Ever wonder about the way inflation branches out? Who or what is at the top, or at the bottom? And how it all breaks down according to the various levels of power?
How does inflation start? We know it doesn't magically appear out of thin air. A resource can't just determine itself to be more valuable. So some person or entity must determine its value. The consumption of resources involves the corporations themselves, businesses, and the individual.
That doesn't seem like much until you take into account the inter-corporate and inter-business distribution of resources. That includes further refinement, transportation, sales & marketing and packaging.
Inflation can start in many places. It can start at the corporate level and most often does. But it can also start anywhere within the distribution network as well. No one HAS to raise prices on any part of it. The corporate process of laying waste to the planet would churn along just fine regardless. There are only two flavors of inflation... Revenge inflation and Greed inflation. Greed inflation is simply saying "our profits aren't high enough". Revenge inflation is retaliative inflation due to some kind of pressure put on that corporation, like additional taxes or regulations.
One big thing you've probably noticed is that corporations and big business NEVER take the burden of inflation upon themselves. They turn it around by raising their own prices and offloading it on the individual or small business. So whomever is the first to jack up their prices, it will always snowball until it hits the consumer... the least capable portion of our society actually able to shoulder an extra burden.
Factoid - Did you know if all wealth were distributed equally in the US, each person would be over $340,000 richer?
Now a little psychology behind big corp. They do not accumulate this vast wealth to put money aside for a rainy day. They will take and take... every bit they can so they can live a sweet life when their corporation or corporate sector dies off for good. They know, better than most that nothing is forever, and they have teams working on how to sustain and keep them profitable for as long as possible. Better to have millions, billions or more in the bank when it finally rolls over.
The profit model is all calculations & numbers, weights & balances. Every person using their services is just a number, an ID. They weigh how much they can extract from the public to keep their profits. This is more important than the well-being of the people who use their services, all the time, every time. Remember that! Most of their attempts to actually keep prices reasonable are cursory. An "I care about you" presentation refined by marketing to have the greatest positive impact, maybe with a few coupons thrown in for good measure.
Can they change? No. The established ones will never change. They'll take their methods to their grave. Capitalism, once an aspirational concept was abused, violated, corrupted and became reviled. But capitalism still does give as much freedom to the individual as it does to the corporation. And we can use that. We, as individuals, as families, as small businesses have a right to live in such a way as not to endure this continuing hardship. The time will come where taking a stand becomes a necessity for both the person and the community.
So how do we fight inflation?
Did you know we have the power to change, even destroy a corporation? With all the details removed, the core idea is demand. If demand for products or services go down, the corporation will lower prices to boost their appeal. People have all the power. Media and the talking points of the Administration are geared to convince you that you have little to none. Do not believe them. If you really (and I mean really) listen to their phrasing, you will start hearing things like "we will protect you", "we are there for you", "we will fix the problems". This is an underlying and ongoing current of the conversation of power. It may be unintentional but that current is there. It is one of those subliminal symptoms of fascism that few would recognize. They are basically saying "because we are the leaders, only we can fix things... you don't have that ability"... We are just the consumers, right?
Before I get too far off topic I want to reinforce the fact that we do have power. A lot of it. Enough to control both the corporations and the administration. There will come a time when the majority realizes it and will act. We are taught throughout our lives to be submissive to corporate control. It will be a hard construct to overcome but we must do it... and now is always the best time.
We can act. We can choose a particular corporation and boycott their products or services. It is our strongest weapon and quite effective if used in the right way. We can be one country and determine our own future. We can overthrow by voice and by choice. We can regain the freedom that seems so far away. I am not talking about the Republican idea of freedom. That is dark and twisted. I am talking about our rights to choose, our ability to determine what is and is not best for the country.
That is our choice alone, no one else's. The more people realize that, the more we will regain control over the processes of those who wish to gain control over us.