart workers that sleep in the parking lot half of the week to save for operations, or just because they just cant afford the gas it takes to drive home (usually next town over).. .. There were also only like 2.8 billion people in the 50's, now theres basically 8billion.. And its no longer just washing machines and stoves and a single tv for the whole family.. these 8billion are going to want their own cell phones, laptops, desktops, ipads, Jordans, Gucci bags etc, and they want them every year.. ..My i phone is almost 3yrs old and I HAVE to get a new one because the battery is toast and every app wants to pinwheel to death.. I wish they would treat phones like game consoles.. You get like one or two a decade and just keep upgrading it.. of course that wont work, genie's outta the bottle.. we're hooked on that constant gratification.. We might just be the 1st species to merchandize ourselves to death??

[@mathewvanostin7118]

Raising minimum its what cause inflation Because of the law offer and demand If everyone had their salary multiplied by 10. Then products price are gonna be multiplied by 10 too Why? Cause of the law of offer and demand Trying to summarize it quickly basicaly since seller has a limited number of products they try to sell it at the highest price possible If product is sold for 20$ that means the seller usualy is able to sell easily his stuff for the price of 20 Now if everyone gets 10 times richer. Then the sell is gonna be like wait why would i sell the same product.for 20$ if everyone got 10 times richer i will sell it to 200 Its not a coincidence pricing of rent and products doubled compared to late 2000s. And minimum salary also doubled compared to late 2000s 😂

[@aureliobjm]

Truth is, inflation will never reach 2% ever again, maybe in the next life, but not this one. The sad part is that these prices are never coming down ever again. Anyone purchasing groceries and gasoline is aware that real inflation is much over 10%; they simply lie about it like cheap blankets. In reality, interest rates would be in the 20s because of how high inflation is. But then despite the severe bear market, I am aware of certain investors that continue to earn over $365,000. Wish I could accomplish that.

[@georgeh.5126]

Very possible! Particularly in this weak market. There are several opportunities to generate excellent returns, but such intricate transactions can only be carried out by seasoned market professionals.

[@josephbush]

@georgeh I agree, having a portfoIio-advisor for investing is genius! Not long ago amidst the pandemic crash in March 2020, I was really having investing nightmare prior touching base with a license portfolio-advisor. In a nutshell, i've accrued over $550k with the help of my advisor from an initial $120k investment thus far.

[@MarvishaN]

@josephbush Im aware It's a good time to buy and basically I've just got cash sitting duck in the bank too. I’d really love to put it to good use seeing how inflation is at an all time-high, who is this coach that guides you, mind I look them up?

[@josephbush]

@marvishaN I'm guided by HEATHER LEE LARIONI. An experienced coach with extensive financial market knowledge. While you can consider other options, her strategy has yielded positive results for me. She offers valuable insights, including entry and exit points for the securities I concentrate on.

[@MarvishaN]

@josephbush She appears to be well-educated and well-read. I ran a Google search on her name and came across her website; thank you for sharing.

[@sagarkardam9977]

Theoretically High inflation would mean better salary for working class, but most of the inflated prices profit goes to millionaire and billionaire pockets.

[@stillwaitingforblackmetalr2503]

@@elsiesrifle profits rise more than costs for the rich, as they spend a much smaller percentage of their income (aka, less than 100% like most working class people).

[@rymaufdiebuhn7022]

true! especially when inflation decrease the prices are not decreasing in the same relation

[@Rezin_8]

1944 Phillipines ⚖🧐⚠️🍃😅 inflation still hasn't worked

[@armanke13]

nice summary

[@dominoep]

​@@elsiesrifle The employers who are making record profits?

[@sshuggi]

As someone that has to make a lot of technical reports, I envy that Vox is always able to somehow incorporate arts and crafts into their statistics heavy videos.

[@alana314]

The dashboard made out of construction paper and post it notes is charming

[@kindauncool]

W.D.Y.M.?

[@ameridesign]

For real, I think it's low quality like most of their videos

[@francookie9353]

Well, your reports are probably paper (or digital, but printable) not video, right? It would be weird if you started using cardboard and craft supplies in your reports, I think. ^^

[@thePronto]

Product placement by IKEA. The whole 'set' of the explainer part was all IKEA products.

[@NicholasBall130]

The system is failing as a result of both government and federal policy. In the next days, the banking crisis would have to be epic and gigantic for the FED to decide not to raise interest rates. This won't happen; an increase and a crash are coming. There will be more negative portfolios this 2nd half of 2024 with markets tumbling, soaring inflation, and banks going out of business. My concern is how can the rapid interest-rate hike be of favor to a value investor, or is it better avoiding stocks for a while?

[@StacieBMui]

Just ''buy the dip'' man. In the long term it will payoff. High interest rates usually mean lower stock prices, however investors should be cautious of the bull run, its best you connect with a well-qualified adviser to meet your growth goals and avoid blunder

[@EleanorBaker474]

Very true, you can be passively involved in the markts and still amass wealth-gains using an investment advisor. I first dabbled in stocks late 2019, just before the pandemic, and that same year gained over 150% with no prior investing experience, basically all I was doing was following directions of my advisor. We are working on a retirement ballpark of $3m and I’m certain my goal isn’t farfetched after subsequent investments and tremendous returns so far.

[@StocksWolf752]

Mind if I ask you to recomend this particular coach you using their service?

[@EleanorBaker474]

The advisor that guides me is Sonya lee Mitchell, most likely the internet is where to find her basic info, just search her name. She's established.

[@VictorBiggerstaff]

I just checked her out on google and I have sent her an email. I hope she gets back to me soon.

[@user-wc8ew1od8i]

Managing money is different from accumulating wealth, and the lack of investment education in schools may explain why people struggle to maintain their financial gains. The examples you provided are relevant, and I personally benefited from the market crisis, as I embrace challenging times while others tend to avoid them. Well, at least my advisor does too, jokingly.

[@julietgates]

Investors should exercise caution with their exposure and exercise caution when considering new investments, particularly during periods of inflation. It is advisable to seek guidance from a professional or trusted advisor in order to navigate this recession and achieve potential high yields.

[@user-wc8ew1od8i]

Google his name

[@user-wc8ew1od8i]

Yuval Eric Brokman

[@user-wc8ew1od8i]

search his full name

[@user-wc8ew1od8i]

you will find him on the internet

[@CaptainZombeh]

The short of it: Inflation is influenced by corporations and governments being greedy.

[@TheFlash-rh2el]

Yeah. It’s funny because in a few years time we will be told that it was the Occam’s razor answer. Rich people being greedy.

[@ctrain149]

Supply and Demand

[@titus_philemon]

Just the government... Corporations can't be greedy when they have cheaper competition, but with more and more government intervention and regulations, there simply is no competition for them as just the start-up cost for a new companies in the segment would be too expensive.

[@rsilvers129]

Nonsense. If that were true why were they not greedy when Trump was President?

[@tyffanypoudrier2826]

Amen thank you ! That’s what I been saying ! I mean if you think back to the price in 90s than price in 60s ! All the government

[@diegorojas6497]

I miss the days of being able to buy a full shopper cart of groceries for like 70 to 80 now its 200 minimum

[@FirstLast-db1uf]

FJB

[@perpetualgrimace]

@@FirstLast-db1uf yeah man that's what the sticker on the gas pump said so it must be true

[@FirstLast-db1uf]

@@perpetualgrimace pass gas ⛽️

[@userblame632]

@@coondog7934 youve completely missed the point here

[@Ensensu2]

Unfortunately, real life is real life, not a video game. Adding to the fact that food is designed to be addictive, well, that's easier said than done.

[@andrew.alonzo]

Since Biden took office, there seem to have been more unfavorable results in America. These results include effects on the markets, such as price declines and sharp increases in inflation, as well as bank failures. I wonder if the sudden increase in interest rates will help value investors or if it would be wiser to stay away from the stock and financial markets for the time being.

