The idea here is to Blame grocery stores for artificially creating high prices so that they can say that food inflation is not the fault of Democrats and Joe Biden. They’ve decided that grocery stores are their new enemy of the state
Democrats Ask Biden to Investigate Grocery Store Price-Fixing
A group of Democratic lawmakers are calling on President Joe Biden to investigate grocery store chains for price manipulation, writing in a letter sent Monday morning that he should use executive authority to take additional enforcement action to address rising food prices without the help of Congress.
The letter, shared exclusively with TIME, comes after a report from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) found that major grocery chains seemed to take advantage of supply chain disruptions during the pandemic to hike up prices to increase their profits. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat who led the letter and is one of its signatories, has called for more competition and stronger enforcement of antitrust laws to bring down grocery prices for families—but her proposed legislation on the topic has been largely stalled in Congress.
She’s now hoping that Biden will leverage his executive authority to initiate a thorough investigation into the alleged price-fixing practices of major grocery store chains. “Big food companies want to keep these huge profits and they’re hiring plenty of lobbyists to keep Congress from acting,” Warren tells TIME in an interview. “Congress has stalled out on doing work that it could do to help families lower costs… and the President has the tools to fight back.”
Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Martin Heinrich (D-N. Mex.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Peter Welch (I-Vt.) also signed on to the letter requesting Biden’s intervention, along with 35 House Democrats. The lawmakers outlined several proposals in their letter that the Biden Administration could take—from encouraging the FTC to issue guidance on potential violations of price discrimination laws, to creating a joint task force to investigate food price manipulation throughout the supply chain.
Even if they did raise prices beyond what was reasonable, so what? That’s 100% illegal. They can charge what they want. But, really, a lot of the report is along the lines of “suggests”, as in, “we think they really did this, but, we aren’t quite sure, because business happens, big stores have more leverage, and the world was disrupted from the Chinese coronavirus and Democrats shutting businesses down.”
Wages are up. Utility costs up. Insurance costs up. Property taxes up. Maintenance costs up. Input costs up. Cost of borrowed money up. Transportation costs up. This not only applies to grocers but to the growers and processors of food products. How do you think prices can stay where they were when there is cost increases every step of the way from production to retail? And with fuel way up, that will effect almost every part of getting food to the stores and in your basket.
But, also, does the Biden admin actually have the statutory authority to do this investigation? The story really doesn’t say. Obviously, Democrats want to blame grocery stores, not China for releasing COVID and Democrats for shutting things down, but, what else is in play?
The letter underscores what many progressive Democrats and liberal economic minds see as an urgent need for regulatory intervention to level the playing field in the food and grocery sector, ensuring fair competition and affordable prices for consumers nationwide. Studies have found that corporate profits account for more than 50% of current inflation as many American families are being hit with higher costs for groceries. In the food industry alone, four retailers—Walmart, Kroger, Costco, and Albertsons—account for over a third of national grocery sales, potentially allowing dominant retailers to extract more favorable prices and terms from suppliers.
Hmm, having Government take massive control of the food sector? What could possibly go wrong?
“Hmm, having Government take massive control of the food sector? What could possibly go wrong?”
T
he same government that took over a brothel in Nevada, and went bankrupt?
“Hmm, having Government take massive control of the food sector? What could possibly go wrong?”
These ridiculous scumbag “senators” are counting on their idiot voters having no idea what inflation actually is or what causes it, and unfortunately, they’re probably right.
During this horrible, horrible Biden economy grocery chains are making record profits – as are fast food and restaurant chains. The stock market is doing well as evidence many businesses are making money. Auto, oil and gas, US manufacturing, health care, electronics, insurance industries all doing well! The rich are getting much richer! The workers are making a bit more! Please stop whining about capitalism.
It’s free market economics – businesses can charge whatever the market will bear. People are paying the higher prices, proving our capitalistic system is functioning well!!
We Americans whine about how much our necessities like Big Macs, 2024 F-150 Lariats, 65″ OLED, 20′ BassCats, iPhone 15s, T-bones etc cost but we keep buying them, LOL!!! Even today – as food prices are at “record highs” – the average household spends a lower proportion of income on food than households spent in 1960!
