Quote:
Originally Posted by tgrundke
Precisely this. "greedflation" is a political talking point - the reality is that companies will always seek to maximize profits. If consumers balk at paying, they're forced to lower prices.
The reality is that consumers have been demonstrating incredible resiliency and willingness to spend. As such, companies continue to charge.
Case in point: heavy goods like appliances. Prices spiked due to shortages during COVID, combined with the number of people updating their homes. Now, however, you can find some great deals on appliances beacuse inventory is back up and, consumer demand has dropped.
On the other hand: labor costs continue to escalate. Take home improvements - while the cost of inputs such as lumber, have dropped, the cost for labor is still elevated. The demand hasnt' slacked too much, but, there is still a shortage of skilled laborers and consumers are still willing to pay for home improvements.
In terms of inflation writ large, just wait until energy prices re-accelerate going into the spring. This also assumes there are no major shocks to the production system or transport of energy.
Housing is screwed because the entire real estate market has been artificially manipulated for the last 15 years. Unwinding this mess is going to take a lot of time - and, I suspect, voters won't allow politicians that much time. The inevitable result is that the government will put its hands into the real estate mix and skew the market even more than it already is.
Happy talk....
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I would add and modify one point-
the average consumer is not particularly bright and their willingness to spend and buy typically won't run out until they run out of $... which is why any govt free dollars are usually a waste in terms of the goal intended for those dollars...
you would think folks would have saved the govt money during covid that was given to them and businesses to get by... nope everyone spent every dollar they had and now we r fukd... i feel bad for no one right now other than the folks who saved money and those just trying to get by on their last dollars