Wolff Responds: Sorry, Mr. Biden, Competition Does NOT Cure Inflation

In this Wolff Responds, Prof. Wolff pushes back against President Biden’s recent statement in which he blames monopolies for the current inflation and calls for an increase in competition. Monopolies have always existed under capitalism, with and without inflation. Competition is built into the capitalist system and creates monopolies. History has shown us that neither competition, nor monopolies solve inflation. Inflation can, and should, be brought under control through governmental policy, but it will never go away until the system in which it exists is dismantled.
Wolff Responds is a ‪@democracyatwrk‬ production. We provide these videos free of ads. Please consider supporting our work. Visit our website democracyatwork.info/donate or join our growing Patreon community and support Global Capitalism Live Economic Update with Richard D. Wolff at / gcleu .
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[@LONEWOLF..314-S-T-L]

GREAT TALKING POINTS PROFESSOR WOLFF AS USUAL 💪🏾💯

[@h..8083]

“Let me issue and control a nation's money and I care not who writes the laws” - Mayer Amschel Rothschild Elite billionaire banking families rule the world, not the politicians in government. They are just puppets.

[@robertburatt]

Richard: You "hit the nail on the head" once more! Good job!!

[@blogintonblakley2708]

If capitalists love competition so much, why do they always try to monopolize markets? They like others to compete... but seek to avoid it themselves.

[@kevintewey1157]

Because capitalists are fake do you still believe them now?

[@mstalcup]

Capitalists do not like competition at all. John D. Rockefeller said "Competition is a sin." His ambition was to control the markets and destroy competition in the process.

[@MrDXRamirez]

Here are three people above me who did not pay attention to the professor.

[@FunBotan]

Congratulations, you have discovered dialectics. You're just a couple decades away from discovering marxism. Or maybe just read a fkn book.

[@blogintonblakley2708]

@@FunBotan Why so triggered?

[@petestanton1945]

The purpose of a society, government, or any other collective, is to mitigate the brutality of competition in the "state of nature", via cooperation.

[@johnkesich8696]

Human beings have an innate desire to help others. Psychopaths have an innate desire to screw others. We need a separation of psychos and power.

[@ProleDaddy]

@@johnkesich8696 We need a separation of psychos' heads from their necks.

[@maximmatusevich3971]

All three of you are unfathomably based and eternally dialectical

[@garyhamlin8269]

Except collectives and governments always use violence to control others

[@maximmatusevich3971]

@@garyhamlin8269 And private entities use fraud and institutional violence. I rather have open confrontation than having to deal with the machinations of the private sector. Would you rather be smeared by the govt or be deplatformed by big tech?

[@andrewthurman8836]

At 3:30 prof Wolff says "that's the tendency of business to go from many to few" that is the word "monopoly" mono.... poly.... one before many

[@mattja52]

I like that illustration, you're thinking if only the so-called leaders of the land were so inclined. Common sense is very rare!

[@scottclute8413]

Love that comment,it falls apart!!!

[@sheilachambers6671]

What companies have been doing in the US is to OUTSOURCE their labor to cheaper, unregulated countries. When companies here tried to compete with that, they lost to the cheaper goods, their employees lost their jobs BUT the now dominent company didn't hire them, they just hired more workers overseas or AUTOMATED! Those workers that had a good job here are now flipping burgers, cutting hair & painting nails for the minimum wage, a much lower wage than what they had before. We, by choosing the cheaper product didn't seem to care that that choice led to the rising unemployment of our workers forcing them into lower wage jobs that also forced them to "choose" cheaper goods themselves, so the downward spiral is fed by growing poverty while those corporate owners get ever richer. THAT'S how capatilism works today! That's also why I READ the labels of the goods I buy & am constantly dismayed that it's virtually IMPOSSIBLE to find anything other that WOMD made here by our workers. I see "made in China" way too often!

[@benjaminhenderson7059]

Your missing a key component. "We" didnt have a say. The stores we buy from choose those cheaper goods to stock their shelves. "We" don't have any real say in what goes onto walmarts shelves. We were given a menu of sold out, sold out, or sold out. Dont get mad at the customer, get mad at the resteraunt.

[@jamesbra4410]

Well yeah that's the beauty of it nobody gives a rat's ass about you. If a big corporation gets in financial trouble well we have to fall over ourselves to pay for their mistakes with our taxes and we must feel sorry for the business that they have to lay off so many of their workers. As far as prices being cheaper overseas well when your workers have state-subsidized costs and free public housing and utilities then the businesses can get a way with paying them less than the bloated cost of survival here.

[@scottclute8413]

Yes, just in time for the influx of workers from across the boarder to take those laborious jobs.

[@scottclute8413]

And round and round we go...

[@man-hotan9152]

Excellent speech and truly enlightening!

[@Tom-Travels]

My older brother owns a home building company. Once a month he and other home building companies get-together for lunch and they laugh, joke, and come up ways to collude to raise prices and new financial rape techniques to use on homebuyers. There is no competition. Homebuyers have no where else to go. I told him that he is a soulless ghoul. He laughed, tossled my hair and said, "Go back to Dollar Tree and stock those damn shelves."

[@nowthenzen]

and will you speak up for him at the inevitable peoples' tribunals?

[@michalpupek5731]

Did he actually say that no way

[@benjaminhenderson7059]

@@michalpupek5731 Why not? I know a couple people I can see doing EXACTLY that. To libertarians, if you make less money than them your opinion is invalid and you aren't really a human being.

[@jamesbra4410]

Shit at this point good for him. All Americans can do at this point is happily lick their master's boot and erratically scream their hatred at the government lol. They have to understand that it's their fault that this happens when they abuse the only vehicle where their voices can be heard, which is the government. You try to explain basic economics to them about how prices for goods come about and immediately they spout the same lines about it's the government's fault. I mean there's only so far you can go and they need some agency here because you can't just live in your little bubble and do nothing for nobody and expect the system to flourish.

[@petestanton1945]

What's his name?

[@williamblack4097]

Yes, capitalism is the problem. It doesn't have to be this way. We should and could have a democratic economic system.

[@larrysherk]

After our incipient collapse, we will have the chance to rebuild all our systems into a just, sustainable whole.

[@ManDrinkingMilk]

Unfortunately a democratic economic system is corrupt able. Just look at corrupts like Lenin and Stalin, they ruined Marx dream.

[@akivaweil5066]

Sure, like anyone could be a ceo...

[@maximmatusevich3971]

@@ManDrinkingMilk Stalin was based. Gulags for you my comrade.

[@ManDrinkingMilk]

@@maximmatusevich3971 Based as to murder common people who he deemed as a threat? Yeah so much for equality.

[@scottclute8413]

please remain on your trajectory Mister sir Wolff. We need you here in America..

[@mstalcup]

"Competition is a sin." - John D. Rockefeller

[@simplica1]

Makes sense! This is a great informative video!

[@sheldonbenjamin1887]

I like the intonation on "shoes" professor Wolff. That's good theatre 🙂

[@petestanton1945]

Ya, pronounced "Nike"

[@desmondbrown5508]

I would also add that even if you could somehow artificially induce the perfect scenario for capitalism (an impossibility I might add) where SOMEHOW through legislation you prevent any competing companies from winning the competition with one another and prices stay fixed in the competitive level, then you basically would have those company's leadership quit, or else they'd have to adapt to a whole new paradigm because the point of capitalism (increasing profits and winning against your competitors) wouldn't exist. So this imaginary "perfect" competition that somehow results (after it's all said and done) in better outcomes for us all is a fabrication. It doesn't and cannot exist. It always goes one way -- as Richard Wolff stated in the video -- towards monopoly.

[@scottclute8413]

Who in heck will discover the best economical system?? Without digital curremncy.???I.E.Bitcoin?????

[@dancewomyn1]

So good to find you here on KZbin, where I can begin to somewhat understand what often feels completely illusive to me.

[@BBBarua]

No doubt that there's a lot of "empathy" but not enough"compassion" about people who suffer the most from the system failure. This whole political system is playing like a shakespeare's theatrical seance. :)

[@michaelmappin1830]

Ty from Canada.

[@masonvegas4336]

Thank you Professor Wolff

[@jerryjones7293]

Thank you for reminding us of Nixon's wage-price freeze. The prophets of usury really howled then, but it stopped inflation.

[@petestanton1945]

Nixon's deepstate handlers must have had ulterior motives 4 such a move @ the time. Maybe 2 soon 2 trash the working class 4 the China "opening" project?

[@akivaweil5066]

Yeah, look at how price controls are working for gas in Khazakstan - or rent control in NYC 🙄

[@Juan-nz2xx]

one of your best videos prof. congratulations and keep'em comin!

[@moniqueboyke5879]

Great video professor Richard Wolff

[@davidkokaska8130]

Well - get the Justice Dept. To do their job. Anti-trust

[@nowthenzen]

The pols who fill the jobs at the Justice Dept. are funded by the people the Justice Dept. should investigate. So, by not doing it's job it can be argued the Justice Dept. is doing it's job

[@petestanton1945]

I can't. Install a democracy 1st eh

[@raymondr.16]

Municipal monopolies should not exist. Having one option for your source of energy, water, and waste management isn’t fair to the consumer. Companies like, city-owned CPS Energy, had a rate increase of 3.8% passed this year by city council vote. This rate increase is essentially a hidden tax hike because CPS Energy pays the city 13% of its revenue. In 2021, that was $361 million which was 27% of the cities total $1.36 billion general funds. What do you think?

[@anhedonic-voting]

Thank you 🌎 ✊️ 🌹 🗽

[@rapramix]

Great talk, if anything, history shows that cooperation works, not competition. Japan did that to rise to prominence

[@rafaelpena4269]

It makes NO sense for prices to INCREASE if wages DON'T

[@earlthomasknox6927]

Thankyou for your work

[@Octoberfurst]

Well said!

[@astrahcat1212]

Production and savings makes for deflation. People save when they don't spend. In Japan, they've had almost 0 inflation for 30 years. This is because Japanese people don't have the spend spend spend culture Americans have. The issue is a cultural one, not just the establishments fault, although they've has terrible policies.

[@TV-fu1ec]

Great information🌻

[@yataozhang4362]

excellent explanations

[@user-wl2xl5hm7k]

Prof. Wolff: Can you please research & advocate for full intellectual property (IP) abolition? This is the most important activist aim for working class people! A worker co-op economy (& most leftist projects) has very little chance without first abolishing IP. IP is the most severe & oppressive tool of the rich & powerful. Please see the work of Stephan Kinsella, Michele Boldrin, & David K. Levine. These are the best experts on intellectual property in the world. Everyone who cares about seriously improving things for humanity needs to know what IP abolition is about.

[@user-wl2xl5hm7k]

IP laws make no sense from either left or right politics. The ‘property’ in intellectual property is a false term used for propaganda purposes. Intellectual property is not property in any sense. It’s monopoly. IP actually stifles innovation & creativity. And IP seriously screws up our economy & stacks it for the rich & powerful more than any other tool (especially IP with digital tech and the internet). IP abolition is the most important aim to liberate artists, programmers, inventors, etc. and make them all better off financially.

[@user-wl2xl5hm7k]

All 4 types of IP must be fully abolished in any & all countries ASAP: patents, copyright, trademarks & trade secrets.

[@user-wl2xl5hm7k]

IP provides for censorship. IP is the main component of cultural control, propaganda, & advertising. Copyright does not just monopolize art- copyright also monopolizes all text, video, audio, photos, images, software & websites. And patents monopolize important aspects of media infrastructure. Therefore, IP is the main component which allows media conglomerates to “manufacture consent”.

[@user-wl2xl5hm7k]

The 2008 economics book ‘Against Intellectual Monopoly’ and the 2001 essay ‘Against Intellectual Property’ are both as important as Marx’s ‘Capital’! Each has nearly flawless argumentation. All leftists need to read both (free online). If you can’t read them now, then write down both titles so you can tell others so they can read them.

[@user-wl2xl5hm7k]

And Uniquenameosaurus has two excellent and entertaining videos from April 2021 about IP abolition. Patricia Taxxon has another excellent one from October 2017 about copyright abolition.

[@guytruth5598]

If you are the president, the nation will be very prosperous and at peace Proffersor Richard Wolff,The great wise thinker.

[@garyhamlin8269]

We’ll guess what happens to company A when they raise their prices after company B goes out of business? Company C comes and undercuts them, they offer more money to attract the previous workers, and they produce a better shoe, and company A either responds or goes out of business. And the response to competition isn’t always “bankruptcy or nothing”, perhaps both companies become more efficient and share the market share.

[@yotinpimohktiw7766]

If you can make money at no cost to yourself, lend it out at interest, then it funnels itself back to you through taxation. Every penny too. What do you have? Slaves! How doesn’t government control every penny out there? They do. Anything else is just details.

[@johnchristopherdelegero1728]

Cooperation and sharing is better way

[@donrastar1579]

There has only been one monopoly ever in the US. Government.

[@benprishtina153]

Fully agree

[@alanhilder1883]

Do you notice that inflation is mostly blamed on wages, a bit of a problem when the stagnant wage growth is well under inflation.

