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Justin Timberlake and Inflation

RobertU

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In the 2011 movie In Time, citizens accumulate time, not money to spend, in values that are recorded on a clock in their arms. Run out of your time and you die. Naturally, an elite has accumulated most of the time while those living in ghettos may only have enough time to get through the next day.

Justin Timberlake portrays the hero who robs a time bank to give time credits to the poor. But soon after, all the prices are increased to recapture the time redistributed to the underclass.

Are we living “In Time”, when the “system” colludes against the lower classes by raising prices to compensate for any advantage the workers may temporarily achieve? For a while, with the labor shortage, it seemed that workers had the upper hand in demanding higher pay and better working conditions.

True, most of the recent inflation can be attributed to COVID supply chain issues and the war in Ukraine. But how much of the inflation is really price fixing by powerful interests?
 
~snipped the fantasy~

True, most of the recent inflation can be attributed to COVID supply chain issues and the war in Ukraine.
This is not true.

Most of the inflation is caused by two things: The Biden puke's war on the oil industry and the Democrat's insistence on spending trillions of dollars that we don't have.

But how much of the inflation is really price fixing by powerful interests?
None of it.
 
In the 2011 movie In Time, citizens accumulate time, not money to spend, in values that are recorded on a clock in their arms. Run out of your time and you die. Naturally, an elite has accumulated most of the time while those living in ghettos may only have enough time to get through the next day.

Justin Timberlake portrays the hero who robs a time bank to give time credits to the poor. But soon after, all the prices are increased to recapture the time redistributed to the underclass.

Are we living “In Time”, when the “system” colludes against the lower classes by raising prices to compensate for any advantage the workers may temporarily achieve? For a while, with the labor shortage, it seemed that workers had the upper hand in demanding higher pay and better working conditions.

True, most of the recent inflation can be attributed to COVID supply chain issues and the war in Ukraine. But how much of the inflation is really price fixing by powerful interests?

Maybe there are other factors which you (mistakenly?) have attributed to being “COVID supply chain issues”.

Our nation’s current monetary policy is expansionary, which means artificially increasing the money supply and lowering interest rates to near zero. As a result, the growth rate of all the dollars in circulation (“M2 Money Supply”) soared a historic record 27% in 2020-2021.

To put that in perspective, that is the biggest jump in the money supply in America’s history. That is bigger than the Financial Crisis of 2007-2008 (10%), bigger than World War II (18%), and bigger than FDR’s stimulus to fight the Great Depression (10%).

https://www.wheaton.edu/academics/a...articles/2021/understanding-the-money-supply/

That is presented in chart form by the following link:

 
Inflation is due to price gouging in reaction to minor inflation caused by war, which affected the primary energy sector.

Most of the price hikes we're seeing on inflexible commodities are flat out price gouging. As if the big box companies weren't already raking it in during covid.

The commodities industry would not be making record profits if inflation were that bad. There would be outright supply disruption caused by daily prices changing. Instead, there were a few massive hikes and now the new price ceiling is relatively static. And of course, the government is doing jack squat to stop it.

I'm not saying there isn't inflation occurring or that price increases shouldn't be expected, but the level of price hikes is outrageous and not commensurate with inflation. In some areas prices have risen by 50-100%. Why??? Greed. That's why.
 
This is not true.

Most of the inflation is caused by two things: The Biden puke's war on the oil industry and the Democrat's insistence on spending trillions of dollars that we don't have.


None of it.
It's amazing how well the conservative brainwashing techniques work. The republican rank and file will question literally everything except what their masters tell them.

Your belief that none of the current inflation is due to corporate price fixing is akin to believing the sky is not blue or that you can fly. It's just insanity.
 
It's amazing how well the conservative brainwashing techniques work. The republican rank and file will question literally everything except what their masters tell them.

Your belief that none of the current inflation is due to corporate price fixing is akin to believing the sky is not blue or that you can fly. It's just insanity.

Please explain how price fixing can devalue the US dollar.
 
This is not true.

Most of the inflation is caused by two things: The Biden puke's war on the oil industry and the Democrat's insistence on spending trillions of dollars that we don't have.


None of it.
So what is causing it literally everywhere else on the planet?
 
Inflation is due to price gouging in reaction to minor inflation caused by war, which affected the primary energy sector.

I don't agree.

IMO inflation is caused by devaluation of some method of exchange by it's amount of availability.

For example, consider a form of specie, like gold and silver.

People value both, but they value gold over silver.

This because silver is more plentiful in comparison to gold.