[@james.atkins88]

To "buy the dip" It will be profitable in the long run. However, investors should be wary of the bull run. It is advisable to connect with a skilled adviser to fulfill your growth objectives and prevent mistakes. High interest rates typically result in lower stock prices.

[@hunter-bourke21]

I truly enjoy having a portfolio coach to help me make market judgments on a daily basis. They possess a special combination of abilities that enable them to take both long and short positions, benefiting from the possibility of significant gains while also safeguarding against downward turns. I have had a portfolio coach for more than two years and throughout that time I've actually earned over $645k. It was a wonderful experience!

[@rebecca_burns14]

@@hunter-bourke21 Would you be open to sharing details about the advisor who provided assistance to you?

[@Believer292]

After conducting an online search of her name, her website quickly surfaced, piquing my curiosity. The initial impression is positive and I intend to arrange a call with her. I'll make sure to provide you with updates on how it goes. Thank you.

[@MrFraiche]

It’s called the post Trump effect. The years after the tax cuts, companies are gouging us. Give them an inch, they took the mile.

[@lindadorman2869]

The best way to combat inflation is to refuse to accept higher prices. In the case of diapers, switch from disposable diapers to cloth diapers. There are substitutes for nearly all goods if you are resourceful and willing to make sacrifices. My parents lived through the 1930's Depression and WWII and taught us kids how to survive in tough times. Once companies see a significant and sustained drop in revenue, they will lower prices to increase sales and market share.

[@mikeg9b]

I feel the same way, but I think our opinion is in the minority in the US. I don't know where you live, but go for a drive in your city and notice the other cars on the road. Do you see mostly cheap cars or mostly expensive cars? The American culture is not one of frugality.

[@antoruby]

Individuals boycotting big companies to lower prices. When has this ever succeeded?

[@sheavague7058]

Government will just bail out these big corporations. Amazon built itself off government contracts. You need to stop funding big corp and government at the same time.

[@kcpoodlesofpa]

I literally just said this 🙌🏼

[@kcpoodlesofpa]

@@antoruby point is if you don't use them, it has all to do with the effect on us on us, as families

[@jawsvvvvv]

The classic saying doesn't hold water when companies just raise prices because they can.

[@zlonewolf]

@Jared O if minimum wages in the USA increase what do you expect the business to do to stay solvent?

[@offchance789]

@@zlonewolf those are voluntary minimum wages set by the states. federal minimum and 21 other states is still $7.25 since 2009 (it was $5.15)

[@redsilversnake]

@@zlonewolf They can cut executive salaries and quit stock buybacks, for a start.

[@ameanoacid6176]

@@zlonewolf as if any of you poor souls get decent wage in USA, get out of here.

[@goofytuna6077]

@@zlonewolf how much do you think the executive packages increase every year? Why don’t you address that first ?

[@RJ1J]

Please can we have more videos like this. I've noticed that some brands and stores are selling their products way higher than equivalent products or stores. And some products have more than doubled in cost, whilst others haven't changed since the pandemic started. I really think price gouging is going on, and I really hope Vox looks into this. Thank you.

[@raphaelguerin2691]

Here in France the prices of donuts quadrupled

[@jamestk656]

​@@raphaelguerin2691Flour and eggs got more expensive, at least here in the U.S. Unfortunately, it's also when I decided to take up baking 😂

[@yetekt6953]

Price gouging isn’t going on and that’s why Vox won’t look into it lol.

[@GeeksGets]

​@@jamestk656 I think there was some disease spreading through the hens on farms which reduced egg supply 😔

[@RJ1J]

@@yetekt6953 Sorry, you think multi-national corporations care about us? How many scandals have we had? Price gouging has already happened with fuel in Europe, leading to a right-wing governments, in the UK. to do one off windfall taxes worth tens of billions from BP, Shell and other oil and gas companies. Then they give that money to the people over winter. You think it ends with fuel? I very much doubt it. And 400 people seem to support my point.

[@nicolasbenson009]

The current market/economy is unnecessarily tougher for boomers/senior citizens, I’m used to just buying and holding assets which doesn’t seem applicable to the current rollercoaster market plus inflation is catching up with my portfolio. I’m really worried about survival after retirement.

[@thatwasprettyneat]

I'm middle-aged and don't have any assets (unless a car counts) and don't have a "portfolio". It's not tougher on senior citizens, it's easier. They're the ones who generally have the wealth.

[@solinvictus4367]

Boomers have it easy what are you talking about? At least you have investments to work with. Inflation and the resulting increase in taxes and cost of living has pinched the younger generations to the breaking point. We have no assets to fall back on and don't have the capability to acquire them because 1. Boomers buy and sell the assets themselves which creates their value which places them well above a working class gen X, millennial or gen z and 2. Boomers have stacked the deck against the younger generations axing many programs the government of the the 50s, 60s, and 70s created to make it easier for the younger boomers to have a cheap standard of living. Instead boomer voters and politicians use taxpayer dollars to increase protection for older citizens (themselves) while leaving nothing for the younger generations to live off of. I already know that social security I pay into as a millennial will never benefit me because boomer politicians have drained it completely, it won't be around by the time I reach retirement age. Respectfully, you have it so easy

[@brittanyrogers5364]

You mean the same boomers who created a credit score. Yeah I have no pity. They wanted this system. They funded their lifestyle on the backs of future Americans

[@MrFraiche]

Tougher for boomers? Yall had homes priced at 2-3x annual salary during your lifetime in a major city.

[@lexie4071]

LOL tougher.. im on the verge of being homeless rn & have to chose between buy food or pay bills

[@Mr-sweeny]

High prices for everything have severely affected my plan. I'm concerned if people who went through the 2008 financial crisis had an easier time than I am having now. The stock market is worrying me as my income has decreased, and I fear I won't have enough savings for retirement since I can't contribute as much as before.

[@PatrickLloyd-]

It's recommended to save at least 20% of your income in a 401k. You can use online calculators to estimate how much you should save based on your age and income. Saving at least 20% of your income in a 401(k) can help ensure that you have enough money to retire comfortably. By saving this much, you can take advantage of investing in the stock market and potentially grow your retirement savings over time.

[@PhilipDunk]

Considering the increased complexity since the 2008 crash and COVID, I suggest diversifying your financial portfolio. I hired an advisor and successfully grew my portfolio by over $150K during this turbulent market using defensive strategies that protect and profit from market fluctuations.

[@PhilipDunk]

There are a lot of independent advisors you might look into. But i work with “ Vivian Carol Gioia” and I have been working together for nearly four years, and she is excellent. You could proceed with her if she satisfies your discretion. I endorse her

[@Nernst96]

I just looked her up on the internet and found her webpage with her credentials. I wrote her outlining my financial objectives and planned a call with her.

[@matthewa.pocock4507]

Stop these frigging bots

My experience has mostly been number 3... For some stuff I buy regularly, I kept switching to brands that hadn't hiked up the prices as much, and it works for a period, until those brands level up their prices to be in tune with the ones which rasied prices previously. It is absolutely obvious that those are markups, or they would have raised prices roughly at the same time. No one wants to be the chumps who aren't charging what they CAN instead of what something is worth. And like the CEO said: we get used to the new prices and stop complaining. That is - if we can pay at all.

[@seraphina985]

There do exist some service where there actually is an advantage in using some operating capital to delay the increase can actually be worth it. This mostly applies to services that come with ongoing contracts however. Being the last cellular provider to increase their prices could make you more competitive for a month of so during which you could sign up more people on an 18 month or longer contract. Thus making a small loss for a month or two could potentially pull some market share from ones competitors and lock in the gains for around 18 months to 2 years. Doesn't really work with general goods though as consumers can generally freely substitute between goods at any time they see fit buying a particular brand of pasta sauce at a particular supermarket today doesn't commit you to do business with either next month unlike service contracts.

