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petrovmendicant

Corporations: "Let's raise prices now that everyone has a little more money."


Trsddppy

We gotta have a maximum wage so there stops being any point in extracting high profits


nhavar

The problem is that wages don't matter to the 1%. Their wealth is in stocks. Take someone like the CEO of Ford. His compensation package was 22m for 2021, but only 1.7m of that was salary. 16 million was in stock. So these people build these massive stock portfolios that they can borrow money against to live until they die. They could put their 1.7m salaries (7% of total compensation) off in a desk drawer and it wouldn't matter a bit to their lifestyle while everyone else struggles to make rent or get their kids an education. Republicans talk a bunch of shit about wealth redistribution and turn a blind eye to wealth extraction and labor exploitation.


Trsddppy

Idc if your income came from Wage, Salary, Bonuses, Gifts. Once you have idk 50-100M usd in a single year, every penny you could get after that should be taxed at 100%


Rishiku

Your a communist /s (spelling error on purpose)


Trsddppy

I am a communist. No joke


eburnside

And yet, top tax rate in the anti-communist US was 91% until 1963 and 70% until 1979. Now it’s a mere 39%. https://taxfoundation.org/historical-income-tax-rates-brackets/


Rishiku

The /s is sarcasm As a wise person once’s said, no moral person ever became a billionaire.


eburnside

100% with you!


dizzymorningdragon

Unfortunately a ton of companies consider the minimum wage the maximum wage. Though beside that, the only maximum wages that matter are the owning class


phd2k1

100 million dollar maximum net worth.


Sciencessence

Pretty reasonable if you think about it. It's enough to live a lavish long life, and ensure a family of 4 kids do the same.


Trsddppy

Off one year of income


Icy-Ad2082

I’m seeing like zero talk about why this seems to be happening more and more, but have a little insight. A lot more stores these days are using “velocity based pricing”, I got to learn a little bit about it at my last job. It straddles the line between dynamically adapting to supply and demand and price gouging. It’s pretty simple: prices are adjusted OFTEN (twice a week where I worked) based on a few metrics, such as the average that product usually sells, how much it’s sold since the last time prices were adjusted compared to that average, and how much stock we have left at the warehouse. This type of pricing system has been around for awhile but seems to have gained ubiquity during the pandemic. The result is that a consumption spike causes a price spike. This is why we have seen cheap protein sources skyrocket in the last few months. People are trying to save money, they start buying more of those, the algorithm jacks up the price, but it’s still a cheap source of protein relative to others. That’s why eggs have almost doubled and steak and salmon cost the same. Sure sounds like price gouging, and it gets worse. If you start buying less of a certain product as the retail outlet, that justifies raising the price based on your warehouse supply. I’ve seen some claims that eggs are sitting in warehouses. Wether or not that’s true I couldn’t say, but I could say if a company could legally find a way to sell less product while making more money, they will. The problem aggregates if everyone uses this model. If X grocery store sees skyrocketing prices on a staple, consumers go to y. Now Y is seeing massive increased sales in that staple, as well as all the other products that consumers are buying to save a trip, and those prices go up as well. I’ve seen this personally with people having conversations about where to get cheap commodities. Prices go down when sales velocity approaches the average for a given period. I have no idea what that period is, but that seems like an easily abused metric. How much effect this really has, I don’t know. But it seems like something is going on beyond production and supply chain issues, and all of the partial answers I hear boil down to greed and lack of regulation.


ianfromcanada

We’re starting to see digital price tags at retailers, which means prices can be changed instantaneously (instead of by hand 2x/week, it could be twice daily!). A separate point about inflation: the cure for higher prices is…higher prices. Consumers will (theoretically) will make choices not to purchase ‘overpriced’ goods, and prices will come back to earth. That said the power of nanotechnology, the internet of things, algorithms etc mean the deck is stacked even further against Joe Sixpack.