[@helengarrett6378]

That was a bit simplistic, I think. I'm no economist. But in this case you do have to grant that shortages are encouraging some businesses to increase prices because they want to make a certain amount of profit. It wouldn't work well if there were few apples to sell them at fifty cents a pound and then have no apples for the rest of the year leaving the farmer without a profit, the wholesaler with not enough to cover gasoline for the trucks that deliver the apples and the grocer with no stock or profit either. There is such a thing as supply and demand. I also fear a permanent price setting bureaucracy without fixing the supply and demand problem. How easily that could be politicized or corrupted by the unscrupulous. However, in an emergency there is a very good reason to set a price freeze until government can restructure the supply to meet the demand and equitably supply necessary goods to people. But if government isn't going to cure the basic shortage a freeze just postpones the imbalance. For example, we have a housing shortage. It's appropriate to freeze rents but as long as housing is privatized and government does not put a lot of money into subsidized affordable housing the rent freeze helps for six months or a year and then landlords commence raising rents every single year. More and more people will get evicted and the number of unhoused will continue to grow. You can freeze the price of apples but either there must be more trees planted or some must be imported. The alternative is we are going to run out of apples. They aren't available and someone will charge $2.00/lb. for them even if prices have been frozen. There could grow up a black market in apples aside from the government mandated price. This inflation is caused by scarcity. Either transportation from distant places of production or excessive profiteering is causing this inflation. If we aren't going to be able to supply locally grown food or transport it from distant places you are going to have inflation. Hens don't lay as many eggs in winter as in summer. It has to do with warmth and light. Eggs are going to be more expensive in winter. You can use artificial light and warm hen houses but that also increases the cost of eggs in winter. Then you have to get them to market andvthat's harder in winter too. Eggs are out of season and so are peaches in winter. They will be more expensive in January than in July. You could freezedry the eggs and can the peaches but it just isn't June or July. The basic problem we now face is that we offshored production and the production at its source is either uneven due to local employment problems and pandemic conditions, or in transportation, or in distribution to the end purchaser, or all of the above. I'm for freezing food prices temporarily but the real solution is more local food production and fixing the supply problems. It is good for jobs here too. Biden wants to do that with PPE (masks and gowns, etc,) We would ultimately be better off producing all of our own food and consumer goods, or at least as much as is reasonably possible. Maybe corporate profits would shrink quite a bit and certainly there would be pain at the cash register but high prices and fluctuating prices would eventually even out over time, don't you think? After government takes those steps it makes good sense to make gouging and artificial scarcity a crime. If I'm a farmer I want the best price I can get for my wheat, especially if I am working on a cooperative farm and my share of profit would shrink if government set prices to benefit bakers or exports. Same goes for a company that is worker owned and makes blankets or pots and pans. We want fair profits for our labor. We don't want some guy a thousand miles away telling our cooperative what to grow, wbere to sell it and dictating what it's worth. I think that is what happened in the U.S.S.R. and people didn't like it at all! I only have a high school education. I'm no economist. I was just an ordinary office worker all my life, nothing special and low paid. But that's how it looks to me when we talk about supply and demand and inflation and private ownership of the means of production, and government regulation. So, someone educate me. What did I get wrong? Do we really want an easily corruptible government bureaucracy that can be as easily politicized as our Supreme Court has become? I don't think so at first glance. Seriously, what have I got wrong?

[@markbirkeland5643]

So , Doctor Wolff, was Richard Nixon Right in his pronouncement to stifle inflation. Should the president announce a wage and price hold?

[@derdieselbug]

YES

[@myfriendgoo2816]

Don't be surprised when people say they'd rather have the government run something than have a private monopoly. Insufficiently regulated capitalism will concentrate wealth and distribute poverty, and thanks to the Internet facilitating so many areas becoming "winner take all," we're seeing inequality levels not seen since the 1920s. History shows that when it gets that lopsided, it won't stand. Robert Reich continues to make good videos laying out the problem and proposing solutions.

[@GlobalDrifter1000]

Rick, you finally got a big boy camera! Old dog learned new tricks.

[@TheWindGinProject]

Prof Wolff Please check audio

[@comedyandeducationtv3126]

i am in indonesia.....a month ago....the cooking oil price rise significantly by more than 20%, it cause everything to became more expensive especially food. but fortunately our government took action fast, he subsidized the cooking oil price, that made the inflation under control

[@walden6272]

That is only a temporarily fix. Subsidizing means you still paying for it through taxation. What the Government needs to do is invest in increasing production of cooking oil. If supply goes up, prices goes down.

