Back to groceries

[minx]

Was at Weis doing the shopping yesterday.

Happened to be walking down the cereal aisle.

Special K - $4.97/box
Weis brand - $3.97/box.

WTH?  Used to be that store brand gave you significant savings.  Seems like that's starting to change for the worst.

OTOH, their canned veggies were a deal - .79 for green beans and .97 for baby sweet peas.

But I am extremely fortunate.  I am able to get whatever I wanted, including fresh fruit and veggies.  I do realize that not every American has that luxury.

And I was very grateful that I live in the US and not a third world country as well.

I hope that Biden really hammers home the cost of production vs the price at the store.  Over and over until people realize that they're paying $5 for a simple box of cereal because a $5 million increase in profits isn't enough for Kelloggs - they want more.  And the folks at the top of these companies got an average raise of 15% last year before stock bonuses and other perks.  Did you get a 15% raise last year?  Have you ever gotten a 15% raise or stock bonuses?
These corporations need to invest back into US - the people who work to make these products available to US, and all of US who buy their products.  It's the American thing to do.  And I intend to keep leveling that playing field so that YOU get what you deserve.  A decent job that will pay the bills, and groceries that you can afford so that you and your family can eat well.
Mr. Trump is only interested in his own interests and the interests of the rich.  Ask yourself what is more important - that you can afford to put food on the table and gas in your car, or that the CEO of a corporation can get a 15% raise and other bonuses for laying off people and raising prices?

He can talk about bringing industry back, and working with unions - that's very, very important.
But then he needs to really address the elephant in the room.  Getting an auto worker back on the line is great, but it's not really helping the guy at Stihl who just got laid off because the companies profits weren't high enough, or the family who has told their kids that they can't have cereal this week cause it's too expensive.
And state what's he's doing to stop this (they have brought a record number of anti-trust suits, including one against Amazon), and what he will do going forward.

[Dave's Not Here Man]

I think the naked truth would be the most unpopular thing to put out there but it's the nature of capitalism first and foremost. Our system capitalism, even under the illusions some of us have about regulation, has led to the corporate takeover of most if not all major industries and broken the backs of small businesses. Bernie wouldn't be afraid and wouldn't mix words saying it. 

...and no, this isn't my Bernie Bro shit it's just a fact that some politicians gloss over and others outright embrace. 


With that out of the way, I still maintain that there are other contributing factors to why prices on almost everything is so much higher. And Biden's/Democratic policies are not the least, nor exempt from that list of factors. If you don't think making every employee of a business with say, 10 or more employees from 7.50 hr to $15 an hour isn't going mean significant increases in product pricing you are just fooling yourself. 

[minx]

Yes, it's not as easy as that. But I will say that I believe most small businesses were paying their employees decently before the minimum wage increases went into effect. Unlike larger places that could afford a lot of employee turnover, they really can't.

However, most larger businesses simply passed that increase on to their customers. Which means that the small businesses that buy supplies saw their prices go up, which meant that their prices had to go up as well.

And you are spot-on about conglomerates gobbling up small businesses left and right. And people allow it - they sacrifice small business at the altar of cheap flimsy goods.

Bought a hat or something at a store downtown. Cute hat and a friend commented on it and asked the price. Told her where I got it and the price. "Oh, that's a really cute store. But I just order from Amazon, cause it's cheaper." That same person (who could well afford the hat) will be upset if that business closes though.

[minx]

I do like Biden's idea of 'taxing' executives.

Your business can deduct up to a million on individual executive pay. Anything over that is taxable to the business.
And that pay should include everything - stock options, bonuses ect.

[Dave's Not Here Man]

It's virtually impossible for government to effect any change in the free market. The consumer is the only entity that can make the markets bend to it's will but most people-consumers don't seem to have the awareness or the willingness to use their power of persuasion by how they spend their money. People living well seem to care disproportionately less than those living on end's meat.

Give you one example: Oldest kid just bought a brand new Bronco with the full urban assault package. Dealers are selling them for up to 10k over sticker price! I'm not sure what the last number on the receipt was but based on what I've seen, it would be approaching 6 figures. For a god damn vehicle!! Nobody seems to understand that as long as people are seemingly not slowed down even a little bit, there's no incentive to lower the prices. That goes for everything from the truck to the $7 bag of Cheetos.


/golly- talk about timely 

[minx]

OMG, please say that the eldest did not pay $10 above!

And you are 100% right - why would I consider lowering prices if everyone else charged $7 for those Cheerios and people were still flocking to my store to get some. Would be totally stupid to do.

[Dave's Not Here Man]

I'm sure she paid over. She learned her negotiating skills for big purchases from me....

She put 3 dealerships on the same vehicle and lowest sticker got the sale. She got the lowest and they dropped it off in her driveway.


Now, if you know anyone in the market for a 2015 Ford F150 that's got just about every premium monster truck extra available and gare un tees to be the talk of the bonfire....

[Dave's Not Here Man]

It sounds trifling but putting a couple of people in a position of losing a sale on that over 100 bucks makes you think....

[k9krap]

[minx]

It does, doesn't it?

I got my current car in 2022. Same situation where everything was over sticker price, but they 'gave' you something in return (usually a dealer warranty that was worth shit).
After checking 4 different dealerships (with various stupid add-ons), we ended up at a dealer in Richmond (West Broad Honda). Their add-ons were bumper guards and mud flaps. In other words, something useful that you may want.

Salesman said that the owner had them go through and find the most requested add-ons and then just added those to the price of the car. I'm sure that they made a profit doing it, but at $750 over sticker (as opposed to $2k or more), I was happy to pay for them. And out of the dealerships we talked to, they were by far the easiest to work with. They wanted to make a sale, and were willing to be honest about it.