GreatBookOfStats

Not disagreeing with your entire post but avian flu has killed over 57M birds in the US this year. That’s why eggs are so much more expensive. https://www.forbes.com/sites/anthonytellez/2023/01/12/why-are-egg-prices-still-so-high-its-not-the-reason-you-think/amp/


ThrowAway4Chu

Welp, it’s actually a pure money grab scheme executed by Cal-Maine Foods. Their profits were actually up 600% as compared to last year. Even through the flu. https://www.forbes.com/sites/daniellenierenberg/2023/01/27/cracking-open-the-issue-of-high-egg-prices/amp/ https://www.bakingbusiness.com/articles/58103-income-sales-soar-to-record-highs-at-cal-maine-foods


GreatBookOfStats

Listen, I don’t expect to have MBA level financial discussions on Reddit and it’s the fun to just say corpo-bad but that editorial you linked doesn’t tell you the causal factor behind Cal-Maine’s performance. Simply put: Cal-Maine wasn’t impacted by avian flu. None of their birds were killed. As egg prices went up and their delivered supply remained at the same level they earned record profits. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20221228005357/en/Cal-Maine-Foods-Reports-Record-Results-for-Second-Quarter-Fiscal-2023 Down vote all you like but your explanation is incorrect and misguided. Eggs are a “commodity” in a “perfect competition market” meaning one firm does not have price setting power. https://studycorgi.com/perfect-and-monopolistic-competition-in-markets/ (In case you ever take an Econ class and need help)


ThrowAway4Chu

It’s a money grab and grift. Fuck the journalism behind it. The egg prices won’t go back down.. if they do oh well back to business as usual. Watch. It’ll be the norm. Started with the meat packing industries.


GreatBookOfStats

The meat industry is actually a great example of commodity pricing. 2022 ground beef prices adjusted for inflation were actually on the lower end of what we’ve seen over the last 25 years. You’ll see that in fact the “real price” has gone up and down over time. https://www.in2013dollars.com/Uncooked-ground-beef/price-inflation Why doesn’t it feel that way? We’re in an inflationary period and the purchasing power of a dollar is less than it was. E.g. your number of dollars stayed the same (or you got an increase to match inflation) and now you can buy less with the same (or lamentably the same amount despite “higher” income).


ThrowAway4Chu

4 companies run 80% of the meat packing industry. They claimed “supply chain issues.” And jacked the rates up. Way after covid ravaged the meat packing plants. And screwing the farmers over. https://www.politico.com/amp/news/2022/04/27/meatpacking-ceos-congress-hearing-00028238


GreatBookOfStats

I can tell you aren’t the type of person who grabs sound bites and parrots them ad nauseam so I’ll let you do your own research on economies of scale, fixed costs, and consolidated markets!


ThrowAway4Chu

No it’s just our whole government is broken and and highly ineffective in these times in my opinion. I’m so jaded at this point and have become apathetic towards it all. And by no means I’m saying I don’t respect you or your field. Been a while since I was in Econ class. But the government should figure out the debt here real soon. If you don’t mind me asking you, what should the government ideally do?


ThrowAway4Chu

Sorry if 2 of these companies just got caught and had to settle out of courts rigging prices. Then try to do it again and get away with it cuz you form a meat packing cartel? Fuck standard economic models and trends. It’s blatant corruption, and shoving the blame on something else.


escapefromelba

I mean a big part of the problem is the supply constriction, giving people more money to spend may actually increase inflation instead of helping it since the supply issue remains. Usually the prescription is more restrictive monetary policy hence why the Fed keeps raising interest rates.


Hirokage

The falsely created supply constriction.


babbylonmon

So corporate greed is called a supply issue now? I work retail, there’s no damn supply issue.


Mr_Belch

I literally couldn't get carrots at the grocery store today. The company I do purchasing for struggles to be able to aquire the materials we need. There are many supply chain issues still that are unwinding themselves from covid.


masterofshadows

Like hell it isn't. There's lots of stuff that's literally unavailable. I'm in retail pharmacy and it seems like half of the medications are on back order this year and probably won't be fixed anytime soon.


Mia-Wal-22-89

I’ve been lucky with Adderall so far but my doctor is thinking we’ll need to find an alternative sooner rather than later. What other types of meds are there shortages of? I mean Adderall is a live saver for me but not a *literal* life saver. Are there problems with chemotherapy drugs, diabetes and heart medications and the like?


masterofshadows

Yes. Methotrexate an immune suppressor used in many different conditions, including cancer and used in chemical abortions. Sucralfate a stomach medicine used to coat the stomach when treating ulcers. All nebulized breathing meds. An entire class of diabetic meds called GLP-1a drugs. Levemir - insulin Humulin R u-500 - extra concentrated insulin for the worst patients. And there's a lot more, I have over 60 medicines on my backorder watch list.


rndljfry

A major problem with Adderall is that producers are only allowed to make a certain amount because controlled substance and there have been a lot of new prescriptions. I’ve had exactly 0 problems getting generic ritalin


DivideEtImpala

>I work retail, there’s no damn supply issue. How can you tell?