[@MrDXRamirez]

@@walden6272 Going beyond the neoliberal answer of creating labor-markets and privatizing cooking oil the government needs to make cooking oil a commodity restricted from price increases. A special classification of commodities that are necessities of life prohibited from buying and selling at prices higher than the lowest income earners in society can afford. This would be a national policy that aims never to see hunger in society. Americans needs to completely change their orientation of Neoliberal thought and go beyond that limitation in thinking about life, society, and social reproduction. Why Americans because it is the birth place of Neoliberalism January 1980, to be precise.

[@comedyandeducationtv3126]

@@walden6272 indonesia is different....actually many citizens doesn't pay tax. we are top producer of palm oil, but commodities price keep fluctuating sometimes without known reason

[@erics8302]

Could a president declare that housing and rent prices should be frozen?

[@__WJK__]

What about out of control minimum wage increases for low-skilled entry-level, non-career positions... surely this fans the flames of inflation as well, yes/no(?)

[@benjaminhenderson7059]

Only if those people dont spend that money, which is what they do. There was a study on how much it cost for a Big Mac when Australia raised their minimum wages to 18/hr. The total increased labor cost per big mac was $0.04 per sandwhich. McDonalds raised their price a full buck anyway. THAT is how you get inflation.

[@naturallaw1733]

"out of control minimum wage increases" saayyy Whaaaaa.. ??? 🤷

[@motsu84]

In a not too distant future, China did that to the pork prices in the country. And boomed it still works.

[@stpOwner]

Pure gold..... a government agency setting prices for everything in the market, its like we haven't seen this disaster in the making lol

[@johnchristopherdelegero1728]

The distribution of wealth does.

[@90fif]

I GO TO SLEEP WITH KZbin OR SOMETHING PLAYING AND WHEN I WOKE UP IT WAS ON YOUR VIDEO FROM 2011 @PROFESSOR RICHARD WOLFF. YOUR SO RIGHT AND I LOVE HOW YOU SEE THINGS BUT SUCKS NOBODY'S HELPS IN THOSE WAYS SMFH!!

[@90fif]

I HAVE SEVERAL IDEAS MYSELF I BELIEVE COULD MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE FOR BETTER IN PEOPLES LIVES BUT SUCKS IM USED/WATCHED LIKE SOME BRAIN CHIP OR WHATEVER TECH DONE TO ME TO BE PEOPLES PROJECT SLAVE FREAK ETC....

[@mba2ceo]

ONLY GOVT can create monopolies !!! Reduce restrictions = lower prices

[@spanneresque7775]

a couple of things- 1. I think it's important to recognize that competition does not always equal lowering prices or delivering a better product. Competition amounts to what is essentially war between different companies and that can take the form of courting the customer or muscling everyone else out of the way (walmart, betamax to an extent, etc). I think this is important because competition is flawed thing to praise both from a price standpoint and also from a political standpoint- the politics of capitalism are often just that. 2. I think Nixon's flirtations with a planned economy are hilarious. It's almost like he was scared. Look at the oil crisis, it's so interesting in my opinion.

[@susim4503]

And we all end up with shitty shoes.

[@brianjacob8728]

that was when the US (Nixon, not really) had to officially go off the gold standard. That was a one off situation. And the idea of the government arresting people who don't follow their dictates (note that verb) has, uh, it's own downside.

[@basementcat5618]

Even a Worker cooperative wants to lower their costs and make an outsized profit. The local grocery cooperative has some of the highest prices in town.

[@abbkell1195]

The theatrical built system and candidates stage show turned to be the most shocking to the whole world. It ended up to be the worst example that others started to stay away from following.

[@garrethoien6666]

But then company C started up offering better shoes. Is he really saying that the government should set the price?

[@user-mhgu6om9mj2t]

When Biden opens his mouth, it is hard to respect him and his party. Monopolies and inflation correlation? Dr. Wolff is right again. Thank you for a great video.

[@user-rb7ns9yj5y]

The DNC and RNC are corporations run for the sole purpose of profit

[@derdieselbug]

@@user-rb7ns9yj5y you got it......sheeple

[@akivaweil5066]

Inflation is occurring because of the money printing.

[@naturallaw1733]

@@akivaweil5066 Inflation is just a thing because of Profits. this is all just Fundamental to the mechanics of a Capitalist System. it basically Won't go away unless you make it Illegal.

[@akivaweil5066]

@@naturallaw1733 You clearly have not spent any time learning economics. Central planning has never and will never work.