However, if gold was as common as basalt, it would be effectively valueless; or more correctly, would take much more of to barter for something less available.

Flooding a system based on currency with more and more currency automatically does the same, it decreases the value in the minds of those who use it.

It also results in people trying to exchange it for something more valuable and needed before the value of said currency decreases even more.

This encourages sellers to charge more, also in fear of being "cheated" of value via money that seems to be decreasing in value due to the above.

This is exactly what happened in Venezuela, in Germany after WWI, and just about any nation that pumps more and more "paper money" into an exchange system with the simple hope of "faith" to back it up.

Most of the price hikes we're seeing on inflexible commodities are flat out price gouging. As if the big box companies weren't already raking it in during covid.

Repeating the same thing over again in a different way does not make it truer.

The commodities industry would not be making record profits if inflation were that bad. There would be outright supply disruption caused by daily prices changing. Instead, there were a few massive hikes and now the new price ceiling is relatively static. And of course, the government is doing jack squat to stop it.

I disagree. Such commodities would of course make more profits in exchange for money that is losing value by simply increasing the prices for such commodities. Which is exactly what has been happening. That's what inflation is; those who sell raising prices for those who buy in order to keep ahead of perceived losses of actual value and the fear of failing to maintain desired profits.

I'm not saying there isn't inflation occurring or that price increases shouldn't be expected, but the level of price hikes is outrageous and not commensurate with inflation. In some areas prices have risen by 50-100%. Why??? Greed. That's why.

It is not "greed." It is fear of obtaining less exchange value for the goods being produced and sold. Fear caused by decreasing faith in the monetary system created by government flooding the market with more money.
 
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I don't agree.

IMO inflation is caused by devaluation of some method of exchange by it's amount of availability.

For example, consider a form of specie, like gold and silver.

People value both, but they value gold over silver.

This because silver is more plentiful in comparison to gold.

However, if gold was as common as basalt, it would be effectively valueless; or more correctly, would take much more of to barter for something less available.

Flooding a system based on currency with more and more currency automatically does the same, it decreases the value in the minds of those who use it.

It also results in people trying to exchange it for something more valuable and needed before the value of said currency decreases even more.

This encourages sellers to charge more, also in fear of being "cheated" of value via money that seems to be decreasing in value due to the above.

This is exactly what happened in Venezuela, in Germany after WWI, and just about any nation that pumps more and more "paper money" into an exchange system with the simple hope of "faith" to back it up.



Repeating the same thing over again in a different way does not make it truer.



I disagree. Such commodities would of course make more profits in exchange for money that is losing value by simply increasing the prices for such commodities. Which is exactly what has been happening. That's what inflation is; those who sell raising prices for those who buy in order to keep ahead of perceived losses of actual value and the fear of failing to maintain desired profits.



It is not "greed." It is fear of obtaining less exchange value for the goods being produced and sold. Fear caused by decreasing faith in the monetary system created by government flooding the market with more money.

Just wanted to say first that your accusation of me repeating myself doesn't make sense since my comments were all contained in one post, not several. Anyway... moving on...

I understand the effect of currency devaluation due to excess supply and I agree with you that printing money contributes massively to inflation. But when prices are raised far and beyond that inflational value, it's price gouging. Not to mention, wages in most areas are not being increased. People are actually getting a pay cut because the value of money is less. Why is what's good for the goose not good for the gander? If corporations want to price gouge, then they should roll over those profits into wage increases that match inflation.

If inflation is 10% then price increases should be 10%, not 30%, not 50%. The government should be creating laws to stop this, especially when it comes to inelastic goods.
 
Just wanted to say first that your accusation of me repeating myself doesn't make sense since my comments were all contained in one post, not several. Anyway... moving on...

I was referring to the repeat of "price gouging" used in the first segment cited and then again in the segment that repeated it. That's all. It simply seemed to say the same thing twice.

I understand the effect of currency devaluation due to excess supply and I agree with you that printing money contributes massively to inflation.

I appreciate it.

But when prices are raised far and beyond that inflational value, it's price gouging. Not to mention, wages in most areas are not being increased. People are actually getting a pay cut because the value of money is less. Why is what's good for the goose not good for the gander? If corporations want to price gouge, then they should roll over those profits into wage increases that match inflation.

If a good or service is common, then competition will serve to balance prices. Why would I go to Barber X for a haircut, or Store Y for veggies it there were competitors who charged less?

However, if the local market is narrower, i.e. one Barber for haircuts and one Store where everyone had to shop? Then the business might charge more to cover the loss of business it can't handle when it sells out and other customers go wanting. That's not "greed," that is selling at prices the market will bear.