[@triton62674]

It's also got to do with disposable income, any money your customers have after food, bills and rent is money you're leaving on the table (if you sell nappies)

[@sacha9593]

"It is absolutely obvious that those are markups, or they would have raised prices roughly at the same time" A few weeks or even months is "roughly" the same time.

[@Theaverageazn247]

ah yes companies were only greedy after 2021 jan for some reason.

[@Raquel96]

👏👏👏 well said

[@Custmzir]

"Home prices in India" I didn't realize it was actually an issue, we were looking for homes recently and everything seemed absurdly expensive and I was very confused as to why it was.

[@robertsung6476]

Tbh VOX should do a ep on indian house prices seperately. All the money of rich politicians and NRIs who don't even live in india have parked their investments in houses. Houses in Canada cheaper than India

[@Custmzir]

@@robertsung6476 true, most of the neighborhood was just filled with empty homes that are very over the top in terms of style

[@supratikghanti2675]

@@Custmzir Basically what happens when there's a lot of accumulation of wealth in the hands of few. Instead of investing that in productive areas of the economy (mostly because of their incapacity) they invest in property assets rampantly, creating property bubbles, throwing millions out of housing market. The situation is very common in the west

[@JewTube001]

@@robertsung6476 it would be. Canada is a very sparse. India is like a billion people. Still expensive if you want to live in the middle of Vancouver though

[@yosquidd242]

@@robertsung6476 India has never heard of Zero Population Growth either!

[@gagnepaingilly]

The broad-based Standard & U.S. consumer confidence has sunk to record lows, thanks mainly to inflation. Retail spending, home-building, and manufacturing output all declined and those who drive the U.S. economy, are starting to cut back on discretionary purchases, such as appliances and services. Regardless of our market conditions, however, we should continue to promote savings and smart investments. How can I profit from the present market turbulence? I'm still debating whether to sell my $125,000 ETF/Growth Stock portfolio.

[@kansasmile]

There is very critical situation for US people and other countries people. The global economy is going to very poor situation. Inflation and unemployment are on the rise۔

[@shirleneunglesbee1423]

@@kansasmile Every person is affected by this directly or indirectly. Taking myself for instance, Investments or stocks still retain their values very much but I'm still at crossroads on deciding if to liquidate my $113k worth of stocks or hold on to them cos I'm scared they might lose value.

[@smithmurphy]

There are several reasons I have been investing under the counsel of an advisor which are someone who sets asset allocation that fits my tolerance and risk capacity, investment horizon, present and future goals "Jill Marie Carroll" has provided all that and I don’t want to go into ROI on a public space.

[@blaquopaque]

smith, Mind if I ask you to recomnend how to reach this particular coach you using their serrvice? Seems you've figured it all out unlike the rest of us.

[@smithmurphy]

@@blaquopaque In terms of portfolio diversification, She is pretty brilliant. She is controlled by the SEC, so you may look her up online.

[@benzero75]

I think the biggest reason is obvious, but unlikely to ever have hard data to support it. Companies are using inflation as an "excuse" to raise prices (or use shrinkflation where they sell a smaller amount at the same price). Covid definitely created some supply chain inflation that's still around in some sectors, but most prices are going up simply because the national attention on inflation is a good cover for companies to mark up prices and jack up profits. Plus, so many companies are doing it that it makes the excuse even more believable, and hardly anyone who raised prices due to Covid supply chain issues ever lowered them back later when the supply was better. I think it's also the same for a lot of the layoffs we are seeing in major companies. It's about the bottom line and making the profits look good. The layoffs aren't because the businesses are in trouble; it's because the buzz around inflation and rising costs provides a prime opportunity to take some expenses (salaries) off the accounting sheets to the benefit of people at the top.

[@jimbojimbo6873]

I mean it makes sense when the entire purpose of the business is to make money

[@dovenbeats2]

This can't be the obvious reason. All companies can't just raise prices because then there would be opportunities for the companies to sink prices a bit to have lower prices than all other companies and therefore attract customers. Therefore companies can't just raise prices for the sake of raising prices because they would loose costumers to other companies that have lower prices.

[@benzero75]

@dog_backwards That might be true if, and a big IF here, (1) the economy was operating under normal circumstances (again, the attention on inflation is what opened the door here) and if consumers had real alternatives. What the video discusses about most diaper brands belonging to just two companies goes the same for every single aisle in the grocery store (and the stores have raised prices on top of brands raising prices). And it's the same for many other industries too. They don't need to worry about lowering their prices on goods that are a need or where customers don't have an equal alternative. It's basically just a big price fixing scandal, without the organizational side, but instead along the lines of X raised their prices, so we can to.

[@kermitfrog593]

There should be fines for companies marking up prices exorbitantly. And where is the mainstream press? The companies engaging in this should be called out by the media and publicly shamed, disincentiving consumers from shopping at their stores.

[@stefdiazdiaz7067]

@@kermitfrog593 in a free economy you can charge whatever price you want, people is free to not buy, buy from someone with cheaper prices, etc...

[@madbug1965]

Why did the Dollar Tree go from $1 to $1.25? That's a freaking 25% increase!

[@fideliareeve3493]

Not to mention they decreased the sizes of many of their products. So in reality it may be even more than 25%.

[@mehere8038]

lucky you still, in Australia, we have "the $2 shop" & Daiso that used to cost $2.80 per item & last time I looked, was up to $3.30 per Item

[@benc9420]

Because they could get away with it under the guise of inflation.

[@adog3129]

actually i kind of agree with that one. a dollar is worth way less than it used to be, their math checks out easily.

[@mitzymoomoo6658]

Same here with Poundland in the UK lots of things went from £1 to £1.25 Or £1.50

[@stevechance150]

Yes, I bought that new Porsche, and a beach front vacation home in Florida, with those three $1,200 checks, and that's why we have inflation, across the entire globe. Right.

[@BARONsProductions]

it's the rich squeezing money out of working class. Unless you were born lucky to inherit you will rent forever, work 50hrs a week to support rich people's lifestyle. Techno feudalism.

[@herisuryadi6885]

I think that was an analogy

[@iemjay]

I don’t think the 1200 checks had much of an impact. That was about the cost of 1 month’s rent in many areas. The unemployment checks may be more to blame. A lot of people were receiving checks that were a lot more than they were receiving at their previous jobs.

[@nevreiha]

you didn't even have time to watch the full video yet, that's not what the video is saying. that's a theory that it critiques. watch what your talking about before you comment, common courtesy.

[@Handle35667]

That’s correct, those checks you received were the result of unfunded government spending. Unfunded government spending is made possible by printing more money. Printing more money is monetary inflation. I’m glad you understand.

[@SnukieCoffee]

I'm currently a high school student taking AP Macroeconomics. This was stuff we learned pretty early in the year, and I wish there were more videos about macroeconomics that were so entertaining! Thank you, Vox, for making such a boring topic so interesting!

[@Monkehrawrrr]

There is way better videos on this topic that are way more comprehensive. I knew everything in this video and much more... I been watching a lot of these lol

[@dovenbeats2]

@@Monkehrawrrr Seems like they excluded a lot of critical points in this video. How can you discuss inflation without talking about the FED printing money? They have printed more money in the last 3 years than in ALL OF HISTORY. They are stealing our purchasing power

[@Monkehrawrrr]

@@dovenbeats2 Inflation is caused by many things and sure that's one of them but its mostly companies price gouging, check out their profits!

[@kermitfrog593]

Its a fascinating topic, but the schools and universities purposely make it boring so regular people dont have a clue what's going on.

[@RM-jb2bv]

@@Monkehrawrrr what do you mean price gouging? Do you work? Are you selling your time and labor for the most amount of money? Why you being greedy? Quit charging so much for your labor and sell it for less. Quit being a gouged

[@kw9158]

I think everybody knows the answer to this. There were some supply chain disturbances, that led to to some extra costs on companies. So a bunch of companies started increasing their prices a bit, and then they all started taking advantage of this "excuse" of supply chain problems and then MASSIVELY increased their markups. It's deplorable behavior and the market is completely taking advantage of consumers for the past 1 - 1.5 years.