[@wynetsang]

Competition might cure but definitely can kill inflation.

[@bigapplecon]

Doesn't the consumer aka the market set the price of goods?

[@augmenautus]

Nixon's price controls did hold off inflation for awhile, but it's a short term solution, because the inflation returned during Jimmy Carter's term and doomed his administration. Chairman of the Federal reserve Paul Volcker was able to truly defeat inflation by raising interest rates.

[@eddiekulp1241]

Inflation is you have 2 loaves of bread to sell , there's 4 dollars to buy the bread . You then have 8 dollars to buy bread but still only 2 loaves to sell . Could keep each loaf at 2 dollars each and leave you the other 4 but they won't, they want all 8 dollars.

[@uncleshamus3451]

👍✌️

[@SteveSmith-mw5zk]

Competition, the ongoing fairytale that keep mystifying people. It's important to hear it get unraveled. Thanks professor Wolff

[@stuckinthemud4352]

He is spreading an evils ideology that has killed millions.

[@FarnhamJ07]

@@stuckinthemud4352 Millions have been killed, imprisoned and immiserated thanks to capitalism, too. Funny how people seem to forget all the countries with socialist policies that do just fine, and all those with capitalist nations that brutally repress their people. Do you seriously not remember the disgusting muderous dictators we installed in Central/South America after overthrowing their democratically elected socialist governments?

[@stuckinthemud4352]

@@FarnhamJ07 welfare is not Marxism bro. Stop trying to claim that country's like Denmark etc... are even remotely Marxist. Try venisueala,greece,the soviet union?china under mao, sorry bro but you dont have the moral high ground on this one. Yall allways talk about capitalism and death but your mostly referring to wars etc... Marxism has killed millions of its own citizens. the soviet union allone has killed 40 to 100 million people.

[@derdieselbug]

@@stuckinthemud4352You equate Marxism with communism

[@stuckinthemud4352]

@@derdieselbug let me guess true Marxism has never been tried. Lol

[@eleonoraformatoneeszczepan8807]

... not always ... it seems a bit simplistic .... what's the point of difference? ... quantity, quality, exclusivity, accessibility ... e.t.c ... ?

[@eleonoraformatoneeszczepan8807]

Isn't setting prices ... capping prices ... a start to communism?

[@eleonoraformatoneeszczepan8807]

... it doesn't mean, that about price setting, that I have that correct ... it could be. when in combination with something else ... ?

[@spiritpeacefulrevolution3523]

Amazing analysis. We would very much enjoy a partnership with you

[@spiritpeacefulrevolution3523]

With WEWA

[@spanky7277]

Volume makes a company popular , when people are able to afford something they sell . there will always be Market , But if you see , companies start at a low price to lore you in and All of a sudden you are paying almost double for the same thing you was using or buying . So if the company was able to survive on the price you was comfortable with then why would they raise the price ? No competition ? .

[@quay007]

Adam Smith's invincible hand advocates improvement. Businesses produce goods as if they are gonna use them hence produce quality goods as a way to stay in business. Professor on the other hands talk about monopolistic nature of the few surviving business. So there is a mismatch here, the good n bad of capitalism. The winner which survive by out competing the rest turns their back on their customer with price increase due to greed. Even the government keep thinking of topping up their coffers. The workers demanding higher wages. Everyone is behaving like a capitalist. So who is to blame ???

[@kenrose9065]

Inflation? What inflation? I own a cotton farm. LOL

[@jukesters123]

Then whyyyy did Mr. Biden and the others allow monopolies?

[@HandmadeDarcy]

The thing is: even if monopolies were the problem, he's not going to do anything to regulate their control on the market, so why do his theatrical utterances work for even one moment? Do so many people simply not take even the next thought: so what are you going to do about the monopolies?

[@dcaban85]

Peronia send regards.

[@garrethoien6666]

@randy terpstra seen this one

[@erwinz5926]

"Monopolies have always existed under capitalism, with and without inflation. Competition is built into the capitalist system and creates monopolies. History has shown us that neither competition, nor monopolies solve inflation. Inflation can, and should, be brought under control through governmental policy, but it will never go away until the system in which it exists is dismantled. " exactly. id had the very same analysis. the amount of money lent contributes massively and this can even be a self referential process. this must not even be bad or good - though leeds to structural reformation and especially those profit from it- who are constantly in work with inflation adapted wages. usually it affects those badly who have not enough money to invest it into the self referential cycle- like strategic immobilia- production monopolies- etc.- which are usually those in the mid und lower income classes.

