The only thing that is preventing basic living essentials for costing more is whether the capitalist class feel like rising the price or not.
The only thing that is preventing basic living essentials for costing more is whether the capitalist class feel like rising the price or not.
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Yep, a huge portion of this recent 'inflation' is not cost increases or actual inflation... just basically the wealthy class turning the screws on everyone else because they can.
Don’t worry, my Econ 101 class states that surely a competitor will come in and operate at a lower cost to recoup that cost for the customers!
Wait… what do you mean the competitors are all increasing prices by the same amount knowing demand for diapers is inelastic and the Nash equilibrium is for them to all match price increases so that they all make more money together?
Surely a new entrant will help!
Wait… what do you mean nobody will invest in a new competitor because the market is “saturated” and even if they did the big brands would just decrease prices in the areas they operate until they run out of cash and fold?
Surely a regulator will help!
Wait… what do you mean the regulators feel price increases are due to “too much demand” for products and are turning the screws on consumers?
"Actual inflation" is just some capitalist a bit further up the supply chain "turning the screws on everyone just because they can". Inflation is the ultimate proof capitalism is an inherently flawed system.
This is just false. The OP had the correct idea, demand for essential goods is inelastic. This doesn't go away if you "get rid of capitalism". All economies have price increases. If you ban them, you just get shortages and things get sold on the black market (as was the case in the Soviet Union).
The real issue is: what is "essential"? The items we think of as essential are mostly conveniences. Disposable diapers are not essential. Washable diapers existed for thousands of years, and they are way better for the environment. Your kids don't have disposable clothes. You just wash them when they are covered in vomit or feces. So why not diapers?
Maybe we should consider alternatives to "essential" items. Toilet paper is expensive? Get a bidet. Baked goods are expensive? Get some butter and flour. Beer is expensive? Good news: alcohol just appears for free when you give yeast food! Your home repairs are expensive? Literally watch a YouTube video.
It's easier than ever to do things on your own. Don't hand out money unless you want to. And realize the choice you are making.
Washable diapers are somewhat different from regular clothes. They need to be natural fibre (cotton or similar) that can handle being washed at high temperatures - because you want to make sure those diapers are properly clean. Natural fibre is expensive - there is a reason why most denim pants on the market are stretch now. Washable diapers also harken back to a time when one parent - usually the mother - was at home all day to look after the household and the kids. Water and electricity were cheap back then - nowadays if you're running several loads of washing each week just to clean the diapers, you're quickly transferring that cost.
Your other analogies are similarly flawed. Home repairs are expensive, sure - but watch a Youtube video? Really? For one, some skillsets are not transferrable through a video - these people make it look easy because they know what they're doing. Then, even if I can comprehend what I'm supposed to do, I still may not have the required tools - and boy some of them can be expensive. Thirdly, certain kinds of work are regulated, at least where I live (plumbing, electrical), so DIYing those can get you into very hot water if something goes wrong. Lastly, if I botch a repair or break something else in the process, I'm left holding the bag. A tradesman has the required insurance - at least where I live - and has to warrant their work.
"Just eat less avocado toast."
Are we going to pretend inflation isn’t also being driven by people acting cavalier? Because non essential spending is still way up last time I checked. People don’t seem to be objecting to the prices at all where it counts.
Are we going to pretend inflation isn’t also being driven by people acting cavalier?
Yes, because inflation is not driven by people spending money. Spending money drives the economy. Inflation means the prices of goods and services are going up. That is driven by scarcity of resources, scarcity of goods, workforce shortages, and more often than not, pure greed.
If you're arguing that prices are going up because businesses think people have too much money to spend, and want a bigger piece of the pie, then you've literally restated the original point of this thread.
Only scarcity causes prices to go up, and not demand? Ok. Sure. Ha.
I never said 'only scarcity', but sure, have your gotcha point.
You think cotton is expensive? And you think electricity and water were cheaper? None of that is true. I actually looked up what a load of laundry costs in terms of energy and water. It's about a kWh to wash and another to dry. Water is maybe a dollar per wash.
So $1.50 per wash and dry at most for a couple dozen new diapers. And you forget the best part: you never run out! So you save time by not needing to go to the store.
If you think doing your own repairs is impossible to "comprehend", I don't know what to tell you. You may currently live in a house built by illiterate people. And I mean that, literally. Most repairs are very approachable with just a screwdriver and a wrench. You probably have the tools already (or $10 to buy them).
I don't know what you class as 'repairs' if you think 'most' of them can be done with a screwdriver and a wrench. I do plenty of DIY and repair work on my house, and have invested in a number of tools, some of which would be completely out of range or over the top for an average family. I've had to teach myself some plumbing skills to fix drainpipes and other stuff - screwdriver and wrench get you exactly nowhere with that kind of stuff.
Also, I've watched more than enough Youtube DIY videos to know that many of them contain incomplete and misleading instructions, and that some of the people who make them are idiots.
Cotton is not expensive. Denim isn’t stretch because of cotton prices. Demon is stretch because stretch denim is super popular.
12 pack of cotton diapers is $22
People are lazy as fuck. Scrolling and posting like you and me instead of doing basic shit at home.
Inflation doesn't come from demand, it comes from someone raising the price of something - a raw material or a finished product. The combined effect of all those pricing hikes is what we call "inflation", and they are almost always done in the name of increasing profit, not to meet demand (whether elastic or not). A system that demands infinite growth cannot work in a finite world, that's the problem at the root of capitalism.
Let's go further. Why bother with gas? You can just get things delivered, or walk to the store
Why bother with medicine? You could just grow herbs that have the same compounds in unmeasured dosage, or you could synthesize them at home
It's not that I think you're wrong, I just think this is an impractical way forward. It's voting with your wallet, and it doesn't work
"But people are still out here buying staples and maxing out their credit cards, so we can turn the screws just a bit more, right? Right?"
-Rich People Probably
“There still aren’t enough homeless people. We can keep going.”
What's terribly sad about that is we're genuinely reaching crisis levels in some cities. These people need housing *with functioning plumbing stat.
I don't understand people's hesitance to house them because it's like... all you people do is complain about them existing and wanting them "out of your downtown." Well shit, it's my downtown too and their downtown as well and all I want is for them to be housed, and holy shit that actually solves your whole fucking complaint because now they're not in "your" downtown.
The amount of human feces that has to be cleaned daily in some cities is genuinely approaching crisis levels. It's literally a public health emergency. It absolutely can get to the level where enough fecal matter is in a general area that large amounts of bacteria will be floating in the air, and people can end up getting ill from food that this bacteria has landed on. No direct contact with feces needed, once it has reached that level. We don't want it to reach that level.
There's my rant about how absolutely fucked the homeless situation is, because its inhumane and should be classified as "cruel and unusual punishment" in my opinion.
you turn the screws you tear down the bridge, flimsy as it is, it's business-like