OPINION: Inflation, Biden Caused It. Nope – Corporations Did. New Task Force Formed to Help Fight It

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Prices rise.

We moan and roll our eyes and push our shopping carts angrily down the aisle towards the frozen peas. Damn politicians.

We’re sure that Biden’s not doing all he can to help us – that’s what they say. They of course are media sources that like the tumult more than the truth.

The truth – supply chain woes and the Pandemic, transportation snarls, and half a dozen other things caused prices to go up in 2021 and 2022. But most of those things were resolved

So, why are food prices up 25%? Listen to this video, it’s only a minute.

Biden created a joint task force between the DOJ and FTC to crack down on unfair and illegal pricing.

Is this needed – sure. Will it work? Hopefully, we’ll know how effective it will be in a few months. But there’s no doubt that corporate profits are up in many sectors (look at the Dow Jones)) it’s not at 38,800 for nothing.

Humans are prone to believing their product or service is worth more than it actually is.

An antique dealer may want to sell a dresser for $500 – and thinks it’s a fair price. A couple come into his store and love it and say, we only have $750 will that be enough? He says, sure, it’s yours.

It’s hard to turn away an extra $250 when it’s there for the taking. Corporations, the big ones we buy from daily, thought the same way when the Pandemic and strained supply chains caused prices to rise. They thought why lower prices when the consumers are still willing to pay more?

So, we continue to moan and groan and need to figure out what’s happening. But it’s also human nature to blame someone or something because there are already too many things in our lives that we’re taking responsibility for.

The government is usually a good target – let’s face it they often are the cause. But sometimes they’re not.

Biden’s approval rating has seen a lot of resistance in the 3+ years he’s been in office. It’s almost as if some people don’t want him to succeed.

So, on surveys, people say he’s not doing a good job. Look at inflation.

Look at food prices.

But let’s also take a look at the practical aspects of hierarchies. The president is the political leader of the United States. The country is run by the Executive Branch, Congress, and the Judiciary, plus the states and their assemblies and so forth. It’s complicated.

If you look at the corporate command lines across America, Joe Biden is not on any board of directors. He doesn’t have a say in corporate decisions at all - that would be the CEOs making those calls.

So, when the price of eggs goes from $2.99 a dozen to $4.99 a CEO is involved. When Tide goes up $2.35, again a CEO is involved.

When the commodities market shows wheat and pork bellies dropping and the cost of bread and bacon stay high, you got it, several more CEOs are not taking action to lower prices.

The thing about the truth is that when you find it you can do something with it.

Example. You find $80 is missing from your dresser, you assume it’s the maid service, so you cancel their contract. A week later Bobby, during a moment of guilt, admits he took it. He needed a new baseball mitt because he was ashamed of the old one dad gave him, the one he used in high school and kept in good condition.

Now Boby gets more chores to pay it back and you call the maid service and ask them to restart – which saves you time. A proper solution.

Inflation is not like the weather. Where we have no control over what the weather does or when it does it.

But we do have a say, sometimes just a small one, in where our money goes and how much corporations charge us for the food we need.

At least knowing what they’re doing gives us a small advantage – we don’t have to shop there. There are some retail stores – even large ones- that offer better pricing. We can go there.

Albertson’s and Kroger recently announced a merger that would make them one of the largest purveyors of food and household goods in the US. The FTC is challenging that merger for fear that a monopoly is being formed that will hurt the consumer.

Will they stop it? We’ll see. But at least they’re looking.

Knowing the truth doesn’t mean the problem goes away. If only. But it gives us a chance to do something, anything to change what’s being done.

Change brands so you don’t support the corporations that gouge.

Write to a government agency, some will help. Use an App to communicate with neighbors making them aware of what’s happening.

Keep people in office who are doing something to help and don’t listen to those who only say he isn’t – check the facts, they are available.

Biden’s not perfect, but government has never been about perfection. Doing a good job is as high as the bar usually goes.

But in this one area – inflation – the problem is not sitting in the Oval Office, but in the boardrooms across America.