undefined | Better HN

0 pointsthrowawaylinux3y ago0 comments

It could do. And a greed narrative gives (poor) cover for price hikes driven by any number of other things. Just stating these things does not help us get an understanding though. I want to know what changed.

I'd be more inclined to believe the disruption from production to supply chains to storage and demand, migration, etc due to covid regulations (not just the Chinese lockdowns) to have had the major impact. But it could also be for example energy costs due to expensive green regulations, or cartel behavior from energy producers because energy prices have been a major leader in price increases and those affect virtually everything else. Just saying "greed" doesn't help understand anything. People are greedy, we already knew that. Aristotle knew that.

0 comments

bcassedy3y ago

I'm not saying none of those things are factors. I am saying that you can find quotes of executives talking about how great it is to raise prices right now. And plenty of evidence of profit increases substantially above inflation.

throwawaylinuxOP3y ago

Sorry, "greed" simply doesn't explain anything. It's intellectually lazy. So is "you can find quotes...". Unless you actually have some evidence or reasoning that "greed" has increased somehow.

This has nothing to do with profit increasing faster than inflation which I'm not saying is false, mind you. Again, if you had a shred of evidence or logic to say prior to 2021 that corporations did not and would choose not to increase profit faster than inflation then that would be interesting.

bcassedy3y ago

We're talking economics, there is very little evidence in general. The entire field is essentially observations and storytelling.

The evidence is profits increasing faster than inflation and examples of C-suites saying straight up that this environment is letting them raise prices.

The story is that when inflation is low, consumers are more intolerant of price hikes. They'll shop around and try out your competitors. Evidence to support this sentiment analysis is the myriad ways companies sneakily "hike" prices. Shrinkflation for example. When prices seem like they are going up on everything, what's the point of shopping around?

1 more reply

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 pointsthrowawaylinux3y ago0 comments

0 comments

bcassedy3y ago

throwawaylinuxOP3y ago

Sorry, "greed" simply doesn't explain anything. It's intellectually lazy. So is "you can find quotes...". Unless you actually have some evidence or reasoning that "greed" has increased somehow.

bcassedy3y ago

We're talking economics, there is very little evidence in general. The entire field is essentially observations and storytelling.

The evidence is profits increasing faster than inflation and examples of C-suites saying straight up that this environment is letting them raise prices.

1 more reply

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse