‘Stop the price-gouging’: Biden hits corporations over high consumer costs
Big business and junk fees prove easy targets for the White House in the inflation blame game.
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Cool. So what’s he gonna do about it? Or was this it?
What can he do about it? We live in a free market society. All he can do is keep talking about it and hope the people get the message. Rebellion will start at the consumer level and go up, not the other way around. Main problem is the millions of people that rely on Fox for their news.
Use the anti monopoly laws we have in place to prevent price gouging from lack of competition
He issued an executive order in 2021 to do just that, among many other things to promote competition. There has definitely been an uptick in antitrust cases since then, and inflation has also decreased significantly.
Sorry to be pedantic on the internet (lol) but it might be more accurate to say inflation has slowed.
Up like a rocket down like a parachute.
Except the unfortunate part is that it is always increasing, it's just a derivative, rate of change. But the massive boost from months of heavy inflation is now here permanently, so we're adding 2-3% on TOP of the already-inflated costs. But that's not telling the full story, it is the value of the US dollar going down primarily. Buying power is lower by definition, but because of that, everyone on the bottom end is getting squeezed beyond anything they are ready for and it's going to eventually cause civil unrest on a larger scale.
That's exactly the point of my analogy. Wtf.
Parachutes come down, Inflation just goes up slower.
He picked two points in time and described a number that was fixed at each instance, so decreased works fine.
But it didn't decrease, the rate of increase is what decreased. Inflation is a measure of acceleration, 7% and 3% are both increasing inflation.
If you're accelerating slower, you've decreased your acceleration.
But you are still moving. The dollar is worth less.
Then the original comment should have been pedantic about the fact that they're clearly talking about the rate of inflation even though they referred to it simply as "inflation". The rest of us got that.
Which would mean it didn't decrease if inflation was a measure of value. But it's not. It's a measure of speed of change in value.
Yeah, this
Inflation is a measure of acceleration
Oh look at that, you accidentally stumbled onto your own answer for why measuring a deceleration counts as a decrease, good for you!
Burn the pedant!
I still think decreased is accurate though, the rate of inflation is significantly smaller today vs then, so the rate has decreased
Yeah if it was deflation that would’ve been a huge deal because our economy is built on an inflationary assumption and deflation would crash it
The bipartisan PPP (passed under Trump) was insane.
lets add taxing the shit out of people who do this to the list.
How would you like the President of the United States to do that? Do you think the President is a dictator that can just unilaterally pass sweeping legislation? How do you think the public would react if the President had the power to directly determine the prices of goods? How do you think that would go in general?
The fact this is even in the negatives a tiny bit really demonstrates the typical political intelligence of your average voter.
You’re of course completely correct, and Biden has indeed done everything he LEGALLY can do, which is probably why we’re suffering far less than a lot of the rest of the developed world economically speaking.
People just like to shout at the wind, it seems.
Damn there is nothing the government can do. Sorry guys :( You'll just have to buy less food, and maybe then the corporations will get the hint!
Regulations? Laws against price gauging? Naw, they can't do that. It's the consumers that are at fault!
Do you think Biden makes the laws? Did you fail civics class? I said nothing about enacting laws making what these companies are doing illegal, I only said Biden can’t do much about it.
He can propose laws to the legislative bramch. He might not be able to pass it himself but he could push and advocate for it
I'm sure the GOP-led house would be very receptive to that
Oh what does it hurt then?
Can’t say anything, because of the GOP.
Super cool having a democrat president who’s got no balls. Can’t offend the house.
You are literally demanding virtue signalling.
What does it hurt? Political capital, for one.
Also, you don't just say, "let's make a law about X", and a 3,000 page bill just appears in front of you. That shit takes TONS of work. Biden can't just materialize a workable plan that both parties (in this political climate? lol) will ever agree on.
That just isn't how this country works. If you want this to change, Congress has to change it.
I love how "political capital" is the neolibs go-to excuse for why the working class can't be helped. Yet there's a never ending amount of "political capital" I help giant corporations make more money. Fucking tools
What? Do you think I like that political capital is a thing? It's fucking gross. I am just acknowledging reality. What do you think the President actually does in the US?
Like, do you even realize that you're advocating for authoritarianism? Or is it OK, as long as it's the person doing the things you want? And we all know situations like that are super sustainable...
“The president of the United States cannot unilaterally implement price controls on goods without the involvement of Congress. Price controls typically involve changes to laws and regulations, which fall under the legislative branch's authority. Congress would need to pass legislation granting such powers or specifically authorizing the president to implement price controls in certain circumstances.”