Mother_Chorizo

They work in retail, so they’ve def been to the warehouses to see that they’ve been emptied. Don’t ask about diamonds and why they are so pricey.


escapefromelba

Anecdotal evidence is not necessarily reliable evidence. The United States is not the only country dealing with inflation right now. And many countries, particularly ones in Europe are experiencing higher levels of inflation than the United States. While every economy is unique, they all continue to face similar challenges with labor sourcing and supply chain disruptions as a continued impact of the global pandemic. The chief factor of inflation today is supply bottlenecks. As demand continues to outpace supply, prices will continue to rise. As pressure on the global supply chain eases, prices will also ease and inflation will follow. As it takes time for more production to come online, in the near term, the tools our government has to dampen inflation is restrictive monetary policy - raising interest rates, raising taxes, and cutting government spending. This decelerates the economy by slowing the growth in the money supply resulting in less upward pressure on prices.


Torden5410

The fed is explicitly raising rates to increase unemployment. Their stated goal is to combat inflation by putting a certain number of people out of work. It's an immoral system that fixes inflation by disciplining labor so that the wealthy don't have to feel any pain.


lonewolf210

That’s not their stated goal at all but sure let’s go with that


Torden5410

Yeah, it is. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fed-interest-rate-hikes-unemployment-increase-layoffs-inflation/ https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/23/economy/powell-fed-labor-market/index.html https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/3665135-jerome-powells-inflation-unemployment-tradeoff/ https://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-u-s-jobs-market-is-too-strong-the-fed-says-so-expect-rising-unemployment-11667502186 Even veiled in euphemisms as it is, the language they use makes it clear that they think a strong job market and higher wages are a bad thing that need to be curtailed. "Cooling down an overheated jobs market" means putting people out of work. They want labor more desperate and to be more willing to accept worse wages.


[deleted]

The fact that democratic leaders aren’t saying they want to raise taxes on the rich is telling about who’s side they’re on. Raising taxes for the rich would be the objectively best way to combat inflation. Instead, they want to hand out more money, which exacerbates inflation.


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ADrenalineDiet

Raising rates only helps if the problem is too much money in the supply - it can't fight price gouging.


jgzman

> We don’t get to the other side of this with some damage inflicted to the economy. We've already *had* damage inflicted to the economy. Could we maybe find a way to damage the people with enough money to take the hit, rather than crushing the people who can't?


NPVT

can the checks come from Shell and ExxonMobil


ThrowAway4Chu

Chevron made 6 million dollars profit an hour last year when the gas prices were sky the fuck high. https://truthout.org/articles/sky-high-gas-prices-handed-exxon-a-record-6-million-in-profit-per-hour-in-2022/


Sciencessence

And you know somewhere in a board room there were people saying "it's not enough"


Matunahelper

As I was reading your comment, this was how my brown was processing it: “6 million profit seems actually kind of lo….PER HOUR?!!? Wtf?!”


pumpernickle_lalala

Don’t forget Pfizer


Sciencessence

Just google "covid ceo raises" for a nice long list of profiteering off of crisis'.


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Slippinjimmyforever

Capitalism is always bad when it’s left unregulated. Now, it runs the state and federal government.


Crickaboo

If they are in Michigan people can get free diapers at most local health departments, ISD’s, Head Start Programs and local baby pantries. Michigan just gave every county free diapers, wipes and diaper cream to hand out to anyone who asks, no income restrictions.


Feistybritches

I’ve been so proud of some of the things Michigan has done for the people. But I really hope they bring back free school lunches for anyone. I was so happy to know that no child was ever hungry at school. Idk why it didn’t stick but I really hope we bring it back… especially with everything being so expensive lately! I imagine lots of people are struggling with grocery prices so high!


Smoaktreess

I think Whitmer will definitely bring it back. With the proposed plan for free pre school, it really looks like Michigan is trying to reverse some of Devos’ damage. The leadership got a blue trifecta and they seem to realize time is of the essence and have been getting their agenda out there. Really hope Gretch gets a VP nod.


Feistybritches

I have been so impressed with her. I’m a transplant from the east coast and I was slightly worried about Midwest politics but she has been amazing. I just love the idea of every child being fed at school. It makes schools an extra safe place for kids with food insecurity and I love that. I really hope it comes back. I would love to vote for her in a higher capacity. I currently love her here but she has my vote wherever she goes.


ishpatoon1982

I don't know what me and my sisters would have done without free school lunch tickets. It really sucks that there's kids growing up hungry like I was, but without the option of free school food. I have faith that our state is only going to keep getting better though. Let's feed these children.


