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There are 20 different burger restaurants within 10 miles of me. Some are chains, some are local. Some use major beef suppliers, some use local organic ones. Al

There are 20 different burger restaurants within 10 miles of me. Some are chains, some are local. Some use major beef suppliers, some use local organic ones. All of their prices have gone way up. There is no collusion here and this has jack shit to do with mergers. If those were the causes, inflation would have been a crisis 10 years ago.

Draiken 3y ago
The only collusion is the default one: profit at all costs. Everyone raises prices to increase profits, increasing inflation, that increases prices further... I don't understand why people are so happy to blame governments and treat companies, in which profit is their raison d'être, as if they're only "reacting to the government". Of course both are to blame, but let's stop pretending companies are victims while record profits are seen everywhere (adjusted to inflation). Many (if not most) are clearly taking advantage of this exact sentiment against the government to pocket even more profit. It's not me, it's the inflation!
- josu 3y ago
  If this is true, why are inflationary periods relatively rare?
  - Draiken 3y ago
    Rare for whom? At any point in time this is happening in many countries around the world. I don't see how the frequency changes my assertion though. That's the regular boom/bust cycle from capitalism. There are many theories on why that happens but the fact is: they happen.
    - AstralStorm 3y ago
      Well were it even a cycle. It's an even increasing oscillation until it explodes and corrective action is taken. I hope this time it will be corrected... permanently.
milesvp 3y ago
How many of these burger joints own the building they operate in? This is a very shallow look at economic forces. And ignores some of the bigger squeezes happening. The number of landlords continues to decline as real estate is consolidated in fewer hands. And worse, the number of landlords that abdicate their roles to real estate management companies grows every year, and the percentage of properties in an area run by a given management company continues to grow as well. This creates a level of “collusion” that didn’t really exist 30 years ago. Our current market abhors competition, and regulators and courts have increasingly sided with the bigger business. Inflation was a huge problem 10 years ago. It’s why I stopped renting.
- kortilla 3y ago
  >How many of these burger joints own the building they operate in? Roughly half. Nearly all of the locally owned ones. >Inflation was a huge problem 10 years ago. It’s why I stopped renting. No it wasn’t. At least not by any quantitative measures.
  - AstralStorm 3y ago
    Rental prices and estate prices have been rising since at least 2010. So much longer than 10 years, but the prices have not risen commensurate to this with a multiplier like they did lately. So, the inflation story is most certainly a lie. The businesses started to charge more because they had an excuse in (a minor) supply shock and fuel price rises. But it's just that, an excuse. Worst case pure inflation is about 10% while the increases are... a lot. Especially in some sectors. The situation is "so bad" for some corporations they're instituting stock buybacks. :) So stockholders are getting rich.
    - kortilla 3y ago
      You’re bending over backwards to make your narrative fit. These burger restaurants are a blend of major national chains and completely local ones. The local ones absolutely are not “instituting buybacks”. This is not some corporate conspiracy. The fed’s comments on inflation have made it very clear there is a labor shortage in the services sector that is driving up costs there quickly. Starting hourly rates at these restaurants are now $20/hr, up from $15 a couple of years ago, and that’s still not enough. Each one of them has hiring signs and is clearly short staffed.

Draiken 3y ago

The only collusion is the default one: profit at all costs. Everyone raises prices to increase profits, increasing inflation, that increases prices further... I don't understand why people are so happy to blame governments and treat companies, in which profit is their raison d'être, as if they're only "reacting to the government". Of course both are to blame, but let's stop pretending companies are victims while record profits are seen everywhere (adjusted to inflation). Many (if not most) are clearly taking advantage of this exact sentiment against the government to pocket even more profit. It's not me, it's the inflation!

josu 3y ago
If this is true, why are inflationary periods relatively rare?
- Draiken 3y ago
  Rare for whom? At any point in time this is happening in many countries around the world. I don't see how the frequency changes my assertion though. That's the regular boom/bust cycle from capitalism. There are many theories on why that happens but the fact is: they happen.
  - AstralStorm 3y ago
    Well were it even a cycle. It's an even increasing oscillation until it explodes and corrective action is taken. I hope this time it will be corrected... permanently.

milesvp 3y ago

How many of these burger joints own the building they operate in? This is a very shallow look at economic forces. And ignores some of the bigger squeezes happening. The number of landlords continues to decline as real estate is consolidated in fewer hands. And worse, the number of landlords that abdicate their roles to real estate management companies grows every year, and the percentage of properties in an area run by a given management company continues to grow as well. This creates a level of “collusion” that didn’t really exist 30 years ago. Our current market abhors competition, and regulators and courts have increasingly sided with the bigger business. Inflation was a huge problem 10 years ago. It’s why I stopped renting.

kortilla 3y ago
>How many of these burger joints own the building they operate in? Roughly half. Nearly all of the locally owned ones. >Inflation was a huge problem 10 years ago. It’s why I stopped renting. No it wasn’t. At least not by any quantitative measures.
- AstralStorm 3y ago
  Rental prices and estate prices have been rising since at least 2010. So much longer than 10 years, but the prices have not risen commensurate to this with a multiplier like they did lately. So, the inflation story is most certainly a lie. The businesses started to charge more because they had an excuse in (a minor) supply shock and fuel price rises. But it's just that, an excuse. Worst case pure inflation is about 10% while the increases are... a lot. Especially in some sectors. The situation is "so bad" for some corporations they're instituting stock buybacks. :) So stockholders are getting rich.
  - kortilla 3y ago
    You’re bending over backwards to make your narrative fit. These burger restaurants are a blend of major national chains and completely local ones. The local ones absolutely are not “instituting buybacks”. This is not some corporate conspiracy. The fed’s comments on inflation have made it very clear there is a labor shortage in the services sector that is driving up costs there quickly. Starting hourly rates at these restaurants are now $20/hr, up from $15 a couple of years ago, and that’s still not enough. Each one of them has hiring signs and is clearly short staffed.