Why Are Grocery Prices So Expensive? The Real Cause, Study: Thom Hartmann 🍏

[appalachiablue]

- Have you noticed a mysterious surge in grocery bills lately? From produce to pantry staples, prices seem to be scaling new heights. What's behind this unprecedented climb? (Dec. 2023). 🥓
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.. Monopolies are thus characterised by a lack of economic competition to produce the good or service, a lack of viable substitute goods, & the possibility of a high monopoly price well above the seller's marginal cost that leads to a high monopoly profit. The verb monopolise/monopolize refers to the process by which a company gains the ability to raise prices or exclude competitors..In law, a monopoly is a business entity that has significant market power, that is, the power to charge overly high prices, which is associated with a decrease in social surplus...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monopoly

- These *11 companies own everything you buy. (See 2 Graphics)
https://capitaloneshopping.com/blog/11-companies-that-own-everything-904b28425120

[rurallib]

1. And let's not ever talk about interlocking directorates

https://whorulesamerica.ucsc.edu/power/corporate_community.html

I think this has a little age on it, but I doubt it has changed much. Nothing like one guy being on several boards

[appalachiablue]

2. Good info, thanks. Citigroup, Comcast, other huge corporations.

[progree]

3. I discovered my local chain grocery store no longer has magazines

Last edited Sat Dec 9, 2023, 03:37 PM - Edit history (1)

I was thinking of buying the Economist a couple of days ago since I'm running out of "flat back" reading material. But all the magazines are gone. First time I've been there since July because of illness (housebound).

"Flatback reading material" is a physical book or magazine -- I do a lot of reading in bed and I refuse to read stuff in bed on screen since that's supposed to be bad for sleep and other reasons (I get plenty of screen time when I'm up and about at the computer).

Anyway just an idle thought I had when Hartmann, near the end, said the media, other than the economic press, is hardly reporting on the evermore consolidation of corporations. And I was thinking, heck I can't even buy a single issue of the Economist.

[Give Peace A Chance]

5. The illusion of competition

Maga corps own nearly everything.
Don't get me started on Koch brands.

[SunSeeker]

4. K & R & bookmarked.

[Puppyjive]

6. I finally sent an email

I have a favorite jelly that I no longer purchase and evidently other stopped buying as well. The shelves are stocked with plenty of the jelly. The problem is the price. I told them they have priced me out of their product. Of course they cited supply chain issues. No, there is an abundance of the product. I cited corporate greed. It's not that I can't afford the product, I just don't want to pay double the price. I can see $1.00 increase, but not double. I told them we consumers have other choices. Go ahead corporations, bite the hand that feeds you. We will fight back.

[appalachiablue]

8. Good post, thanks.

[IronLionZion]

7. Biden is a pretty bad socialist for forcing corporations to make so much profit

since Biden controls the prices of stuff.

It's a win-win for these corporations to jack up their prices. People will keep on buying stuff because we need to eat food. But many voters will simply blame whoever is in the white house. Conservatives enjoy associating high prices with socialist scarcity instead of corporate monopoly greed.

Things were extra dumb during the 2020 pandemic shortages, when idiots claimed it was socialist scarcity.

Personally, I enjoyed Jason Chaffetz's $114 bougie turkey when a comparable one could be had for about $35 at any local grocery store or $60 for a comparable organic one at whole foods. Yep. Socialism is ruining our lives.