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The definition of inflation is "a general increase in prices"; it doesn't matter why that's happening. Do you think that stores weren't trying to sell products
by NovemberWhiskey 3y ago
The definition of inflation is "a general increase in prices"; it doesn't matter why that's happening. Do you think that stores weren't trying to sell products for the highest-possible price previously?
Price-gouging is not what we're seeing here - there's no supply constraint. What we're seeing is just the market price.
- shadowgovt 3y ago> there's no supply constraint Where else are most Americans going to get milk than their local grocery store monopolies or duopolies?
- NovemberWhiskey 3y agoA supply constraint means there's an inability to bring sufficient new stocks of the product to the market. Think: N95 masks during Covid, or gasoline in the run-up to a hurricane. Selling toilet paper for $15 a roll when shelves are empty is price-gouging, selling eggs for 5% more than last year isn't.
- tw04 3y ago>What we're seeing is just the market price. There is no market price when there is no competition. You cannot have a free market without competition.
- skybrian 3y agoThat might be more true in some markets, but grocery stores are competitive, low margin businesses. There are lots of farms, too, and food comes from all over the world. As we saw during the pandemic and with the start of the war in Ukraine, price increases often come after major supply disruptions or sudden increases in demand. Markets often don’t do well at adjusting after big surprises. There can be multi-year lags.