[@MrBelmont79]

Most of our internet content is produced or controlled by Google, Meta, Apple, and that’s about it. Food at your local supermarket is produced by General Foods, Nestle, Kimberly & Clark. These 3 companies control at least 70% of our food. For gasoline, there are 4 companies that control the prices….It’s the same in so many other industries ✋🏻

[@mehere8038]

you left out Murdock & ownership of almost all local news channels in the US now (in addition to his better known stuff) & yup, you're totally right & those big ones just eat up anyone who competes with them

[@sheavague7058]

Local farmers market and always pay cash. Why would you fund these big companies?

[@mehere8038]

@Zaydan Alfariz ABC is a rip off of the BBC if anything, not the US one, where on earth do you get the US version from? & while it's certainly not independent, Murdock doesn't own the Nine Entertainment group in Australia, which is a significant portion of Aussie media, that was owned by the Packers, now Fairfax

[@averycervantes7773]

@@sheavague7058 because it is almost impossible not to. That is certainly a start, but unfortunately, you can't simply opt out of participating in this economy. Increasingly, farmers are laboring on land that they do not own; land that is being bought up by these corporations. Small farms are being snuffed out left and right. Their crops are dying because of climate change and crop insurance won't pay for the damages. The government knows all of this and does not care to change the system because they are subservient to corporations, and as unwilling participants in Capitalism (consumers) we are, too.

[@sheavague7058]

@@averycervantes7773 if corporations control government and the size of government and regulations has grown over the past century. Does that mean the best way to combat big corp is less regulation? Look at all the biggest corporations and who they're donating to. Amazon isn't pumping money into the libertarian party. It's important to remember that companies set the price and customers set the profit (unless its government contracts). If its purely survival then why are luxury companies like resorts and entertainment also making big profit?

[@arthurworld9768]

Inflation is producing a slew of problems throughout the world, including food shortages, diesel and heating fuel shortages, and housing prices and financial market crash. This global collapse might end up being a part of us for a very long time. With inflation currently at about 9%, my primary concern is how to maximize my savings/retirement fund of about $300k which has been sitting duck since forever with zero to no gains.

[@rebeccaartgallary]

Find stocks with market-beating yields and shares that at least keep pace with the market long term. For a successful long-term strategy you have to seek guidance from a broker or financial advisor.

[@roberttaylor662]

I diversified my $400K portfolio across various market with the aid of an investment advisor, I have been able to generate over $900k in net profit across high dividend yield stocks, ETF and bonds.

[@lindamattalom]

I've actually been thinking of reaching a portfolio-adviser, my 401k and stocks been losing everything it's gained since 2019, mind if I looked-up this one coach you use?

[@roberttaylor662]

@@lindamattalom credits to Deanna Lynn Renfro, one of the best portfolio manager;s out there. she;s well known, you should look her up

[@lindamattalom]

@@roberttaylor662 Thank you for this amazing tip. I verified her and booked a call session with her. She seems Proficient.

[@celieboo]

High prices present an opportunity for us to change what we are doing individually. I usually garden every year. This year. I plan to garden as usual, but plant a wider variety of vegetables to reduce what I have to buy at the store. Also, the rising cost of disposable diapers presents an opportunity to explore cloth diapering. I know a lot of people get grossed out when they hear it. I have one child, and he is 7 now. We cloth diapered him. We also used cloth wipes and a soap solution. It worked well for our family.

[@darthgroot4006]

I take you have a house? With the majority of Americans not owning a home, very few will actually be able to garden their foods. Things will change, and not in favor of the corporations. There will be protests and possibly riots. If there are riots, i bet there will be assets that are destroyed for these corporations in the riots. Change will come... It always does. I don't condone violence but it might be the only way these execs get it through their thick skulls, that messing with the average worker in America will come back to haunt them.

[@ellatignor3250]

Thank biden for that

[@PlayerXIII]

Its unfortunate that the stimulus /money printing discussion didnt include how much money was given out to corporations during the pandemic. The money printing was in the trillions and was not simply just stimmie checks for the masses

[@Mike-lt6sj]

I read about 3.8 trillion in giveaways, and Americans signed off thinking it was great they sold their child's future off for $700.

[@endo_kun_da]

This is a really big factor and little discussed in the media. The chart at 2:43 shows that it is not as simple as this one factor, but it should be included as an underlying element.

[@janeblogs324]

7 trillion printed, 5 trillion given to banks and airlines (who just performed stock buybacks at top dollar)

[@rookiepilot.rp1]

Yes this was the failed PPP Loans program of the former Administration. AKA the greatest wealth transfer of US History that cost the taxpayer many times what the stimulus checks cost. By meant accounts; $165k to "save" a job that only paid the employee $55k, the rest went to stock buybacks. Also why's no mentioned and the media has conveniently left out the corporation tax breaks started by the previous administration. Yes we realize inflation has been a worldwide phenomena so not any one thing that the US did or will do has caused this but we've contributed to it with both of the above measures by number 45.

[@everydayfun9531]

They used that money to buy more stocks and bonds probably and more real estate no wonder why prices are rising cause of printing money we don't need!

[@Max_Jacoby]

The problem with CPI is nobody mesuares quality of products, only their price.

[@jim5128]

CPI is a terrible unrealistic measure.

[@adog3129]

you're implying that products are getting more expensive because they're higher quality? seriously?

[@bartolomeothesatyr]

@@adog3129 I might be wrong but I'm pretty sure the OP was implying the inverse, that focusing only on price leads to shortfalls of quality.

[@Max_Jacoby]

@@adog3129 they mitigate high inflation by worsening quality. They use cheaper components/ingridients but products are sold under the same name/brand. Hence CPI is not objective.

[@adog3129]

@@bartolomeothesatyr got it

[@oslier3633]

“It’s all the greedy corporations, don’t worry, just keep printing money”

[@snap__shot]

It's both. The fed reserve printing trillions contributed, corporations still contribute by price gouging to meet ridiculously high profit margins.

[@oslier3633]

@@snap__shot except that profit margins have shrunk. Have you checked the stock market lately?

[@chloeelizabeth4387]

It’s such a stressful time, just lost my job as we had to close down due to the inflation. It’s truly effecting small businesses.

[@dominoep]

Price gouging from a few companies in control of everything...

[@sheavague7058]

If some companies are getting more of the money. Then which are getting less? Are people more in debt? I don't understand how all the big companies can ask for more at the same time?

[@chuukki]

@@sheavague7058 greedflation is the term for companies using "rising costs of production" to justify inflating their prices beyond covering their cost. that's how corporations actually manage to make more money during inflationary periods the losers in inflation is just anyone in the working class. Since wages are "sticky" (they don't change easily), a lot of people end up spending more of their money to get the same goods. in other words, the big companies can all ask for more at the same time because a lot of people are (currently) able to afford it. The government increases interest rates to discourage spending, so that the "demand calms down" and so that companies increase their prices more slowly. Especially people who are in debt, i.e. people who don't fully own a house yet, get destroyed by rising interest rates that protect people who have already accumulated wealth. don't flame me if im wrong which i often am lol

[@benc9420]

@@sheavague7058 Other companies aren't getting less. Consumers are. It's wealth transfer from the bottom to the top.

[@sheavague7058]

@@chuukki if that's the case then measuring an increase in profit from big companies is equally as important as measuring a decrease in money elsewhere. If the price of groceries has gone up and consumption remained the same. Then the assumption would be that the amount of restaurant dining has gone down. I think you said it right that Greedflation takes advantage of people with temporarily more money. But that only makes greedflation an opportunity created by inflation and also significantly limited by inflation. They seem to be implying greedflationa and inflation are the same thing but fail to addreas where money is being lost that it previously wasn't. People with houses unpaid are in a relatively goid situation. They have an asset which is boosted by inflation while the value of their debt essentially decreases. That is if they can wait out a few years of high interest. My guess is our consumer society won't let the interest rates stay high too long.

