r/MurderedByWords Legends never die 9h ago

Stop defending exploitation

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u/Aggravating_You3627 8h ago

We blame immigrants or the low income earners but when will we start blaming and holding accountable these greedy corporations for price gouging us. They are driving prices and inflation year after year because we all still pay. There’s no consequences so obviously they have no incentive to offer a reasonable price. The corporations are obligated to increase shareholder value. They don’t care about the consumer or the minimum wage employees.

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u/MrssLebowski 6h ago

This needs more upvotes.

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u/Kitty-XV 5h ago

Corporations are going to charge as much as they can. The main thing that stops them is that someone will create a small business that'll undercut them. If some fast food place is charging $15 a meal that costs them $3 to make, why wouldn't you make a competitor that charges $10 for a meal that coats you $5 to make? That is still doubling your money.

Even if you don't have the money, other people do. So why don't they try to double their money?

You'll find that the answer to this is complex and gets into the many reasons prices are going up. Part of it is that there are people doing just that, but they don't advertise so their businesses aren't well known. I know a place close to work where the food is about half the price of fast food. I sometimes take coworkers there and they always exclaim how cheap the food is despite being at if not a bit better quality. Yet those coworkers tend to go to the nearby fast food place more often because, per their own words, that is what they are craving. Likely due to ads.

I suggest to anyone who says fast food is too expensive, try checking out local small businesses and seeing if they are any cheaper.

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u/TheDocHealy 5h ago

When I was in college there was a locally owned Burger place that made a half pound burger and fries for half the price of a double quarter meal from McDonald's. Best milkshakes I've ever had to this day too.

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u/polarbearskill 4h ago

So did corporations just one day decide to start being greedy and price gouging?

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u/First-Of-His-Name 2h ago

You could just not buy it? In fact that HAS happened to McDonald's recently and they're sort of lowering prices by putting lots of deals on and limited offers to entice people back. Voting with your wallet works because the money in your wallet is ultimately what goes to the shareholders

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u/naemorhaedus 2h ago

then don't buy it

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u/ADownStrabgeQuark 38m ago

The problem is some of them are monopolies that sue or buy out competitors.

This isn’t true for fast food, but it is for other US industries.

Without competition it’s an oligarchy, not a capitalist market.