I hope you direct all that useless anger you have here on the internet for voting time, then.
We just had local elections here nationally in the U.S., whom did you place your vote for to solve this issue?
This is a thread about him saying things.
Price controls are well within the president's powers. It's not that radical of a concept.
It's within congress's powers for sure. I don't think the president. Congress has done it in the past though, so they for sure can again.
Republicans would never allow it.
Why is this upvoted?
No, the president of the United States cannot unilaterally implement price controls on goods without the involvement of Congress. Price controls typically involve changes to laws and regulations, which fall under the legislative branch's authority. Congress would need to pass legislation granting such powers or specifically authorizing the president to implement price controls in certain circumstances.
In what country?
Price controls are an extremely radical concept, themselves. Last thing this economy needs is further distortion.
The sucky thing about inflation is you have to run through it like an illness.
Windfall taxes. Let them share their gains, that's the whole point of taxes since society don't work otherwise.
That's vastly different from a direct price control, in both intent and effect.
I'd love to pass lots more taxes but with the current House that's completely impossible
The US was pretty good about taxing corporations before Reagan
Biden can't set tax rates.
Poor Biden can’t do anything, he doesn’t have any power lol….
ok. but this is factually correct
Do you know basic US Civics, or...? Biden has the bully pulpit (basically what he's doing here), and that's pretty much it. He can issue executive orders (and has in the past about this), but those are often complete bullshit that's unenforceable, and will be removed by the next person in the office.
Take a look at Trump rolling back Obama's EPA purview over waterways in the US for a recent example that has left over 60% of our nation's waterways now unprotected.
Biden is like dog shit on the bottom of FDR’s shoe. He is weak and pathetic and the only thing he cares about are his corporate donors
Lol way to just talk past me. Did you even read the comment?
Yes, bring back the New Deal Democrats! Enough of Third Way neoliberalism.
FDR sicced Federal agencies on a leftist to discredit him.
Oh the irony.
Do you want a dictatorship or something? Congress writes laws, talk to your members of congress.
that was basically it. short of siccing the irs on them there's not a lot the executive branch can do about it... of course that'd kill the golden goose named "campaign contributions", so it wont happen
siccing the IRS on them
Nothing the IRS can do, either.
Windfall taxes is a thing they can use. If companies raise their prices too fast the excess profit gets taxed at a higher rate.
Need the House for that tho.
No. Just stop with the disinformation.
It will be harder to pass new laws in the current Congress, but he still has control over the executive branch. Hopefully some existing laws could be used.
He appointed the most aggressive FTC head in decades who is using the antitrust law we have to currently go after Google and Amazon.
She's also fighting a merger between Kroger and Albertsons, which would drastically raise grocery prices.
The FTC is also fighting the hedge fund buyout of preciously independent healthcare clinics, which has massively ramped up medical costs.
Not to mention breaking the real estate agent fee monopoly.
His executive branch has been busy as hell trying to help people.
Don't tell us facts. We've already decided to believe whatever the fuck we want regardless. /s
Biden should be waving the magic wand! I am mad that he is not doing this!
He'll hire their execs to run various government agencies
I mean, you wouldn't want the politicians to lose their legal bribes generous donations over acting in our interests instead of the corporations, would you?
Will someone please think of the rich folks pockets?
How is it possible that people don't understand the implied "/s" here??? Or am I missing some other reason for the downvotes?
FWIW, I thought your comment was great. Gave me quite a chuckle! :-D
Because this is just more of that “enlightened centrist both sides baaaaaaad” bullshit that dumbasses invoke whenever they want to diminish the power of one side, thus actually strengthening the other side, while claiming that they don’t care about sides at all, even though they just can’t stop themselves from only sputtering it out when it’s the dems doing something.
And after trump if you still believe both sides are the same then you are certifiably brain dead.
How is it possible that people don’t understand the implied “/s” here???
They understand it and are angry because they're being called out.
It's because I said bad things about Biden, even though I was talking about politicians as a whole. But you can't say bad things about Biden or be any kind of critical about the current administration without getting trashed on here.
I mean it was because you’re wrong and your comment was stupid, but enjoy your victimization, I guess!
You know.. He 'hit' them apparently.
Oh and passed an executive order, along with having his justice department pursue more antitrust cases than any other administration.
All he can do is back out his limp-dick economic policies that are destroying the country and creating this problem...but there's no chance of that.
This damage is literally the point of the policies. What people don't understand is that he's doing this on purpose.
I'm sure I'm going to be sorry for asking, but how in the world are you coming to this conclusion?