[@akivaweil5066]

Remember, government is the biggest monopoly of all.

[@mba2ceo]

or another company that was NOT inept hired those trained workers with smaller overhead was created

[@Hagilo]

All hail algoritm

[@dylbowers]

Thank you for your work, your perspective is so insightful.

[@alloomis1635]

if you are too ignorant, too fearful. or too lazy, to get democracy at what-ever cost, then you must endure rule by some elite. the management of society is a question of power, not a question of economics. of course, money buys soldiers, sometimes, but that usually evolves into soldiers taking the money, and the power. can ordinary people demand power, 'or else?' as a general rule, no, it has happened, but so rarely that elite societies are the human norm. the current inflation is the result of printing money as a temporary cure for economic problems. this has been a feature of human societies since the invention of money and is commonly found in decadent dynasties around the world. call it a recurrence of a terminal cancer. economists have no solutions, even if they happen to be good at managing money, simply because this is a question of power, not intellect.

[@burnindownthehouse]

You're forgetting about collusion. If only two companies control an entire indusrty then those companies can get together to fix prices. It's a win-win for both companies that control that industry. It happens. Lately it happens all the time.

[@benjaminhenderson7059]

The word your looking for is a cartel

[@joshuabauman3209]

Thanks Prof!

[@SirLangsalot]

I was taught at University that inflation is largely caused by increase of money supply in economy and govt spending. Thoughts, guys?

[@5353Jumper]

Maybe but not really. Inflation is mostly driven by the supply/demand relationship if value based pricing on what the customer is willing to pay, or by cost of production/materials/shipping if using margin based pricing. Something like a change in fuel prices for example has a huge effect on inflation for everything, because fuel costs can affect the supply chain for production and distribution of a product in like 20 different places. Fuel for mining equipment, fuel for transportation of raw goods, fuel for processing, fuel for transportation of processed goods, fuel for parts manufacturing, fuel for transportation of parts, fuel for transportation of assembled product to distribution, fuel for transportation to retail location, fuel for transportation to the customer. And it does not matter if it is a competitive market or an oligopoly/monopoly, external costs have gone up the company must increase product prices to maintain profitability. So fuel prices goes up, prices for everything goes up. Fuel prices drop, price of everything does not drop because companies want to enjoy a bit of extra profitability for a while. Next time fuel prices goes up the company has an expectation of high profitability beholden to shareholders and creditors so the price needs to go up again to maintain profitability to avoid share price collapse. This is where competition can play a small role in reducing prices if the product market share is tight and sensitive to pricing, unless the market is basically an oligopoly of large companies that all non-verbally agree to maintain high profit from sales for their collective shareholder stock valuation. When more money is printed it is more often to cover imaginary wealth being created out of thin air. To cover mortgage issuance, or share prices going up, or things like Bitcoin, NFT, artwork, real estate gaining "value". Printing money is often reactionary to the inflation of these types of assets, not causing the inflation.

[@GhostOnTheHalfShell]

I look at the term capitalism as a specific means to status in a specific kind of social circumstance. Before investment and share holding, this same behavior came from the expansion of territory and status of chieftains (aka feudal lords, warlords and bandit kings). The behavior is the same. Acquisitiveness, exploitation etc. Authoritarian societies emphasize the mindset vs consensus and egalitarian minded societies which require more overt cooperation.

[@user-rb7ns9yj5y]

Read the book " The Dawn of Everything"

[@GhostOnTheHalfShell]

@@user-rb7ns9yj5y looks like a good educational book for those who have no anthropology background.

[@jamesbra4410]

Well yeah we have existed for what 200 and some odd years, and we have had what nearly a hundred wars. As far as the population goes well people immigrated out of their countries for religious and cultural conflicts and came here to live in their little tribes because we like that and a lot of people, mostly women, move out to other countries opposite to that fact they desire community and quality of life. Our society is modeled after the founding fathers which wanted exactly this where rich people could be free to make larger fortunes and make the political decisions unavailable to them under the British monarchy. We need to really use brain the system that was put on us here is still the dominant one as it was only 200 years ago. At that time slavery and indentured servitude was the main form of work for most people. If you were a merchant or business owner then you could afford a home and could you know walk around and smile at people ask how you doing and get no answer. Exactly like today, go figure, and the people in government who love it well if you look back their fathers and grandfathers owned the mills and the plantations. Of course you had some exceptions in the North where the mob got into power.

