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I had an insight last night about inflation, and why it's not what we're experiencing today. Prices on convenience and entertainment have roughly doubled since

I had an insight last night about inflation, and why it's not what we're experiencing today. Prices on convenience and entertainment have roughly doubled since the pandemic where I live. A cocktail was $7 in 2019, today it's more like $13. Milk at the gas station was as low as $3.50 but is now $5. Food delivery charges are ridiculous and unsustainable, but hey at least the services exist. High prices open the door to competition. Anyone can mix a cocktail for less than $13. Anyone can come up with a better way to deliver food or start a food truck. So the price gouging "inflation" we see today from corporations and established businesses leaves them vulnerable. If the economy really tanks and commercial real estate becomes worthless as projected, there's going to be so much entrepreneurship, just like in the early 2010s after the Housing Bubble popped. Not only that, but people are hyper-aware of stuff like rent seeking now, so may even buy out their landlords, form co-ops, avoid having an employer or standard work hours, basically do all of the things that should have probably happened 20 years ago after the Dot Bomb. But we got distracted by the War on Terror, which is transitioning to the War on Authoritarianism as people wake up. If Wall Street tanks, that will be better for Main Street. Having spent my entire adult working life barely surviving, I just don't care if established players go bust. This is a B.S. economy where maybe 3-10% of the population does any real work (like growing food) and everyone else takes whatever menial service job they can get or skims money off their employees. It's a joke. Anyone could do a better job managing the economy if we would ever do the most obvious things like tax the rich.

rrrrrrrrrrrryan 4y ago
> If the economy really tanks and commercial real estate becomes worthless as projected, there's going to be so much entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship always ramps up during the hard times. People lose their jobs and are forced to get scrappy. > High prices open the door to competition. Anyone can mix a cocktail for less than $13. Consumers became desensitized to price increases during the pandemic supply shortages. Right now, there's strong evidence to suggest that many businesses are simply raising prices because they can get away with it. If you're running a business, you have a once in a lifetime opportunity to jack up prices without harming your brand - you can just shrug and blame the abstract specter of "inflation" and your customer base directs their frustration toward some political entity instead of you. In the short-term it's a no-brainer; especially when everyone around you is doing it. But in the medium-to-long-term, you're 100% correct that it leave you vulnerable to being undercut by new entrants to the market.

rrrrrrrrrrrryan 4y ago

> If the economy really tanks and commercial real estate becomes worthless as projected, there's going to be so much entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship always ramps up during the hard times. People lose their jobs and are forced to get scrappy. > High prices open the door to competition. Anyone can mix a cocktail for less than $13. Consumers became desensitized to price increases during the pandemic supply shortages. Right now, there's strong evidence to suggest that many businesses are simply raising prices because they can get away with it. If you're running a business, you have a once in a lifetime opportunity to jack up prices without harming your brand - you can just shrug and blame the abstract specter of "inflation" and your customer base directs their frustration toward some political entity instead of you. In the short-term it's a no-brainer; especially when everyone around you is doing it. But in the medium-to-long-term, you're 100% correct that it leave you vulnerable to being undercut by new entrants to the market.