[@sheavague7058]

@@benc9420 i don't doubt it. But it seems more like from the central power to everyone to the top. They don't discuss at all where the money is coming from. Are we more in debt? Has consumption of some industries gone down? Greed didn't just peak. There must have been more opportunity for greedy companies.

[@daniellord-vera6987]

everything is just so un affordable I think we need a restart.

[@lifevest1]

Wanna go outside and grab a beer? That’ll be $25 + tip.

[@daniellord-vera6987]

@@lifevest1 yeah pretty much that’s why I rather buy whisky at the store and drink at home clothes, food, trying to find a place to live is almost impossible even here in Canada and salary still isn’t caught up to inflation sadly

[@FirstLast-db1uf]

@@lifevest1 drugs are bad mkay

[@rainpain3655]

How are things un affordable? Baffles me how people complain on how things are now so called * extremely expensive * when they aren't. People can't even tell the difference between expensive and not expensive.

[@lifevest1]

@@rainpain3655 A jug of optimal nutrition whey powder jumped from $60 to nearly $90 in the course of a couple months. Stuff is getting pricey out there.

[@bsetdays6784]

Year-over-year inflation stood at 6.5% in December 2022-the lowest that figure has been in more than a year. Inflation was in line with what economists expected and gave many of them a reason to believe that the peak of inflation may be behind us. I have approximately $150k stagnant in my port_folio that needs growth. What is the best way to take advantage of this downturn?

[@selenajack2036]

you’re right! The current market might give opportunities to maximize profit within a short term, but in order to execute such strategy , you must be a skilled practitioner..

[@roddywoods8130]

I'm sure the idea of a coach might sound generic or controversial to a few, but new study by investopedia found that demand for portfolio-coaches sky-rocketed by over 41.8% since the pandemic and based on firsthand encounter, I can say for certain their skillsets are topnotch, I've raised over $400k from an initially stagnant reserve of $150K all within 14months

[@roddywoods8130]

credits to Eleanor Annette Eckhaus, one of the best portfolio manager;s out there. she;s well known, you should look her up

[@cameronmiles645]

What is it with these scams??

[@eh3477]

​@Cameron Miles They seem to be in every single KZbin clip. Nigeria?

[@AlexMint]

Something too few people are talking about is how so many companies are doing stock buy-backs with the amount of money they're bilking us out of.

[@bigboss337]

Since stock prices were at high valuations i say let them waste money on buybacks. Stock prices are going sideways because valuations are too high 😊

[@AlexMint]

@@bigboss337 the shenanigans that are required to get the capital for those buybacks are why everything is so expensive. Eggs didn't actually get 8x more expensive to produce.

[@jimbojimbo6873]

Its not really something to talk about though, it’s happened since forever because its a pre tax way to benefit shareholders instead of paying dividends after tax.

[@siegfriedfurtwanglerknappe6188]

@@AlexMint My guy willing buys stuff from corporations and then pretends it's theft.

[@darkhorseman8263]

60% of inflation is price gouging and profiteering, according to Australian and US studies. Opportunism. They saw a little inflation from Ukraine and took advantage of it. Windfall profits tax on everything would neutralize it.

[@sacha9593]

Because of course corporations just suddenly became more greedy those last few years.

[@jonathansaavedra8135]

You are wrong, inflation is the product of the increase in the speed of money circulation, caused by an increase in the monetary mass in circulation... What causes inflation the most is government spending, the solution is to reduce government spending.

[@dominoep]

​@@sacha9593 They saw Covid as an excuse to price gouge without people asking "Why?"

[@Bill-Smoke]

@@jonathansaavedra8135 This is incorrect. If you reduce government spending you will contribute to higher unemployment and slow growth. Austerity is a tried and failed method for decades now. It doesn't work.

[@sacha9593]

@@dominoep "They saw Covid as an excuse to price gouge without people asking "Why?"" Are you serious ? You explanation for the current inflation is really... a corporations PR trick ?

[@zeq9021]

An important thing to understand inflation is being able to identify not what happens to the prices of products, but rather what happens to your money. If prices go up the money you "save" is losing purchasing power. This mean, if you are were able to buy 6 diapers with 1 dollar in 2019, now you can buy only 5, ergo your money is worth less. So in a high inflation situation the key trick is: don't leave for tomorrow things you can buy today because tomorrow your money is going to be worth less than today.

[@mehere8038]

absolutely! I was telling everyone this about a year ago & applying it myself & I'm very happy with the results I've got! I pulled most of my savings out of the bank & spent them on food & other household goods, in a few cases I bought about 20 years supply in items & some of those items have now over doubled in price compared to what I paid for them a year ago, so every $100 I spent is currently worth $200 & still rising! I don't think there's any other investments I could have safely made to give me a guaranteed return like that! Prepping channels have some good info on what sorts of things are good to spend money on. You don't want to spend all your money on luxuries & then lose your job & really need that money for food & essentials, but if you spend it on the right stuff, then you can spend future income on luxuries while living off your "investments" if everything's stable for you :)

[@sheavague7058]

Also convert money which will lose value into assets which will increase. Could be small like gold or crypto.

[@saemstunes]

But why have the choice of your spending be determined by companies & other outside factors? Probably the solution is to move the power of how you spend from their interests to what you wanna do with your pockets Is that financially unsustainable?

[@sheavague7058]

@@saemstunes companies also base their purchases on most profitable timing. Everyone does. You can buy a coke at the convenience store or wait till you get to costco for half the price. Working around your own interests is a luxury and prices are reflected on luxury items.

[@kermitfrog593]

agreed, but almost 40 percent of americans live paycheck to paycheck, so there isn't much people "can buy today" to save for tomorrow.

[@heffyg101]

It's the big companies ripping off consumers. In my Australian city, petrol is on average 20% cheaper with independent stations and the major stations nearby have to price similarly. With no independent stations nearby, the big stations charge a huge markup. Shop around and support local as much as possible.

[@janeblogs324]

Some Murican small petrol station got sued last year for selling fuel too cheap as it was anti consumer. You can't win

[@flurpoid]

I strongly believe a lot of the price increases are simply companies taking advantage of the inflation rhetoric and current public confusion regarding everything. Folks expect to pay more "because pandemic" and companies know that.

[@trader2137]

a lot but not every, price of wheat and meat doubled since past 3 years but in shops the price didnt reflect it fully - maybe in 60-70%, many companies actually had to reduce their margins to sustain the demand

[@ellatignor3250]

Biden

[@justinfowler2857]

Republicans: Inflation is due to pandemic stimulus checks. Me: Let's reduce Congressional salary to the average stimulus payment of $3200. Republicans: 🦗 Show me how many cars, houses and food you can buy with $3200, because according to Republicans that's all it takes to be rich.

[@FirstLast-db1uf]

Two wings of the same dying bird

[@allen4758]

When you print trillions and throw it into the system, you get inflation,, but Dems knew that

[@itzakb]

it impacts the globe but it is weird, if this is all putin's fault was he doing us a favour by supplying the globe with cheap oil also ukraine as well, keeping global grain prices low. We don't realise how much that oil cartel stopped the bleeding from the mismanagement of funds our governments were doing. So it is weird everyone is exposed as we just have to suffer...

[@Uryendel]

please go back to school, the issue is not that people have more money to buy stuff, the issue is there is more money for the same value, so automatically the value of money fall. The stimulus checks are not coming from taxes, they are coming from printing money which devaluate the value of money Devaluation of money is the best way to reduce wages without the uneducated noticing but hey enjoy being a billionaire when a loaf of bread is going to be worth a trillion

[@kevinpaneque4581]

@justinfowler2857 i wish it was still j the checks causing inflation....

