Every seller needs a buyer for a transaction to happen. For some reason, people are still happy to take 84-month notes on $80k cars instead of sticking to their

Every seller needs a buyer for a transaction to happen. For some reason, people are still happy to take 84-month notes on $80k cars instead of sticking to their older car or buying a cheaper one; same with expensive beef, which could be substituted by lentils or other cheaper sources of protein. A part, perhaps even a large part, of that "some reason" is likely the increase in money supply as well as fiscal stimulus. But consumers still share a part of the blame, if they willingly take on that transaction for non-essential goods and services. Few businesses have the pricing power to jack up their prices arbitrarily high, though there is a clear trend towards consolidation across many industries in the recent decades, and one could definitely argue that the US hasn't busted enough mergers and trusts.