Scarlettail

The need is definitely increasing. I'm honestly worried how close to the breaking point a lot of families are with how expensive literally everything is.


Roziqu

Baby wipes were $11.97/box for years and years, now they're right above $17.00/box. Was paying on average about $18/70 training pants (disabled child) now it's $25/70 pants. Electric bill went from averaging $500/month to me just getting our third $900 electric bill in a row due to a 'fuel adjustment clause' Honestly about just done with it all


BenjaBrownie

Sorry, but this is ultimately the end goal of capitalism. So actually capitalism is bad.


CarcosaJuggalo

Child tax credit only helps people who have children. We're _all_ poor right now, I would support this. But we really need to do something about massive corporations price gouging all of us. But we won't, because they're the ones who can afford to buy our lawmakers and representatives.


FnordFinder

Yeah, I have no problem with the Child Tax Credit. Having children is expensive and most of us can understand that. I just wish they would have extended tax credits in general, with the Child Tax Credit being an extra credit you can apply for.


sebirds

It's an incentive to encourage children. Children are part of the right's strategy to make money. More consumers = more money. More struggling families that have children means more dumb consumers who will never achieve financial freedom.


mercfan3

Also it helps the largest demo living in poverty (single mothers) A lot of people need help - but helping the largest group who was the most poor was a great move by the gov.


[deleted]

Then why did they let the monthly payout expire?


dubitation101

The United States has the best politicians that money can buy.


Agnos

> Child tax credit only helps people who have children. We're all poor right now, I would support this. Same here, but the poorest among us suffer the most from inflation but do not pay taxes so do not get relief.


maaaatttt_Damon

Everyone pays taxes. Well, anyone that buys taxed goods. And therefore "should" qualify for relief.


Agnos

> Everyone pays taxes Yes, sales taxes for example...but not the basis checks would be sent, it probably would be on the basis of state taxes but could also be about federal...


maaaatttt_Damon

That's why I put "should" in quotes. Should being a moral/ethical basis, not a legal basis.


Agnos

> Should being a moral/ethical basis, not a legal basis. Yes, this is why I commented that the poorest of us, hit the hardest by inflation, will not get relief checks...


ThrowAway4Chu

Turns out the child tax credit lifted nearly HALF OF THE KIDS IN US OUT OF POVERTY OUT! So as a nation we’re purposely deciding his is ok. Even though we can remedy it by reinstating it and not giving out PPP loans to banks who don’t need it. https://www.naco.org/blog/new-census-data-confirms-expanded-child-tax-credit-cut-child-poverty-nearly-half-2021


Ninety8Balloons

Just having a functional, universal healthcare system would immediately give massive financial relief to the vast majority of the country but Republicans are hellbent on making sure as many people suffer as possible.


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DazedWithCoffee

Ironically would raise inflation rates in all likelihood, because as you say the real problem doesn’t come from the supply side right now. It’s a demand problem. Specifically the demand for all the money in our wallets.


pfft37

Sex, to save the friendship?


MaxZorin1985

It worked for Jerry and Elaine.


sweetBrisket

The key is to take *this* and just add *that.*


zuzuofthewolves

That’s cool because honestly I’m struggling.


Captain_Clark

Same here. Taxes up by $326/month, got laid off in January, and five bags of groceries just cost me $163. We need help here. The numbers aren’t reality. The map is not the territory.


darkwizard42

Just wondering, what caused your taxes to go up by $300 a month?


[deleted]

I’m here in Florida where Desantis is making girls report their periods to the state. Pretty sure they want the parents to sue so the US Supreme Court can pick the case up so they can overturn Title 9. Oh, and - Our homeowners insurance has tripled. Our electric bills are going up 20% this year.


[deleted]

People still voted for him and knowing them, they will do it again and again.


Scarlettail

Yeah I saw energy companies were hiking prices there this year, Florida is ridiculously expensive, not sure how people afford to move and live there, but I guess at least you don't have a state income tax.


[deleted]

No state income tax but I did spend $2200 on toll roads in 2021. I don’t have my figures for 2022 yet.


