| > there were studies showing that ~40% of inflation at the end of Biden’s term was due to “greedflation.” Studies approved by the government show the government is not to blame for the economic situation it created, but the "greedy corporations" are to blame. OK, sure. >This should not be surprising to anyone who understands that massive consolidation in industry leads to less price competition. Consolidation which was only possible due to ZIRP era excessive government money printing and lack of anti-monopoly law enforcement, therefore it's the same government being the core issue as I was talking before. > Moreover, there were CEOs on shareholder calls bragging how they could get away with price gouging, using inflation as an excuse to justify an order of magnitude more price hikes than inflation justified. So? Of course companies would raise prices if they could. Same how employees would raise their wages, if they could consolidate their bargaining power via unions. Everyone is greedy and self serving when they can get away with it. The government is the one paid by us who controls and enforces anti monopoly laws. Why didn't they? >when you yourself are ignorantly throwing the baby out with the bath water dismissing many valid “greed and consolidation” takes? Because greed is a universal human trait that applies to everyone from employees, to landlords, small business owners, doctors, car dealers, handymen and builders, etc not just corporations. They all want more money than their peers, to get ahead and provide a better future for their offspring, regardless of societal consequences to those below the pecking order. All the issues you mentioned above, are just secondary order effect from the government's red tape and monetary policies and lack of anti monopoly enforcement. Blaming only the "greedy comparisons" as the root of all evil, is just reductionist scapegoat propaganda that's easily digestible by the simpleton midwits, supported by the government to deflect the societal consequences they're responsible of creating. No corporation is stronger than the governments. Corporations only operate within the framework of rules created and enforced by the government. Governments control the laws, courts, police, jails and military. They can have the CEOs of the F500 up against the wall and shot for treason or locked up in jail if they wanted to. If F500 rob you and get away with it, then blame your government for enabling them to do it, because ultimately corporations are doing it legally with the approval of your government you pay taxes to. The reason simpleton midwits always default to blaming the "greedy corporations" for everything is simple: When the government prints zero interest money and devalues your wage and purchasing power, banks and corporations are the smartest and first in line to use that free money for consolidation and stock buybacks, immediately pushing the price of assets up. But ultimately it's the government's fiscal policies enabling this. Corporations are just smarter and faster to taking advantage of the fiscal environment the government cretes. Savvy average people also take advantage of this too, by using that cheap money to go in debt to buy stocks and property to increase their net worth and then have the inflation reduce the value of their debt. It's the working class who has no assets that gets left behind, but again, that's caused by the government devaluing their labor via money printing, not the corporations. Corporations are better and navigating the environment the government creates because they hire smart savvy well educated specialists to exploit this environment legally, whereas average people are too stupid to know how the system works, they just blame corporations and the rich. Don't believe me? Just Google it, ChatGPT it, Gemini it, Grok it etc, they'll tell you the same thing I did. |
Effectively, I could make a symmetrical argument and every time you blame the government, I can blame the private interests that primary influence government — especially since citizens united but even before then. Obviously this tactical trick you and other “pragmatists” rely on is therefore fallacious as it leads to a contradiction when you apply it evenhandedly.
I have respect for many libertarians but you are not one of them.