House prices in the St Louis area have stabilized and are starting to fall. Gas prices here are around $3.30/gal regular (only an idiot would use premium!).
In May 2020 the unemployment rate was 13.2%, today it’s 3.9%. We know, we know, the gubmint lies about unemployment figures and it’s probably double what was reported. So in the Trump reign it likely was 25% and could be as much as 8% today!!
How has President Biden caused inflation around the globe? Is he that powerful?
You really are a moron.
Takes one to know one!!!
What creates inflation? (IMF)
Long-lasting episodes of high inflation are often the result of lax monetary policy. *If the money supply grows too big relative to the size of an economy, the unit value of the currency diminishes; in other words, its purchasing power falls and prices rise. This relationship between the money supply and the size of the economy is called the quantity theory of money and is one of the oldest hypotheses in economics.
Pressures on the supply or demand side of the economy can also be inflationary. Supply shocks **that disrupt production, such as natural disasters, or raise production costs, such as high oil prices, can reduce overall supply and lead to “cost-push” inflation, in which the impetus for price increases comes from a disruption to supply. The food and fuel inflation of 2008 was such a case for the global economy — sharply rising food and fuel prices were transmitted from country to country by trade. Conversely, demand shocks, such as a stock market rally, or expansionary policies, such as when a central bank lowers interest rates or a government raises spending,*** can temporarily boost overall demand and economic growth. If, however, this increase in demand exceeds an economy’s production capacity, the resulting strain on resources is reflected in “demand-pull” inflation. Policymakers must find the right balance between boosting demand and growth when needed without overstimulating the economy and causing inflation.
_______________________________________________________________________
*In the US, the Federal Reserve controls the money supply and interest rates. The M2 money supply was inncreased some 50% under Mr Trump’s Fed. It has increased 5% since President Biden took office.
**We’re all familiar with the price shocks from the disruptions due to “chip” shortages and transport during the Covid pandemic during Mr Trump’s reign. And America’s dear allies in Saudi Arabia could lover gasoline prices to $1.00/gal if they wished by increased crude oil supplies.
***Presidents Trump and Biden signed gov’t spending bill to stimulate the economy post-Covid. It worked but is at least partly to blame for inflation.
Ya see Karen (aka Rimjob) when you copy&paste something you don’t actually comprehend?
You should always blame President Trump.
#LGBFJB
#TRUMP2024-1.2%InflationWhenHeLeft
Bwaha! Lolgf
Ya see Pissant when you shit your britches?
Lolgf
How’s the sixth grade, Karen (aka Rimjob)?
Learnin’ anything new?
The other kids treating you okay? You seem upset.
Bwaha! Lolgf
Uh oh, we’ve upset the normally gentle temperament of the Lil Pissant. We have to be careful around the little critter.
Lolgf
William Teach typed: Even if they did raise prices beyond what was reasonable, so what? That’s 100% illegal.
We suspect Mr Teach meant that raising prices are LEGAL.
Colluding on prices is illegal. If all the airline execs get together and agree on prices that’s illegal. If the Menards, WalMart, Lowes and Home Depot agree on prices, that’s illegal. If the gas stations in an area all agree on raising gas prices, that’s agree.
It’s always worth looking into. The FTC and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division are responsible for enforcement.
Has any pol noticed the increase in the cost of production of food products? Probably not. Diesel is up, fertilizer is up, seeds are up, equipment costs are up, hired labor wages are up, and Farmer Fred still has a mortgage, utilities, insurance, and taxes to pay. Farming is a relatively low profit industry, therefore prices have to go up or out of business and no food, soviet style. If producer prices are up, the grocer has to raise prices to cover his small margin. Actually, it’s rather simple economics and the higher prices were easily foretold when Brandon was placed in office and began his reign of terror on American industry.
As to “price fixing”, that has been illegal for many years. Most major retailers ‘price shop’ the competition. I’ve spotted price shoppers a number of times in groceries and other retailers. They aren’t wearing a Kroger or Walmart name tag while perusing the shelves in HEB, but they are not hard to identify, usually busy with a phone as they cruise the aisles. Sorry conspiracy theorists, they do it just like consumers do.