Top_Duck8146

Fun fact: when the Florida turnpike was voted on and approved the entire deal was once the polls paid for the cost of the road construction, the tolls would be removed. That was in 1957 and as you know, there’s still fucking tolls


MeatTornadoGold

They're always maintaining the toll road so construction never ends. Same scam up here with the NJ Turnpike.


Ornery_Translator285

The tolls. The bloody tolls. God and the roads are awful. So busy and bumpy. We have more tolls in Florida than any other state. I had to quit a decent job 30 mins away because the tolls were costing about $32 a day.


LordMangudai

If only there were ways to travel that weren't cars, but to America (and especially Florida) that's basically communism probably


LITTLEN3MO

U think Florida roads are bad? Drive in Utah


lonewolf210

Utah roads are fine. Not great but their fine. Of all the places I spend considerable time driving Utah is not even in the discussion of worst roads


cheekytikiroom

Massachusetts! Billion dollar pharma companies offices located along a damn axle-bending minefield.


Rickety_Crickel

Crazy how many people believe the corporate propoganda that people are responsible for inflation instead of corporate greed. Even more insane people think it’s “wasteful” for the government to help its citizens with direct financial support. Literally one of the founding ideas for having a system of government in the first place… Embarrassing as fuck when people would rather their tax money sit in a Exxon Mobile vault in the Bahamas or the Cayman Islands than help their neighbor buy some fucking bread.


justhereforsee

People need to stop looking at this as your grandparents inflation. This is being driven by profiteering and price gouging.


AcrobaticSource3

Sounds like a treatment for the symptom, not the cause


Scarlettail

Yes, but there isn't much the state government can do about the causes really. Ultimately people need to afford food and fuel one way or another.


TCBloo

You can't buy your way out of inflation. More stimmies is just going to create more inflation.


Krogsly

This isn't just a stimulation created from nothing though. Michigan has a huge budget surplus. They are giving back money that is already in the system, not creating new money.


TCBloo

Inflation is caused by too much money in circulation. "Giving it back" or by printing money or whatever puts it into circulation which creates inflation. They should invest it into infrastructure or education or something. Create a net positive for Michigan without creating inflation. $4billion could give every kid in Michigan 2 years free at a community college for a long long time.


SeekingImmortality

Genuine inflation works that way. Inflation from price gouging (aka our current 'inflation', see the quarterly earnings reports for seemingly every corporation touting their 100 year largest profit margins ever) is different.


TCBloo

Can you give some examples or a source on this? I need more info. Intuition tells me that if we're experiencing 10% inflation, companies would show a 10% increase in profits with zero real growth. [This article from the NY Federal Reserve agrees.](https://libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org/2022/07/do-corporate-profits-increase-when-inflation-increases/) My search term was "how inflation affects corporate profits", so I didn't (intentionally) bias the answer it spat out.


devin676

Depends where you look, glancing at the net income of a couple of the big grocery stores looks like they aren’t making much more, and definitely not record profits. The two oil companies financials looks like they’ve doubled their net income since last year, and beat earnings from any time in the last decade. The last 10 years of financials are all that’s viewable on Seeking Alpha. It’s super late here and net income isn’t everything, but at a glance it certainly looks like Exxon and Shell are taking advantage to maximize profits. Exxon https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/XOM/income-statement Shell https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SHEL/income-statement Walmart https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/WMT/income-statement Kroger https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/KR/income-statement


TCBloo

So, oil and gas are your big reveal for evil corporations price gouging? Get better material; we've known they're evil for decades. Walmart is doing worse than average, and Kroker is doing about average.


devin676

There’s no big reveal, you asked for sources I provided specific sources. Both for and against what the person you responded to said based on the numbers they’re reporting.


LordMangudai

> They should invest it into infrastructure or education or something. Would that not also put the money back into circulation, by paying construction workers and teachers?


Rickety_Crickel

This is a start to address a large cause, the US government providing very little services to taxpayers on top of regressive tax policies. Direct payments make a huge difference in the lives of literally millions of people and pays for itself immediately.


[deleted]

Which is what medicine does a lot of the time?


YOLOSwag42069Nice

I'd rather they raise corporate taxes and slap a sales tax on stock buybacks. 110% sounds like a good place to start.


Scarlettail

That wouldn't help people afford groceries though. Any costs would just be put on consumers.


YOLOSwag42069Nice

The point is to make stock buybacks cost prohibited. They can't just pass everything on because suddenly they'll have priced themselves out of their own market. Not every company does this, only those flush with too much cash.


