Inflation from Money Printing, Survival, or Greed?

[murray t turtle]

That is why I appreciate rent controls, even though I am a property owner and live in my own four walls. In BC, Canada, there are rent controls in place that limit rent increases to not exceed a published inflation basket that is very well defined.

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Good way, gov way/if you like gas by the liter+ about 3 times to hi.

 

[zdreg]

That is why I appreciate rent controls, even though I am a property owner and live in my own four walls. In BC, Canada, there are rent controls in place that limit rent increases to not exceed a published inflation basket that is very well defined.

(https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/...ial-tenancies/during-a-tenancy/rent-increases)

In my opinion, even in market economies that follow a capitalist market model, essential services should be highly regulated in order to prevent price gauging. Education cost is an obvious total disaster and miss, rent in many other jurisdictions as well. Medical care is another issue that has priced out many ordinary citizens because it has not been sufficiently regulated. Ironically, the same people who get extremely angry about any intrusion into free choices of corporates to set prices are now screaming the loudest about inflation.

Controls lead to shortages.

 

[Stratter]

Imo, the biggest contributor to the misallocation of resources that will go into the history books is the cheap money that floated around for almost 1.5 decades plus the magnification and elevation of a few success stories in entrepreneurism through social media.

People figured out that they can start a business overnight and charge whatever they want, all completely debt financed, even without much apparent talent to operate successfully long-term. Humans often go through life by seeking the path of least resistance that requires the least effort. There is a huge shortage of medical practitioners (including nurses), elderly care takers, engineers,...all professions that either require very long training plus passing licensing exams or professions that do not pay extraordinarily well despite their huge importance and contribution to the wellbeing of society. Most young folks seek the quick buck of role models on social media, rarely do those influencers talk about the down-side of their chosen life styles.

And that is expected as that is how the world works - those people are not to be blamed, they are a product of their time. Good times create weak people, weak people create hard times, hard times create strong people and strong people create good times. : )

 

[zdreg]

Eight... friggin'... dollars... for a black coffee.

Did you vote for Biden?

 

[Bad_Badness]

Cold brew is not drip, btw. Different process, more coffee used etc.

IMO, price increases are just playing catchup. Rents: Landlords got burned in the pandemic. We ended up giving away about 25% of our rent for two years. (300+ units) I had one property and after building and leasing up, I made 0.3% total over 6 years for taking that risk. Normal, historical, is 18-23% per year. Food served: MY friend who owns 3 places told me they were destroyed in the pandemic from no business. Raw materials have gone up and he kept them away for a long time but can now no longer subsidize them.

Also keep in mind that prices have been kept artificially low on many things manufactured due to offshore production. Now the supply chain is disrupted, and those facilities are over capacity

All that being said, I made a new spice cake dessert. Butter is 2x now, so it uses oil, and one egg and cardamon, nutmeg, mace, cinnamon, ginger and clove. 9" sq pan cost is about 1.00. Right out of the old west frontier playbook.

Some greed, but a lot of survival maneuvering going on.

 

[lindq]

I
Another massive ripoff I've noticed recently has been coffee shops.

But we appreciate you holding the line on prices here on E.T.

 

[lindq]

Fast forward a few weeks later. I'm on the Gulf Coast of Florida at a Marriott hotel and they have a full-blown coffee shop and breakfast area beside the lobby. I order my usual large cold brew and lo and behold we set a new record. Grand total with tax: $8.00

I took a road trip a few weeks ago between D.C. and Boca, stopping at various points along the way to visit family, etc. Costs are up everywhere, but Florida was by far the worst.

 

[savoir]

I posted some of the post below as a reply in another thread but I figured the topic might make a decent thread of its own, which is... Where have you noticed price increases that feel more like price gouging than just inflation caused by the standard money printing or supply chain excuses?

For me, it does feel like certain things are prohibitively more expensive than they used to be just out of greed, or perhaps trying to dig out of the Covid hole? I don't know.

Example... My wife and I went out to lunch the other day at a restaurant that's built right into the side of a local mall. And it's one of those places that serves a little bit of everything, and it wasn't busy at all like I remembered it to be in years past, so we're not talking about a situation where there are just so many more customers waiting around to be seated than there are seats to fill. When I saw the prices on the menu I was like WTF is going on? Examples:

Bacon Cheeseburger - $23
Crab Cake Appetizer - $25
9oz sirloin - $36
BBQ Ribs - $39
Sea Bass - $50
8oz Filet - $55

And even a side order of fries was $8. I mean, the whole experience felt like the biggest ripoff ever. We're not talking about Morton's steakhouse here. It's a mall restaurant for crying out loud.

Another massive ripoff I've noticed recently has been coffee shops. That same day my wife and I went out to lunch, we took a quick stroll around the adjacent mall afterwards. I haven't stepped foot in that place in about 4 years, and it was a total ghost town. As we were walking around, I stopped in Starbucks and got a large cold brew coffee... black. No sugar. No creme. No fancy latte bullshit or anything like that. The cost: $6.48.

Fast forward a few weeks later. I'm on the Gulf Coast of Florida at a Marriott hotel and they have a full-blown coffee shop and breakfast area beside the lobby. I order my usual large cold brew and lo and behold we set a new record. Grand total with tax: $8.00

Eight... friggin'... dollars... for a black coffee.

I work from home so 99% of the time I'm making my own coffee, cooking my own meals, etc, so I'm oblivious to what's going on in the outside world. So yeah, maybe it's just me living under a rock for so long that's the issue. Not sure.

Have you noticed that pricing just seems to be out of control in your area? If so, give an example.

Consider where the restaurant is operating out of. Shopping center rent is overpriced and there is the ever-increasing labor costs mandated by politicians who have never run a business.

Minimum wage is $15+ in the areas I have business interests in. That’s on top of health benefits and employment taxes and insurance.

Of course not even dishwashers want to work for minimum wage. There’s a reason the trend in the food industry is toward food trucks, pop ups and farmers’ markets.

 

[M.W.]

I don't see any correlation between shortages and regulation / controls. Medical care and costs are highly regulated in Japan or Germany, I see no shortages anywhere. Education and it's cost is highly regulated in Japan and Germany, no shortages there either. So your correlation claim does not appear to hold.

Controls lead to shortages.

 

[zdreg]

I don't see any correlation between shortages and regulation / controls. Medical care and costs are highly regulated in Japan or Germany, I see no shortages anywhere. Education and it's cost is highly regulated in Japan and Germany, no shortages there either. So your correlation claim does not appear to hold.

Your response is anecdotal and conclusion is dubious logic.