Explaining the inflation rate - eviltoast
  • kautau@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    Yeah many people don’t realize that inflation is “price increase year over year” and think it means “current price.” Like lowering inflation will make their groceries cheaper

    • cpw@lemmy.ca
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      3 months ago

      Price decreases are actually negative inflation and have all sorts of whacked out effects on an economy. It was a concern during COVID due to the huge drop in consumer spending forcing some prices to start to decrease.

      • kautau@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        Right, but the messaging doesn’t teach consumers that, it’s just “I’ll lower prices, vote for me!” But regardless, the fact that corporations are so driven towards quarter over quarter growth and immediately fail upon needing to lower prices demonstrates how broken the free market is

        • Asafum@feddit.nl
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          3 months ago

          In another 20 years business school is going to be SUPER easy.

          One class: Number Must Go Up Always.

          Lesson 1: Number go down? Fire as many people as possible that aren’t executives.

          Lesson 2: Number still go down? Cut quality.

          Lesson 3: Number stillllllll go down? Buy competition, repeat lesson 1 and lesson 2.

          Profit.

          • kautau@lemmy.world
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            3 months ago

            Sadly it seems that’s business school now, as that seems to be the playbook of every MBA that moves into a leadership role

          • Serinus@lemmy.world
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            3 months ago

            Economics 101 has taught the supply/demand curve forever. Really it’s the barriers to entry lesson that’s much more important.

            It’s rare that prices are based on costs. We’re not Amish. Prices are based on what companies can get you to pay and how easy it is for them to prevent too much competition. (If it’s just a little competition, all sides will implicitly agree that higher prices are better for all of them).

            • Asafum@feddit.nl
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              3 months ago

              fucking amen. If supply and demand was actually followed then we wouldn’t hear this “No OnE WaNtS tO wOrK!” bullshit, they’d properly raise wages since theres a SHORTAGE of workers for them and they have a DEMAND.

              but nope. that “law” only applies when they want it to.

      • ryathal@sh.itjust.works
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        3 months ago

        Price decreases as a result of the value of money increasing are negative inflation. Mmt proponents seem to have corrupted the definition to be any price increase is inflation and any decrease is deflation though.