LogFAQs > #972017727

adjl posted...

That's been a major component of it. Being more expensive to transport stuff has downstream effects on the price of everything. That, in turn, was entirely a matter of oil companies deciding to jack up their prices using the war in Ukraine and sanctions against Russia as an excuse (which had some effect on oil prices, but nothing that remotely justifies the full price increase).

Beyond that, though, so many companies are reporting record profits, then turning around and saying that they "need to increase prices because of inflation." People expect price increases, so companies can get away with increasing prices, so companies increase their prices while pretending there's nothing they can do.

In a competitive market, someone would lower their prices a bit b/c they could do so and still make plenty of profit, drawing more sales. Which in turn would start a chain reaction of companies lowering prices to stay competitive.
But thanks to 40 years of mergers and acquisitions that have almost always been allowed, we now have giant corporate conglomerates and oligopolies that control each sector and freely collude with each other.
We need some damn trust busting, but Biden won't do it and Republicans are the ones that engineered this mess.