Biden's America

[Born N Bled Red]

26 minutes ago, BigRedBuster said:

You're way over simplifying the situation to condemn companies.  Is there some price gouging?  Sure.  But, there is also some serious inflation that people are trying to use this to deflect from.

 

Who Benefits From Inflation?

While consumers experience little benefit from inflation, investors can enjoy a boost if they hold assets in markets affected by inflation. For example, those who are invested in energy companies might see a rise in their stock prices if energy prices are rising.

 

Some companies reap the rewards of inflation if they can charge more for their products as a result of a surge in demand for their goods. If the economy is performing well and housing demand is high, home-building companies can charge higher prices for selling homes.

 

In other words, inflation can provide businesses with pricing power and increase their profit margins. If profit margins are rising, it means the prices that companies charge for their products are increasing at a faster rate than increases in production costs.

 

Also, business owners can deliberately withhold supplies from the market, allowing prices to rise to a favorable level.

[suh_fan93]

 

[Born N Bled Red]

1 hour ago, Born N Bled Red said:

 

Who Benefits From Inflation?

While consumers experience little benefit from inflation, investors can enjoy a boost if they hold assets in markets affected by inflation. For example, those who are invested in energy companies might see a rise in their stock prices if energy prices are rising.

 

Some companies reap the rewards of inflation if they can charge more for their products as a result of a surge in demand for their goods. If the economy is performing well and housing demand is high, home-building companies can charge higher prices for selling homes.

 

In other words, inflation can provide businesses with pricing power and increase their profit margins. If profit margins are rising, it means the prices that companies charge for their products are increasing at a faster rate than increases in production costs.

 

Also, business owners can deliberately withhold supplies from the market, allowing prices to rise to a favorable level.

 

Even more infuriating about the price gouging is that in most instances, these are the same businesses who got millions upon billions of our tax payer dollars to keep them in the green through the pandemic. So they took our tax dollars, now they are after the little bit that the common American got that stemmed them through or put them a little ahead. 

[BigRedBuster]

1 hour ago, Born N Bled Red said:

 

Who Benefits From Inflation?

While consumers experience little benefit from inflation, investors can enjoy a boost if they hold assets in markets affected by inflation. For example, those who are invested in energy companies might see a rise in their stock prices if energy prices are rising.

 

Some companies reap the rewards of inflation if they can charge more for their products as a result of a surge in demand for their goods. If the economy is performing well and housing demand is high, home-building companies can charge higher prices for selling homes.

 

In other words, inflation can provide businesses with pricing power and increase their profit margins. If profit margins are rising, it means the prices that companies charge for their products are increasing at a faster rate than increases in production costs.

 

Also, business owners can deliberately withhold supplies from the market, allowing prices to rise to a favorable level.

For some businesses yes, for a lot of them, no.

 

My industry, for instance, can't and doesn't do that even though my prices are at least 60% higher now than they were a year ago.

 

Making a blanket statement that inflation is awesome for businesses because they can just raise prices to whatever they want is ignorant.

[Born N Bled Red]

1 minute ago, BigRedBuster said:

For some businesses yes, for a lot of them, no.

 

My industry, for instance, can't and doesn't do that even though my prices are at least 60% higher now than they were a year ago.

 

Making a blanket statement that inflation is awesome for businesses because they can just raise prices to whatever they want is ignorant.

 

You in construction?

[BigRedBuster]

1 minute ago, Born N Bled Red said:

 

You in construction?

We supply the construction industry.

[Guy Chamberlin]

7 minutes ago, BigRedBuster said:

For some businesses yes, for a lot of them, no.

 

My industry, for instance, can't and doesn't do that even though my prices are at least 60% higher now than they were a year ago.

 

Making a blanket statement that inflation is awesome for businesses because they can just raise prices to whatever they want is ignorant.

 

Blanket statements rarely work, but they're not inaccurate, either. 

 

You probably work for a company that is secure enough to ride this out and doesn't want to take advantage of its own customers.

 

Bigger corporations that never look their customers in the face are more inclined to gouge. They also lack the perspective that an annual corporate loss, or a temporary halt to executive bonuses, is perfectly acceptable in civilized society.  The manta that a business must be growing or else it's dying is total bulls#!t, and it's used to rationalize illogical short term thinking that rewards the very few. 

 

 

[Archy1221]

Is it more infuriating that companies took PPE or that our government officials forced them to close or reduce capacity  in some instances and gave them the money?  
 

 

[Archy1221]

49 minutes ago, Guy Chamberlin said:

The manta that a business must be growing or else it's dying is total bulls#!t, and it's used to rationalize illogical short term thinking that rewards the very few. 

You can thank activist investors for this.  They go into perfectly sustainable companies that may be having a down year or so (at least stock price wise) and put those companies into play that don’t need to be in play.  

[Guy Chamberlin]

2 hours ago, Archy1221 said:

You can thank activist investors for this.  They go into perfectly sustainable companies that may be having a down year or so (at least stock price wise) and put those companies into play that don’t need to be in play.  

 

It started in the 1980s and became ubiquitous. Too many people to "thank" for this becoming SOP. 

[ZRod]

5 hours ago, Archy1221 said:

Is it more infuriating that companies took PPE or that our government officials forced them to close or reduce capacity  in some instances and gave them the money?  
 

 

Are you talking about the shutdown? Because that was pretty necessary and it makes sense for the government to support businesses they tell to close.

[ZRod]

23 hours ago, Born N Bled Red said:

 

Even more infuriating about the price gouging is that in most instances, these are the same businesses who got millions upon billions of our tax payer dollars to keep them in the green through the pandemic. So they took our tax dollars, now they are after the little bit that the common American got that stemmed them through or put them a little ahead. 

What companies are price gouging and benefitting? Because you're painting with an extremely broad brush. Some specific examples might be helpful for a discussion.

[Archy1221]

16 hours ago, ZRod said:

Are you talking about the shutdown? Because that was pretty necessary and it makes sense for the government to support businesses they tell to close.

I agree that if the government forces companies to close like they did or reduce capacity, that those companies should be compensated.   people here are complaining about those companies getting that money.  
 

 

[ZRod]

1 minute ago, Archy1221 said:

I agree that if the government forces companies to close like they did or reduce capacity, that those companies should be compensated.   people here are complaining about those companies getting that money.  
 

 

I refuse to believe that we have found common ground.

[Guy Chamberlin]

On 2/17/2022 at 5:23 PM, ZRod said:

What companies are price gouging and benefitting? Because you're painting with an extremely broad brush. Some specific examples might be helpful for a discussion.

 

This is a website with an agenda. but their numbers aren't wrong.

 

https://www.accountable.us/news/pandemic-profiteering-albertsons-companies-walgreens-and-ups-2/

 

I believe if you look at many if not most large corporations warning about inflationary pricing, you'll find a company that is actually doing quite well --- possibly having even profited from the pandemic.  Given that inflation is largely traced to both supply chain issues and massive government cash infusion from a global crisis, you might consider it a temporary condition that we all need to ride out together. It's worse in the case of General Mills, which owns tons of package goods brands and foodstuffs, for which a 20% price increase hurts the people who can least afford it.