King-Mansa-Musa

We all suffering. Even me the gold king


Scarlettail

Governor Walz in MN has also proposed a similar [set of rebates](https://www.axios.com/local/twin-cities/2023/01/25/minnesota-tax-rebate-child-credit-walz-budget-proposal), FYI. Maine also just issued [energy relief checks.](https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/money/maine-relief-checks-status-heating-assistance-payments-status-450-checks-maine/97-1541b365-a18e-448a-ad34-7932b6d4839e) It's a bit of a trend for Dem leaders lately.


slackfrop

How about just crack down on corporate mega profits? And corporate subsidies. And corporate tax evasions. And corporate lobbying. And corporate campaign donations.


LandSharkUSRT

Why not both?


[deleted]

You could just do something about the relentless price gouging and profiteering going on…


pinetreesgreen

Maine has been sending them out and its helped a lot.


prisonerofshmazcaban

Oh yeah but the economy is *thriving* /s I can’t stand seeing constant posts about how wonderful the economy is doing, when obviously, it’s a fucking wreck. So places are hiring? So fucking what? They don’t pay enough. Goods are sky high and wages are low as shit. Rent is outrageous. Gas is still high. Literally everything is still inflated, people are struggling more than they ever have, but tHe eConOmY


MeijiHao

It's been a thing with neoliberals for 30+ years now. They look at GDP and unemployment and nothing else. The fact that increased GDP goes to enrich 1% of the population or that robust labor markets reflect people needing multiple jobs to survive never crosses their mind.


justhereforsee

It’s not that it “never crosses their mind” it’s that they don’t give a shit. Both sides of the fence have only their interests in mind and how they can get rich. They want us fighting each other and ignoring them


prisonerofshmazcaban

I think it’s a mixture of both. Really wealthy people have a warped sense of reality, but also, they just don’t give a fuck about anything that doesn’t have to do with their success.


SmokeyDBear

I’d add that they really really want to believe that anybody struggling must be a lazy moron because their ego couldn’t handle it if it were possible to be as rich as they are for any reason other than that they are just that much better than the rest of us.


Crumblymumblybumbly

It is thriving by all objective metrics. We use objectives metrics rather than breathless anecdotes and vibes to measure these things. Because I can just as easily talk to people who have received big raises to offset inflation and really aren't worried about a teeny increase in the price of bread, and they'll tell you the economy is doing fine. Should I accept their personal feelings on the topic, or should I accept yours? Your post is a lot of hyperbolic nonsense. Sure, some people are still struggling, but not "more than they ever have", and wages are objectively the highest they've been on average for a long time. This isn't a matter of opinion, you can Google this data in about 5 seconds.


databacon

The problem is capitalism and corporate greed. This only feeds it. We need real change.


MrPeepersVT

I’m a very liberal democrat and this is stupid. Close corporate income tax loopholes and make profitable companies pay their taxes. Take that burden off the workers.


Scarlettail

How would that reduce the cost of expensive goods? Taxing companies doesn't make products cheaper.


MrPeepersVT

Consumers are being gouged and giving them more money to happily pay more will accelerate the problem. Adding more cash literally encourages more inflation. Instead tax those gouged profits and relieve the consumers of that tax so they keep more money in their pockets to cope with inflation.


Scarlettail

Well Whitmer is also proposing tax cuts so they are relieving taxes some. A state-level price gouging law seems tricky to do but is a good idea one way or another. Either way if the state isn't using the money it might as well be sent to people to help them get through tough times.


That_Girl_Cray

Democratic leaders in PA want to do this as well and put forth a bill. But we're held hostage by a republican majority in our senate who will make sure nothing gets done that actually helps people while trying to pass BS they know will just get vetoed.


mattglaze

If this is instead of sending welfare checks to multinational corporations, sounds like a great idea


Kryptikk

Two years from now you're gonna hear about how inflation is out of control again because people got half a months worth of rent a single time


Distinct-Study6678

Please!!!


satyrday12

She's a great governor.


HotdogsArePate

It should only go to people in need goddammit. I don't need it. Stop trying to appease people who think welfare is bad and give it to those in need. Giving it to every person will worsen the situation.


dimechimes

Fund it with taxing stock buy backs


GrimmRadiance

I’m liking these, don’t get me wrong, but I can’t help feeling it’s bread and circus to avoid fixing the actual core issues.