[@randommemer5654]

I love how every title sounds like a genuine question

[@localareakobold9108]

yep

[@pnwmax]

7:00 waiting on data for years is why big companies continue to go down the path of big markups on consumers mislabeled as inflation to make more record profits. It’s because we won’t hold them accountable until everyone has moved on and has no interest years after this.

[@FireVixen164]

I know it's not as important, but consumer decisions can also help. Use those high prices as a motivator to buy less of that thing whenever you can - cycle to work instead of buying gas for your car, change to cloth reusable diapers, etc. monopolies can often really restrict your choice, but not always. Less demand means lower prices, so these actions will also help people who can't make those choices.

[@jackcarraway4707]

Most Americans can't simply bike to work and public transit is in the pits.

[@Pooja-gq7wk]

In India, there is no rise in the price of grocery items but the same packets are getting smaller and smaller.

[@gianpedrolv]

"Shrinkflation" my friend, a way companies find to hold down prices in the supermarket. In Brasil inflation is so wild that some items get 20% shrink in size and the price still goes up like 10%, 15% or even more

[@everydayfun9531]

That's Called shrinkflation literally they keep the price the same but the size or quantity isn't the same as it use to be cause it SHRINKED!

[@CozyJoney]

i was doing eps analysis of mondelez back from march-may of 2022, the whole packaged food good market was harping about how they could pass price increases onto the customer. and now here we are

[@Randymanfred41]

Almost everyone, including the media, is anticipating a market catastrophe, and as a result, many are turning a blind eye to the opportunities in the market. I began investing in stocks and Defi earlier this year and it is the best choice I've ever made. My portfolio is rounding up to almost a million and I have realized that when a stock makes it to the news, chances are you’re quite late to the party, the idea is to get in early on blue chips before it becomes public. There are lots of life changing opportunities in the market, maximize it

[@Leighwilliams112]

What opportunities are there in the market and how do I profit from it?

[@Randymanfred41]

@@Leighwilliams112 You can make a lot of money from the market regardless of whether it strengthens or crashes. The key is to be well positioned.

[@Leighwilliams112]

@@Randymanfred41 I will really like to know how this actually work

[@Randymanfred41]

@@Leighwilliams112 All you need is a good capital and the service of a professional broker, with those your investment will most certainly produce high yields.

[@Leighwilliams112]

@@Randymanfred41 Do you have an idea of any good broker I can start with?

[@probablyaman]

Tesla raised their price multiple times during covid citing 'rising costs' as an issue. And it was the same for almost all auto makers too. But they recently had a huge price drop with the hope of increasing sales. And it forces many other eletric car companies to start slashing price just to keep up with the competition. So perhaps what the market need is more competition?

[@artanderson9341]

CALLED GREED and the mindset of Today’s Society with absolute little to ZERO accountability from cradle to grave. Period.

[@astronomer83]

So, short answer is: predatory capitalism.

[@malacki6554]

No. Just plain capitalism. Capitalism is inherently predatory.

[@supernovaxs9480]

@@malacki6554 I don't really think so. Social democracy (capitalism w/ strong social safety net, Medicare for All, etc.) like in the Nordic countries works pretty well.

[@NotANameist]

@@supernovaxs9480 they’re not having any inflation then? 😂

[@supernovaxs9480]

@@NotANameist I don’t know if you could call their system predatory though

[@adog3129]

@@supernovaxs9480 i see your point but i think that's more mitigation than a fundamentally different system. capitalism inherently pressures businesses to take advantage of consumers whenever possible

[@JDMGaming1]

Got to say, I'm disappointed you didnt talk about taxes or inequality at all, considering that taxes are the solution to all three of the theories for inflation presented. Taxes reduce the money supply, can be used to encourage boosts to supply and can disrupt the excess markups done by corporations and the inequality that is created as a result.

[@thisisjustplainstupi]

How would taxes, in any way, reduce inflation?

[@chinesevirus-ix3yr]

Why not tax yourself and use your money to fight inequality? How much can I put you down for? 100%

[@Max_Jacoby]

What exactly do you mean? Do you propose to increase taxes or decrease them? If you increase taxes so companies increase their prices as well. If you decrease taxes... well, it won't go well since US budget is deficit.

[@kyletrusler4565]

@@thisisjustplainstupi taxation is effectively very similar to modulating the overnight rate. The downside being, people are far more sensitive to tax increases than to interest rate increases. Not to mention, its typically much slower to pass a new tax bylaw.

[@samburp-rv1ht]

Literally every other time I go grocery shopping, the prices increase 20 cent here an there adds up quick prices that are staying the same have reduced amounts . Light nil is on average 25% more even tho I’m using less energy than last year well makes it rough is employers are not increasing wages even if they do, prices will just go up, even more making it the same there is no way out when you have a government like ours

[@Jabid21]

I was in the grocery store the other day and saw Arnold’s loaf of bread selling for $7. Who the heck would buy a loaf of bread for $7? I’d rather go to a proper bakery and buy a freshly baked bread with that much money.

[@user-ix3yh8yt7r]

The bread I like costs $5.49

[@DeltaDemon1]

Before and during the pandemic, I was paying 2$ for a box of oatmeal packets. Now I'm paying 3$.

[@PortalBreaker.]

In five years you'll pay 100% more, aka. $6, but your paycheck will only have risen by 15%

[@zlonewolf]

@portalbreaker Most grocers already charging 5-7 for box of Kellogg's.

[@DystopiaWithoutNeons]

The "COVID relief aid" was another name for printing money, but now they don't need paper, just press a few digits. The currency is just catching up to the production rate.

[@MooCowG]

I've noticed that one too... Curious if the popularity of oat milk has been affecting their demand, giving them opportunity to inflate?

[@mehere8038]

I'm not. Oats keep for ages, so I bought heaps of them about a year ago & am now eating from my supplies. I was telling everyone a year ago that if they had any savings, they should invest them in food. If you can find food & other everyday good that have not yet gone up & are likely to, I suggest buying them in bulk now. Also, why do you need "oatmeal packets"? buy a bag of oatmeal & bags & make your own! Your cost will be WAY below $3 for the same weight if you do that!

[@klarastimelapses]

Quick answer to the question from video's title: capitalism

[@Zivety]

So we need communism in America. 🇺🇸

[@asphyxia7784]

In India most grocery items and essential items are increasing in prices too. Prices of mustard oil, refined oil etc have gone up. Milk products too. Other products have reduced the quality or quantity to keep the same price. It's difficult to afford things now

[@Figgy5119]

Prices where I live have shot up too, of course, but I was recently talking to an acquaintance who owns a bar and he was talking about how he's the only one he knows not raising his prices for drinks. He said that alcohol is not costing any more than it was before but because consumers are seeing price raises and accepting it as something that can't be helped, the bar owners were raising their prices too just for the sake of profiting. At least this is what that guy told me, I'm no expert.

[@pabs5270]

So, salaries, employment shortages, input costs, etc.?

[@Figgy5119]

@@pabs5270 maybe, but I doubt it. Wages have not risen. There is neither an employment shortage nor shortage of potential employees. As for input costs, the bar owner I talked to says the price of alcohol hasn't gone up. So I'm not sure. :/

[@FreeThinkingPinoy]

Inflation in the Philippines has taught me to have a simpler lifestyle and avoid excessive consumption of products. Live simple and only buy what you need. Minimalism will surely curve the inflation.

[@kevinpaneque4581]

@freethinkpinoy yea bro eventually companies will realize no one can pay that so theyll lower prices

[@outtathyme5679]

We gave business many $billions in tax cuts and they bought back stock instead of investing in operations. That’s it

[@FirstLast-db1uf]

Speak for yourself

[@mehere8038]

some are investing in automation operations - but not passing savings on to consumers, only sacking workers

[@everydayfun9531]

They inflated the stock prices that's why the stock market crashed and that's why the whole economy is messed up and interest rates are high and there are supply chain issues...

