Americans' refusal to keep paying higher prices may be dealing a final blow to US inflation spike
Americans' refusal to keep paying higher prices may be dealing a final blow to US inflation spike
The great inflation spike of the past three years is nearly spent — and economists credit American consumers for helping slay it.
I hate how this is written as if it's consumers who are responsible for inflation--if we would just stop buying things inflation would go down, hurr durr...
The narrative for the last couple years is that companies have no other choice but to raise prices, but now that people are too poor to afford essentials they magically find a way to lower pieces.
It’s one of the most cynical takes possible.
Uh, it's not like we did it by choice. The more as accurate headline would be "Americans can no longer afford things because of greed and inflation".
"Refusal" LOL
I am now privileged to be able to afford the price hikes, but I grew up poor. I just cannot stomach the current prices because I remember the value of money. Most people do not have a choice in the matter.
If I where to guess, people are paying for what they have to and REALLY want. Everything else is quickly losing value. I would not be surprised if some of the products that jacked prices up do not see their customers returning once the prices come back down. They made the cardinal sin of forcing consumers to ask themselves if they really need or want their product.
I have eaten the same thing for breakfast every day for two years. Other than two products, everyone else priced themselves out of my refrigerator permanently. Lunch is down to a handful of things too.
My breakfast has been cottage cheese on homemade sourdough toast for a solid decade. Crazy cheap if you don't count the 12 hours it takes to make the bread. ;)
What's your breakfast?
I make myself a vegan jalapeño-cheddar breakfast sausage sandwich.
Since that is all that I eat, and three of the components are expensive, I wait until they go on sale and buy the entire stock within a twenty minute drive radius. The three expensive components often sell for ~$6 per pack but each goes on sale for ~$3.50 fairly often.
I fire roast the fresh jalapeños myself.
Millions of people are deferring home and automotive purchases, maintenance, and even medical care because they can't afford it.
That means they're "refusing to pay higher prices" and the economy is cured, right?
It is NOT inflation - it's profiteering. Has been since covid... is still going strong.