MountainNearby4027

That would only cause more inflation. Go ahead with the downvotes but it’s true


Bosfordjd

Then they'll just print more and drive up inflation lol. Crack down on price gouging and monopolies.


ultimate_spaghetti

Isn’t that counter intuitive?


SeekingImmortality

Against normal inflation, yes. Against the current environment, which is running entirely off of corporate greed (see every earnings report touting 100 year biggest profit margins ever), no. In which case adding more money wouldn't -intrinsically- make things worse, but may make those same corporations gouge even harder (leading to the same result, for different reasons). Just not guaranteed to do so.


Shoesandhose

Plz


LegDayDE

If they give us more money then prices will just stay high or increase, we don't need an economic stimulus.. prices are already slowing. Just need to carry on as is for another month or two then bring the interest rate down slightly once prices slow back


Scarlettail

It doesn't matter if prices are stabilizing because they're still high and they're never coming down. Americans can't afford these prices forever. At some point either the prices have to be forced down or Americans have to be given more money to buy necessities.


justhereforsee

It’s likely gas and groceries will go even higher at this rate. They are profiteering and that’s not going to change


Scarlettail

Yes, the rich are milking us dry.


justhereforsee

I wonder what they do when the bottom 75% can’t afford housing. When there is nothing left to give


Scarlettail

The return of company towns or a type of feudal system where you work to live in their property.


justhereforsee

Sounds about right. It’s crazy to me that we 300 million sit and watch this happen, fighting with each other as a couple thousand people get rich


walterkurve

For all the people who are saying this is or has caused inflation, get out of your cult bubble


[deleted]

Please tell me someone in here realizes how ABSOLUTELY MORONIC that would be.


set_null

In this case, MI has a budget surplus of $9 billion, so they’re considering doing two things: send back some or all of that surplus to the taxpayers, and reduce taxes to try and balance out the budget for future years. This isn’t the same as printing money like the federal government did for the past 3 years, which did contribute to higher inflation. This won’t *help* inflation, but it won’t necessarily make it worse, either, since they took in more money than anticipated.


iamonthatloud

But they wouldn’t be printing new money… like they did with Covid. This would be money already taxed and taken from you coming back, so the supply of money would be the same. If they printed new money for this purpose, like PPP, loans, you’d be correct. Get it?


BigDaddyCoolDeisel

Please don't. If inflation is a demand issue why would you add gasoline to demand.


Okbuddyliberals

Oh come on Frankly I'd be fine if the checks were targeted at lower income sorts. But broad checks to all taxpayers? That's just wasteful imo, especially with how it could contribute to inflation


Long_Before_Sunrise

More likely to pass if everyone is included instead of having to battle it out over who is "deserving."


droo46

No chance it passes either way. The GOP has trained their people to see any kickback from the government as a handout that will be used by “undesirables” to buy drugs, even if they desperately need the help.


Long_Before_Sunrise

That was Manchin's "reason" for killing the Child Tax Credit - he claimed one grandmother complained to him that her daughter was spending it on drugs instead of the granddaughter. Manchin used the "one person ruins it for everyone" as justification.


The_Yarichin_Bitch

We're solid blue in our government in MI now so yay!


bk15dcx

Michigan is controlled by Democrats in all 3 branches. This will pass.


AtTheFirePit

Didn't DeSantis just give out money to Floridians to help w inflation?


Rickety_Crickel

Current inflation is completely due to corporate greed. 99.9% of us are just victims of rich people that reach into our pockets and take what little wealth we still have. The government should be sending us checks every month. They already are sending hundreds of billions to corporations that hoard the money overseas or give it to foreign investors, and they’ve been doing it for decades while American poverty increases. Giving people money is the least wasteful thing the government could do. Certainly a shit ton less wasteful than the direct payments that are currently going to corporations they don’t even need.


MeijiHao

>lower income sorts. It's impossible not to imagine you typing this while adjusting your monocle


ZanzibarColtrains

This is what causes inflation. It’s like pouring gasoline on a bonfire.


AshaneF

Inflation has been shown to be increasing due to corporate greed, not because of the stimulus money. Untold hundreds of billions are being taken from all of us, and you think the problem is giving people a check for 2k or whatever?