[@Gquain]

As a school kid up until being student, i managed to get by with $8 per day, nowadays it is close to impossible. I am getting thinner by the month and with less nutrition i am also moodier, less active and less productive. It's a deathly cycle

[@brandon9172]

$8 a day should be enough to have healthy meals, even now. Are you buying dry foods in bulk (rice, beans, pulses, etc) and fresh/frozen fruit and vegetables (NOT CANNED OR BOXED)? Cooking from scratch will make things significantly cheaper if you aren't doing that already. Not eating any meat aside from waste products (liver and other organs) helps as well. At the very least you should buy some cheap multivitamins. Apologies if you're in a region that's being hit that hard, the recession hasn't hit everywhere equally.. But a lot of people don't have good meal planning or budgeting (not usually their fault) so I figured I'd say it.

[@Zeptus1488]

@@brandon9172 Just live like a peasant bro it’s not that hard bro

[@brandon9172]

@@Zeptus1488 Never said it was easy, it's just a necessity for a lot of people unfortunately. Live within your means.

[@savagepro9060]

What is inflation? Cyclist: the compressed air in my tires. Economist: It's the ridiculously high cost of the tires!

[@HShango]

Yep, I agree everything from bills to food is expensive (keep an eye on those discounts).

[@alberts9781]

The reason we have so much inflation is to little competition and to many printed dollars, these printed dollars matter for the entire world because dollars are the global reserve currency. The excess dollars btw aren't just the fed printing right now its also Japan and china and others divesting from treasuries which lets previously printed dollars back into the system upping Velocity and therefor upping prices.

[@MissMoontree]

I don't think printed dollar matter, that would be possible maybe 20 years ago, but many countries use digital currency more than anything.

[@9852323]

I think we’re in a huge economic recession and depression but the media or government doesn’t want to talk about it. It’s hard to just get by without asking for help from everyone nowadays.

[@Jasonshelton-]

A convergence of troubling factors looms ominously over the United States. From soaring inflation rates to potential bank collapses, severe droughts in the agricultural heartland, a looming recession, shortages ranging from food supplies to essential commodities like diesel fuel, heating oil, baby formula, and even available automobiles, alongside escalating living costs-all these elements seem to be aligning, painting a grim picture that could potentially culminate in a significant disaster by year-end, or even sooner.

[@EdwinSolomon-zs3nz]

With inflation currently hovering around 6%, my paramount concern revolves around optimizing my stagnant retirement fund of approximately $300k, which has seen minimal to no growth for an extended period. The urgency lies in finding strategies to safeguard and maximize these funds in the face of the impending economic challenges.

[@MiaKatherine-sj7ne]

Yes, you are right. Things could take an acute turn, so you do need a watchful eye. I had similar experience in 2020 and 2021. I got too relaxed, but when the bear season came, I dropped significantly. Since then I've relied on an FA to do most of the market research, and it's provided significant hedge and profit for me.

[@pineedbydmoon]

This sounds interesting. My portfolio is in the red. Can you recommend your analyst, please?

[@AW-gj4ji]

In summary, inflation is partly due to salary increases and material costs but mainly due to companies making a lot more money 💰.

[@dovenbeats2]

This is not the reason. This video discusses inflation without talking about the FED printing money? They have printed more money in the last 3 years than in ALL OF HISTORY. They are stealing our purchasing power. All companies can't just raise prices because then there would be opportunities for the companies to sink prices a bit to have lower prices than all other companies and therefore attract customers. Therefore companies can't just raise prices for the sake of raising prices because they would loose costumers to other companies that have lower prices.

[@AW-gj4ji]

@@dovenbeats2 Maybe you haven't gone shopping for a while. Companies have rose prices far higher than inflation. It's been covered in the video. You're right about companies can't just raise in fear of losing to competitions. That's why they raise it collectively. We can't exactly not buy goods that are essential either now can we?

[@MariaMartinez-researcher]

Most explanations of inflation talk about prices increasing as if somehow the numbers on the shelves changed by themselves, and there were no executives making the decision to change them. It is them who must explain the *why* of their decisions, to see whether they can allege anything else than pure greed.

[@kevinpaneque4581]

Is that reason enough for greed instead of yelling poor evil big company oh no

[@nujacordep1686]

I live in Hawaii and things were already so expensive here… this is ridiculous. Six figure salary means nothing here unless you live very frugal.

[@ugosmith7529]

We have a system where a company has to increase its bottom-line year over year to be considered successful by shareholder standards. At some point, once you've squeezed the market and there is very little market growth possible, the only way to keep the business "successful" is cutting production costs and/or quality, increasing prices, reducing workforce expenses aka mass layoffs, etc.

[@MikeDawson1]

props on that cardboard control panel at 7:15 - too cool!

[@ron-paulsartre]

in my town, eggs have gone way down in the past month. a dozen has gone down from $5 to about $3.50, where it was at like a year ago. not sure if that's temporary, or just my location, or what

[@ilect1690]

Nah egg prices are actually dropping. CPI dropped for the first time in january

[@ron-paulsartre]

@@ilect1690 well the main reason they went up was avian flu, they culled a ton of chickens and there was an egg shortage, so idk if producers are rebuilding their flock

[@sendthis9480]

I literally never saw the price of eggs go up at all where I’m at. Never saw a shortage either. Same with formula. Same with Tylenol. Same with toilet paper. I think some towns are just lousy at purchasing to meet their consumer demands. They have 10 residents…so they order 11 toilet papers. It’s not reasonable and they’re wondering why their mentality of penny pinching isn’t working.

[@mehere8038]

my advice, if powdered eggs have gone down too & if what you use eggs for can be done with powdered eggs, buy that in bulk now & store it well, so it will last. Be sure to test use first if you haven't done that before, no point buying lots of something you won't actually eat, but if it works for you, then invest in storable form eggs while you can, cause the avian flu issues aren't going away, at the very least this is going to keep coming & going for many years now & prices will yoyo along with it

[@alex_zetsu]

I don't know about the markup theory, it would easily explain a large one time increase in prices, but it is a lot less plausible to cause a month after month increase.

[@supykun]

Unless a revolutionary hiccup happens in the financial world, there is 0% chance things will get any better. If you think things are unaffordable now, the bankers will keep the prices soaring in everything. While we keep blaming the businesses, they won't be able to do anything to lower the prices and the next thing you know, $16 Big Macs will be the norm and you'll miss today as the 'cheaper' days. And no, it's not due to higher taxes.

[@randomliamsquares765]

my main question for the geniuses who say we can't print more money because it would lead to inflation; why doesn't it work the opposite way? If inflation is getting out of control as it now is, why can't they just stop printing money or even actively remove cash from circulation until inflation goes back to normal or even reverses?

[@mehmetgurdal]

Rising interest rates. This is the solution (kinda)

[@ElGuerreroMaya]

The fed is actually doing that, you can look it up

[@xxlCODYlxx]

You could theoretically hold a portion of peoples income as savings for after inflation which would work similarly to interest rates without the money going to banks, instead it gets held aside for everyone afterwards and given back. It would never happen because ‘government take my money’ but it’s an interesting concept

[@mehmetgurdal]

@@xxlCODYlxx it could work if it were to be offered as a budgeting option. You could offer the students an allowance program for example a 10$ daily allowance for a person who can get by with a 7 bucks. Than offer them a budgeting plan. Than help them to understand the money flow. Free market, stocks, private sector etc. But this basically would pave the way to the collapse of capitalism :D because this economic system asks people to spend ASAP.

