I figured move this across here from the Harris 2025 thread to reduce fragmentation. Ok, so you are saying that price gouging exists, even in the food industry. (check) The overall food industry, from farmers to grocery stores, operates on thin profit margins. And these thin margins compel passing on of costs. (check) So your argument is that thin margins make price gouging (expansive definition here) a practical near impossibility on a large scale? The food industry is complex and involves many different players, each with their own profit margins and market power. This can make it difficult to generalize about the entire industry, right? Edit: just noting as I didn't quote this before but I recall you said it somewhere that by less competition, you might mean even less, due to consolidation? I expect to then find some examples of companies taking advantage that have been picked up as problematic. Bear with me, as I need to dig and what examples Warren and others are citing. I saw some but need links. I'm starting here (saw some of it months back) https://www.banking.senate.gov/hear...ing-corporate-price-gouging-and-consolidation
A quick note for my memory: Kraft-Heinz: increased its profits by an astounding 448% in 2022. Cal-Maine: The largest egg producer in the United States, Cal-Maine, saw its profits skyrocket by 718%. These examples illustrate the significant profit increases that some large food companies have achieved, which Warren argues are due to price gouging rather than just covering increased costs.
So.. The industry counter argument attempts to frame the profit increases as a result of necessary business adjustments rather than as instances of price gouging or exploitation. Also that they are required to take the best profits they can for their shareholders, within the law. In the case of Cal-Maine, the company points to the impact of avian flu, which reduced the supply of eggs, as a major factor in driving up prices. The reduced supply, coupled with sustained demand, led to higher prices and consequently higher profits. Now this is a good one to examine, Kraft-Heinz is just too big and complex. Its 24:50 here, I'm off to bed.
Well it was 23:50. Jury finds Senate candidate’s family-owned company price gouged eggs By: Whitney Downard - November 22, 2023 https://indianacapitalchronicle.com...dates-family-owned-company-price-gouged-eggs/ According to court filings, the business competitors coordinated to limit the supply of eggs by timing their slaughters earlier and delaying hatchings — starting in 2000. In particular, Rose Acre exported eggs even when it didn’t have a surplus, decreasing the domestic supply, and “under the guise of animal welfare” reduced henhouse density.
No, that isn't what I said. Perhaps we can add reading comprehension to your list of needed improvements. I said some industries. Like in the retail gas market, during hurricanes. You will always have small attempts at gouging. But to go after an entire industry is like burning down the house when you find ants in the kitchen. No, my argument is that because industries have such thin margins (grocery stores, as an example), they have no choice but to pass on price hikes. They can't absorb them like you might think. I remember having this argument with Piezoe when he claimed restaurants could absorb wage hikes. I went through a detailed analysis of their financials and all he did was go "I'll have to get back to you" with his response. Of course, he never did. If you care to read that exchange, here it is. If you try to put legislation to prevent them from doing so, they'll just go out of business, or not buy food, which in turn means the public won't have access to groceries. Are you so blind as to not have witnessed this in places like Venezuela? When similar socialist policies have tried to control prices in the same way? I've read these words several times, and I'm not sure I know what the heck you're trying to say here (as usual). But I'll take a stab. Actually, no, I don't think I can. Restate what your point is here, and try to be a bit more clear? You may find some examples, but instead of going after the bad guys, you folks want to regulate an entire industry. Stupid and ineffective, as usual. I'm not about to waste 99 minutes of my time listening to some video to try to figure out what your specific examples are. So provide the examples, or provide the exact timestamps I can fast forward to. You don't get to post links of hour-and-a-half videos and say "see, this is what I mean".