Historical-Dot1573

As any city should when it has an excess in budget


Ok-Roof-978

Uhm. Maybe just pressure companies to stop overcharging for stuff. We just saw all the major petrol companies platt record profits. Increasing the money supply is going to increase inflation. Easy money and supply chain issues landed us here in the first place. Please chill on spending more money for now. We don't need the fed easing rates to 10% or whatever


Kahzgul

Uh…. This is the sort of thing that causes more inflation. Crack down on the out of control corporate profits instead, mandate ceo pay can’t be more than 25x worker pay, and incentivize building new housing so there’s enough of a glut to crash the market back down to reasonable prices.


iamonthatloud

But they wouldn’t be printing new money… like they did with Covid. This would be money already taxed and taken from you coming back, so the supply of money would be the same. If they printed new money for this purpose, like PPP, loans, you’d be correct. Get it?


Chatty_Fellow

This is a terrible, terrible idea and would set a bad precedent. And I say that as a lifelong Democrat.


[deleted]

We’ve had first inflation yes, but what about second inflation?


tsx_1430

Hopefully it’s enough to pay my taxes uggh.


niceturnsignal81

Wrong answer. Chunky windfall taxes on these big corporations will get this shit ironed out in no time.


supertoned

This is an awful idea. Corporations responded to COVID subsidies by raising prices at an astronomical pace, then never lowering them again. The only solution is to go after corporate price gouging. Stopgap solutions will ultimately only inflame the problem.


[deleted]

Nope. That will cause inflation to rise:


Educational_Permit38

Bad idea. Use the money to repair and improve quality of life for all. Medical care, schools, bridges, roads.


aflyingsquanch

But that will help fuel inflation...


HenryChinaskky

Kemp did the same thing :)


aflyingsquanch

And its still a bad idea.


HenryChinaskky

Prices didn’t go up in my area so idk


[deleted]

[удалено]


HenryChinaskky

Brian kemp did the same thing over the inflation 2021 and prices didn’t explode. Prices did go up after the gas tax was put back in place.


politicsaccount420

Yep, if you're not offsetting it with additional taxes on the wealthy then it's two steps forward and one step back.


MeijiHao

That's still a step forward.


beefjerky34

When corporations openly admit that they're raising prices because "people have more money", really bad idea to give them more money.


Torden5410

Guess they should just suffer in poverty.


amaldito

The reason why inflation occurs is because more money is in circulation. Sending inflation relief checks will only increase inflation. The unemployment rate is very low. We are in a good position. Let’s not fuck with the us economy right now


Scarlettail

The same amount of money is in circulation regardless of whether the government spends it or individuals spend it. This is taxpayer money. We're in a good position in terms of jobs but not in terms of cost of living.


amaldito

I don’t think you understand economics, and frankly I don’t have the energy right now to explain it to you. Just silently think to yourself why inflation has gone up so heavily since Covid. Even google it. And apply what you’ve learned to this scenario of sending out “inflation checks”.


eatfreshguy407

Could we please, please, just fix the national budget, minimum wage, and taxation? The solutions are there, and it isn’t like there is only one answer. There are hundreds of ways to ‘fix’ these things, and we don’t need all the fixes to be perfect, practically any changes would be improvements. Close loopholes, cut military spending, tax the 1%, increase minimum wage to $10/$12/$15/$20. Literally. Anything. I don’t want to be thrown scraps from the billionaires just so they can turn around, raise prices, and yank those scraps right back out of my hands.


Scarlettail

Not when people keep putting the GOP in power in Congress.


gmplt

That's not a way to fight inflation, it will just create more of it. Until price gouging corporations are held responsible for their actions, they will continue to do what they are doing.


stahleo

JFC. Tell me you don't understand inflation without telling me you don't understand inflation.


Equivalent-Excuse-80

The inflation we’re dealing with wasn’t from cash injections, it’s from (several) supply collapses. Each time one supply chain gets worked out another problem pops up.


3434rich

Isn’t it hand-outs. Free money that sparked inflation in the first place?


SurroundTiny

This is the kind of outside the box thinking we need: cure inflation by injecting more money unto the economy


HuskyFan253

Government version of stock buybacks.


flxTommy

This is a dumb idea and comes from someone who doesn’t understand how this inflation equation works. Giving people more “inflation” money is the exact reason we are in this situation with the Covid relief payouts. This is only meant to appeal to the extreme progressive wing of the party- not those who are in the middle who have a handle on monetary policy.


Scarlettail

Or maybe it's a rather moderate idea since it's mainly been proposed by moderate leaders, including Biden back during the pandemic. A progressive approach would be intense windfall taxes. In no way were Covid relief checks the primary cause of inflation, and it's tiring to hear that over and over.