[@luhs6839]

Inflation is how the US Government manages its debt, more money supply = existing debt balances go down in relative value.. Essentially, causing deflation would increase the government's debt burden making it more difficult for them to borrow money. My very basic and incomplete understanding of the debt is that the US Government has to borrow large sums of money to take care of the negative externalities(aka. the side effects of the economy that aren't part of the price you pay for goods and services. ex. Unemployment, Healthcare, Basic Infrastructure Degradation, Pollution, etc.) generated by the way the US economy is structured (heavily consolidated industries with lots of power and little regulation and oversight). This is made worse by the way that the United States developed after WW2 with overbuilt, but inefficient, infrastructure (Ports, Highways, Utilities) that can never be sustained by state and local governments without continuous inputs of federal dollars. This system works as long as the economy continues to grow and enough revenue is collected to maintain and expand essential infrastructure. But the economy is turbulent and the Government has to keep up at all costs, meaning that it has to borrow money when times are bad, meaning it has to take on more debt, meaning it has to cause inflation to manage existing debt if it wants to borrow more in the future. Since many currencies are pegged to the US dollar, and even more currencies are traded based off of the value of the USDollar; essentially that inflation gets exported around the world. Short answer- cant stop printing money because the government wont be able to borrow money. I am not an expert. if i got something wrong, please correct me in the comments

[@Uryendel]

How hard it is to understand than when you print more money the money is worth less? It's basic economic... And all goods doesn't react as fast to inflations, the more it's domestic produced (or produced in country with similar inflation issue) and the less it is tradable on an open market, the longer it take for the change to take effect

[@katharinejarmul986]

I would personally subscribe to a feed from just this producer! Great reporting, ability to break down a complex topic, and the graphs and diorama are (chef's kiss). How can we see more of her content? :D

[@jamesyaccino]

Great analysis. I’d like to see more historical disposer data. Comparing last year to this seems inadequate given the market over the last few years.

[@dtheguy]

Well big corps will always be greedy…

[@hefeibao]

Pretty impressive in how you can explain a complicated topic easily.

[@thePronto]

#3 is the main answer, although #2 (rising labor costs) feeds into #1 (too much money chasing too few goods). When people accept that inflation is rising, then businesses jump on the opportunity to raise prices. Take gasoline as an example: if it is on the news on Tuesday that crude oil prices are going up, by Friday, the pump price will be up. However, the gas you are pumping was paid for weeks or even months before.

[@tightywhitey9779]

Diapers on average are 22% higher in price than they were only 5 years ago in 2018

[@Parazeta]

You have an error in your shown charts: A 2% Inflation would not be a straight line but an exponentially rising line, since it‘s 2% higher prices than the previous year - not compared to the starting year. Especially the chart at 5:20 would look drastically different

[@heatherandsharada]

It's a straight line because the x axis is % of inflation. Inflation rises over time, so if the x-axis was a timeseries, then yes, it would be an exponentially rising line.

[@JorgeSanchezKN]

A 2% inflation rate per year does not mean 2% squared per year. Graph it yourself to see the difference between 2%/yr vs 2%/yr^2

[@Parazeta]

@@heatherandsharada hmm? The x-axis shows years from 2010 to 2023. So it is a timeline

[@Parazeta]

@@JorgeSanchezKN nobody said squared. That is not what exponential means. It is BaseValue * 1.02 * 1.02 * 1.02 and so on. That is the definition of exponential growth

[@JorgeSanchezKN]

@@Parazeta which would be accurate if you calculated the increase from the starting year through the entire sequence. This is 2% from the year previous which would not graph an exponential growth.

[@vamshiart]

I moved to an expensive country from a developing nation. I did all my financial planning on how I can survive. And then this happens. Flights are now 2-3 times 2020 prices. I originally planned to visit home country twice a year. Now I am travelling multiple stops and cheap airways just to manage to travel once a year.

[@mehere8038]

No reason you have to stay. If you are disapointed in your decision to move & want to go home so badly, why don't you just make the one flight & stay in your old country? I'm quite sure there are others there that would happily take your place in the developed country you moved to!

[@vamshiart]

@@mehere8038 I am saying it got difficult. I didn't say its the country's fault. Anyhow we can't keep running when things get difficult. Just need to figure out something. And thats what I am trying. And its not a fixed population, anyone can come while I am still there :D

[@rookiepilot.rp1]

Unlike the other commenter I welcome you as an immigrant here to this developed country and desire for you to bring your educational background and skillset here to benefit this land and people's. After all, we know that with the high cost of education these days, without the constant influx of educated immigrant professionals western society as we know it would cease to exist.​@@vamshiart

[@scottkidder9046]

I’m hesitant about more regulation, but I’m glad you’re reporting on this! It might be time to get more diaper companies on the market to challenge these markups although know that’s easy for me to say because I don’t need to buy diapers and a fix like that would only take effect years later. People are feeling the pinch right now.

[@sheavague7058]

Regulations just create a race for getting around regulations. The well resourced always win that race. People are supposed to feel the pinch so it builds a value for money over goods. The flip side is you can create your own goods independently like vegetables but can't create your own money.

[@ether4211]

In Australia electricity and gas prices were set to go up by 30% in a single year thanks mostly to the war in Ukraine inflating the prices worldwide - this caused gas suppliers to increase exports of gas and limit local supplies leading to rapid price increases. The Australian government ended up regulating a 'cap' on the price Gas could be sold which was 2x the cost rate. Regulation also required a % of produced gas to be sold domestically. Dispute claims of 'killing' the gas industry they were still able to make record profits while consumers and manufacturing industries were protected from price gouging by the gas companies. This is why regulation is key- because without regulation there is no limit to how high prices can go, and how low wages, conditions and 'quality' can go to maximise profits.

[@kermitfrog593]

I'm for selective regulation. Definitely regulate the amount companies can mark up prices.

[@Caramuel]

Cooperative. Farmers and other producers bring the products, I package them, someone else sells them, someone else cleans the entire room. I buy bread, vegetables, hair shampoo at the price of 4-5 years ago.

[@meprivate6923]

I'm 100% certain it's a combination of some sort of possibilities 2 and 3.

[@pnthim]

Buy diapers at Costco! Yes, you do need a membership, but still cheaper than a grocery store, when you can get other goods cheaper per unit at Costco.

[@KennyPowersGaming]

I don’t buy a lot of butter but I do remember it being 3 bucks for the general size , that same size is up to 8 dollars now. Imagine owning a bakery or something just disgusting prices

[@anthonymatute6057]

Literally the only time retailers sell products at cheap prices is during “Going out of business” sales

[@streetoregon]

Problem 2: "Companies made record profits". Based on P/L percentage or dollars? If dollars, inflation is a cause of that too. For example, Acme, Inc. made $1,000,000 in profits in 1950 did far better (i.e. adjusted for inflation) than their profit of $2,000,000 in 2020 (even though in 2020 it was "record profits").

[@triton62674]

That guy's right, if they know we'll pay then why not jack up prices

[@FirstLast-db1uf]

Speak for yourself

[@QueenConsious]

I just canceled some stuff so you are wrong we will not pay and when you stop buying it the price goes down

[@mingmarlama7987]

For us people living in underdeveloped countries, inflation is the major concern. Lack of employment opportunities, plus salaries are so low and never increases even if you have some office jobs but the inflation rate keeps growing every year. For the context, Some people.’s whole year salary cannot even buy them a high end smartphone like iPhone or Samsung S23 in 2023 unlike other developed countries

[@JudgeyJudgeyable]

I will never understand why raising interest rates will fight inflation. Either companies who don't rely so much on leveraging won't bat an eye, or it'll increase operating costs for those who do, and get passed onto the customer

[@martonschultz7909]

I could not have imagined a video on this topic without mentioning the word "war".🙃 The reasons behind inflation in the US and here in Europe must be different then. 🧐🤔 Hungary, where I come from, also introduced fixed prices for some basic products (milk, potato, flour etc.) which increased the prices even more.

[@HShango]

In the uk our perscription price tag is £9.35

[@johnjr9997]

It'll be funny in an apocalyptic situation where all the people with money figure out their money is worthless and they still try too buy their way out

[@MuhammadAfzal-zv6pd]

Insightful. How do you create those motion visuals?