[@lindascanlan6317]

Hi Professor....what a pleasant surprise to see you this Saturday morning.....stay well...stay safe....stay vigilant....Linda

[@kevintewey1157]

Hi Linda thank you for telling me what day it is I didn't know yet

[@lindascanlan6317]

@@kevintewey1157 I'm here to serve....be best.....

[@comradeweismann6947]

But Muh Freedom!

[@mudmessiah]

The young capitalism is good but it grows into a tiger. So how to keep the cute little cub from growing up? A socialism which feeds competition or which starves the little tiger to grow into a sick and weak cat?

[@benjaminhenderson7059]

Young capitalism is a funny word for slavery.

[@donrastar1579]

It must cost a ton of money to look into a laptop cam and talk from your million dollar apartment in Manhattan.

[@garrethoien6666]

Spolier alert, he asks for your money at the end

[@kuntakinte5866]

Biden said that he is a Capitalist. So, If you aren't a Capitalist, don't count on Biden to solve your Financial Problems. But the good news is Besides…Socialism and Communism there is an Alternative to Capitalism...If it is at all possible I would like to talk to Mr. Wolf.

[@fayyaznoor1962]

Excellent

[@globalblakafrakanempowerme4050]

I will support your next book, understanding Communism or community ownership. A great joke for you.

[@olivermitchell2538]

Let's go Joe Biden

[@Jdjsksjdhdj]

i dont care of communism necessarily. but that doesn't i like how cartelism is working

[@Stonecoldfrank]

Nixon brought inflation under control?!? What nonsense is that? Inflation was almost 15% towards the end of the 70s and oil price was skyrocketing. If anything, price control had terrible consequences on the economy.

[@padmanabham.suresham]

Competition is for the working class, so that capitalists can get cheap labour. For capitalist themselves, in order to compete, remove the competition, in other words dont not compete by producing better quality goods and services at affordable prices, but buy out the competion. Like Facebook buying instagram and whatsapp. The truth is fear of losing out in competition and lust for more and more profit warps people's mind. A competing teacher assures his student does not develop skills better than him so that he can have a monopoly in teaching profession. A doctor does the same. A lawyer does the same. Competition breeds monopoly, and monopoly inflates prices,causes job losses.

[@ashavahishta7023]

It is liberalism that should be overthrown, not capitalism. As Deng Xiaoping said, capitalism can also have a planned economy, like socialism can also have a market economy.

[@charletonzimmerman4205]

I've noticed, @ large Lumber stores, "PRICE FIXING", it's not, a coincidence, same thing happens, during fuel shortage.

[@earlviney5212]

In the NHL they instituted a salary cap over 10 years ago knowing that unfettered free market competition would eventually destroy the league. This is what capitalism does.

[@petestanton1945]

I think u mean competition. But, speaking of Capitalism, there must b something else that televising hockey games, staffed w Russian labor not born in the team's city, provides besides figuring out who's best

[@mba2ceo]

GOVT price control creates scarcity that prevents others from entering the market to reduce prices by removing motivation

[@williamparker1644]

I'm old. I remember Nixon's wage/price controls. They were extremely unpopular. Shortages of everything and massive corruption. Nobody could get a raise. It sucked for working people.

[@petestanton1945]

Prof W should address this even tho it's only an example 2 the main point

[@waindayoungthain2147]

I don’t believe it’s in time for competition with the stagflation and lesser workers. How’s the space of time between your businesses growing up from the recovery process . I don’t think it’s competitive since the USA policy is for your taking the enemies especially for China 🇨🇳, how’s the products prices for your business, how’s expensive doing. How’s democratic depend on sanctioning and arm’s sellers🙏🏻for the elite ones.

[@kevintewey1157]

I don't understand Do you have a problem with China?

[@MrDXRamirez]

“Stagflation” is a term describing the economy of the 70s. Low GNP and high prices, mass unemployment and inflation together was called ‘stagflation’, by the professionals. The economy in 2022 is a dual-economy where one side is prosperous and the other side grows more miserably poor and the side that is being enriched by the side that is exploited shrinks in size while the misery is spread over more and more people, on the other side of the dual-economy is a more accurate portrayal of the American economy. Competition may indeed work on the side where misery and poverty is widespread by making low interest loans and raw material produced in the US, bring industry back and people can borrow low interest business loans to start more businesses. Sell unused land cheap, and run down factories re-outfitted to make a range of products. Competition is a way to develop the economy as long as the capital does not by law exceed the number of workers hired that would make a single company a monopoly.

[@williamparker1644]

Que?

[@petestanton1945]

Please reword this if possible