- cross-posted to:
- aboringdystopia@lemmy.world
- cross-posted to:
- aboringdystopia@lemmy.world
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Greed? Is it greed? It’s greed, isn’t it?
*Bob Saget narrator voice*
“…It was greed…”
Bob Saget? More of a Ron Howard line
This is a terribly written headline and article. Might be AI slop. In short it says:
Historically prices don’t go down unless there is an economic depression (for some reason that isn’t explained).
There is little government policy can do to bring prices down (for reasons that aren’t explained).
trump’s tariff and deportation policies will make prices much higher.
Prices go down due to competition. So the government can’t lower prices, unless it destroys demand so the existing levels of competition cause lower prices. The government can lower demand by raising taxes, or if the fed raises interest rates. Eventually leading to enough unemployment to lower demand.
In short, if the government makes prices go down, people tend to burn down the government before that happens. So it’s not really something they can do. Increasing prices is a whole different thing, inflation pisses people off in smaller doses, and keeps them in jobs, so they’re too busy to grab pitch forks and torches.
Food prices aren’t high; the value of money has fallen - it’s called inflation.
The real problem is wages have not increased so the purchasing power of consumers remains low. So food becomes relatively expensive - consumers have had pay cuts.
Wages have increased.
Man, what sector do you work in bcz no they sure haven’t in mine…
Change jobs, companies don’t have unions forcing them to keep wages up with inflation, so it’s up to the individual. Or you know, vote for unions.
All the jobs for my position pay the same, that’s how wage stagnation works. Also, I am union.
Sounds like your union needs to hear from you.
Wage stagnation can affect unions just as much as anyone else. If you want an example, look at how little teachers get paid despite having one of the largest unions in the country, with an extremely high percentage of professionals having membership. Unions cannot magically make an entire sector start paying more, that’s just not how anything works.
Union teachers make 25% more than non union. There’s no magic, it’s always a fight. You can either fight alone, or with a team. Evidence says having a team works better.
Cool, now peg that to the cost of living so it is an accurate measurement.
The story on wages is more complex. They have gone up, but have been outpaced by inflation. The pandemic throws a wrench in measuring things, though, and gives both sides of the argument valid data to work with.
https://www.factcheck.org/2024/06/competing-narratives-on-real-wages-incomes-under-biden/
Of course it’s complex. Markets and wages don’t react instantly. But “generally speaking” wages do catch up.
They haven’t for the last 70 years. You make less than you’re grand parents.
This is so simplified it’s basically a lie.
Wages have not increased compared to any cost of living increases.
Yes, they have. I know it’s a “widely believed fact” here in lemmygrad that “the rich get richer and the poor get poorer” but by any objective measure wages have been around or keeping up with inflation. For 2024 wages beat inflation.They aren’t always lock step so there are times where they drift.
Wages have increased 5.5x what they were in 1950. Housing costs have increased 19x.
Wages haven’t kept up, period. Wages are not up nearly 30% since 2020.
How are computer costs since 1950? Or air travel? Or the costs of food?
You can’t cherry pick a single item like that.
Besides food those other items don’t enter into people’s lives, extreme luxuries don’t matter when you’re spending half your increase me on housing.