If inflation is 10% then price increases should be 10%, not 30%, not 50%. The government should be creating laws to stop this, especially when it comes to inelastic goods.

Again, that depends on my example above. If your goods and services are in high demand due to scarcity, that's the time to price up. Why? Because sooner or later competition will arrive to profit from that market too. Then the prices wars start and profits will go down with prices. That's just market economics.
 
I was referring to the repeat of "price gouging" used in the first segment cited and then again in the segment that repeated it. That's all. It simply seemed to say the same thing twice.

I understand now, sorry for the confusion.

If a good or service is common, then competition will serve to balance prices. Why would I go to Barber X for a haircut, or Store Y for veggies it there were competitors who charged less?

However, if the local market is narrower, i.e. one Barber for haircuts and one Store where everyone had to shop? Then the business might charge more to cover the loss of business it can't handle when it sells out and other customers go wanting. That's not "greed," that is selling at prices the market will bear.



Again, that depends on my example above. If your goods and services are in high demand due to scarcity, that's the time to price up. Why? Because sooner or later competition will arrive to profit from that market too. Then the prices wars start and profits will go down with prices. That's just market economics.

I see what you're saying and under traditional circumstances I would agree, but I'm growing concerned that the classical economic view of supply/demand is becoming increasingly irrelevant in monopolistic and globalistic markets. If vegetables are too expensive at one store, then just go to a different store, right? But what happens if all the stores are subsidiaries of a larger company? Two prominent examples that almost nobody knows about are the two companies Blackrock and Vanguard. They indirectly or directly own an enormous portion of the market in the western world -- all kinds of companies in all sectors.

Direct collusion between companies is technically illegal, but it happens unofficially all the time. Monkey see, monkey do. Then there's the problem of the top-down conglomerate model where multiple stores increase prices simultaneously because they all have the same parent company.

Competition only really works in a diversified market and we're not that diverse anymore despite the pro-American "free market" attitude, especially when it comes to inelastic goods. The system has been gamed and inflation has already been more than baked into the prices. The prices are a cash grab and price has become somewhat dissociated from consumer preferences as an economic signal.
 
So what is causing it literally everywhere else on the planet?
If you reduce one major source of oil, as the Biden pukes did, that affects the price of oil throughout the world. (Reduce supply, demand remains constant...price increases. Econ 101)

Oil is energy. Everything...and I mean EVERYTHING...is dependent upon energy. Increase the cost of energy and EVERYTHING increases in price. World-wide. That increase in price is called "inflation".
 
gas prices are coming down so you guys probably should start looking for another drum to beat.
 
If you reduce one major source of oil, as the Biden pukes did, that affects the price of oil throughout the world. (Reduce supply, demand remains constant...price increases. Econ 101)

Oil is energy. Everything...and I mean EVERYTHING...is dependent upon energy. Increase the cost of energy and EVERYTHING increases in price. World-wide. That increase in price is called "inflation".
If everything affects the price of oil, then Americans who abandoned fuel-sipping subcompacts in favor of gas guzzling SUVs also put inflationary pressure on the world market, and those selfish Americans gave more leverage to Putin and other oil-producing autocrats throughout the world.
 
If everything affects the price of oil
BZZZT!!!

I didn't say "everything affects the price of oil".

Go back and read my comment again. Slowly. Maybe that'll help.
 
BZZZT!!!

I didn't say "everything affects the price of oil".

Go back and read my comment again. Slowly. Maybe that'll help.
Nearly every kind of consumption affects the price of oil. If everything is dependent on energy, then reducing demand reduces that dependency.
 
If you reduce one major source of oil, as the Biden pukes did, that affects the price of oil throughout the world. (Reduce supply, demand remains constant...price increases. Econ 101)

Oil is energy. Everything...and I mean EVERYTHING...is dependent upon energy. Increase the cost of energy and EVERYTHING increases in price. World-wide. That increase in price is called "inflation".
Did they really? Or is that just another narrative you’re in charge of herding?
 
Nearly every kind of consumption affects the price of oil. If everything is dependent on energy, then reducing demand reduces that dependency.
And sends the country into a recession.
 
And sends the country into a recession.
If a country relies on wasteful and nature-destroying consumption for prosperity, then there is something wrong with that country's economic system.
 
This is not true.

Most of the inflation is caused by two things: The Biden puke's war on the oil industry and the Democrat's insistence on spending trillions of dollars that we don't have.

Do you belive this?

That world inflation is at the feet of Biden?

That is not even rational to post.

BTW, Trump did the spending.
 
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