Russia sanctions

[ThreePointTakedown]

25 minutes ago, Paul158 said:

We are paying roughly 80 million dollars an hour in interest on our National debt. That comes out to 2 billion dollars  a day. That is a lot of money. I feel the government is falsely propping up our economy in a lot of the policies in the last 3 years. Take the halt on student loan payments the last 4 years. That is 500 billion dollars that was not paid at all. Then you have the loan forgiveness, that is another 150 billion dollars that will never be paid back. There are many other examples. People have been pulling money out of their savings and 401K's in order to get by. People have been putting an enormous amount of debt on credit cards in order to get by. I'm not sure how many red flags the American people need to see to realize "Houston we got a problem". 

Lets just say all those things are true. What could be the cause(s)? The economy is doing better and continues to grow. Why are people still struggling if all those things are true at once? 

[Bigbrog]

3 hours ago, WrestlingRasta said:

Serious question: is there anyone here on this board that is in a worse financial situation than they were 15 years ago? 10 years ago? 5 years ago? 

I am worse off financially comparatively from 5 years ago.  This is do to cut backs at work, 401k performance, and inflation.  I am making less and my dollar doesn't go as far.  I am still comfortable due to having zero debt except for my mortgage, but I can see why people could really be struggling right now.  

Was there a reason you asked this?

[JimmyBT]

57 minutes ago, ThreePointTakedown said:

Where are you getting your numbers? 

US customs and border control 

 

https://americanmilitarynews.com/2024/02/7-2-million-illegal-immigrants-have-entered-us-under-biden/

 

[Paul158]

1 hour ago, Bigbrog said:

I am worse off financially comparatively from 5 years ago.  This is do to cut backs at work, 401k performance, and inflation.  I am making less and my dollar doesn't go as far.  I am still comfortable due to having zero debt except for my mortgage, but I can see why people could really be struggling right now.  

Was there a reason you asked this?

Wouldn't we need deflation for a couple of years to get prices back down to where they were. Just because inflation has slowed down, we are still paying inflated prices on everything. I was fortunate to have no debt when I retired 20 months ago ( including no mortgage on my house) So it is a matter of living within my means from here on out. 

Edited March 4 by Paul158
missed a word.

[Husker_Du]

i can't imagine how families afford groceries. the price of food is astronomical. 

[ThreePointTakedown]

1 hour ago, JimmyBT said:

US customs and border control 

 

https://americanmilitarynews.com/2024/02/7-2-million-illegal-immigrants-have-entered-us-under-biden/

 

Not for nothing but that wasn't US customs and border patrol. It was someone interpreting, who says they are getting the numbers from those places. 

Are you trying to say that 7m+ immigrants have come into the country and stayed? 

[Offthemat]

15 minutes ago, Paul158 said:

Wouldn't we need deflation for a couple of years to get prices back down to where they were. Just because inflation has slowed down, we are still paying inflated prices on everything. I was fortunate to have no debt when I retired 20 months ago ( including no mortgage on my house) So it is a matter of living within my means from here on out. 

I don’t even think the people who live off handouts have kept up with inflation over the last few years. 

[ThreePointTakedown]

17 minutes ago, Paul158 said:

Wouldn't we need deflation for a couple of years to get prices back down to where they were. Just because inflation has slowed down, we are still paying inflated prices on everything. I was fortunate to have no debt when I retired 20 months ago ( including no mortgage on my house) So it is a matter of living within my means from here on out. 

The companies that are experiencing record profits will need to start paying their employees more just to maintain buying power. Thus driving down their profits again. 

When a few companies can effect the market for a product. In this case food. They can gouge the prices with little to no backlash. Because what are we going to do boycott eating? Their excuse WAS the pandemic and supply chain issues. Those issues have been mostly remedied. So why the continued hike of prices? Profits and lack of oversight or competitive influence. 

[ionel]

1 hour ago, ThreePointTakedown said:

When a few companies can effect the market for a product. In this case food. They can gouge the prices with little to no backlash. 

Who are these "few companies" that can control food prices? 

[JimmyBT]

2 hours ago, ThreePointTakedown said:

The companies that are experiencing record profits will need to start paying their employees more just to maintain buying power. Thus driving down their profits again. 

When a few companies can effect the market for a product. In this case food. They can gouge the prices with little to no backlash. Because what are we going to do boycott eating? Their excuse WAS the pandemic and supply chain issues. Those issues have been mostly remedied. So why the continued hike of prices? Profits and lack of oversight or competitive influence. 

People can certainly boycott eating things they don’t need and only buy necessities.  So yes you can boycott eating certain things as nobody needs pop, chips or seltzer water. It’s about self accountability 

Edited March 4 by JimmyBT

[JimmyBT]

2 hours ago, ThreePointTakedown said:

Not for nothing but that wasn't US customs and border patrol. It was someone interpreting, who says they are getting the numbers from those places. 

Are you trying to say that 7m+ immigrants have come into the country and stayed? 

So you’re saying they didn’t get the numbers from US customs and boarder patrol? 

[mspart]

Due to inflation, costs for everything is going up.   Food is included in everything.   Inflation was at 7-9% last year.   So prices rose at that rate and we still don't have inflation tamed and that continues the increase. 

mspart

[ThreePointTakedown]

1 hour ago, ionel said:

Who are these "few companies" that can control food prices? 

https://eatamericano.com/blogs/thoughts-from-the-peanut-gallery/10-food-companies-own-almost-every-grocery-store-item-you-buy

[ThreePointTakedown]

37 minutes ago, JimmyBT said:

People can certainly boycott eating things they don’t need and only buy necessities.  So yes you can boycott eating certain things as nobody needs pop, chips or seltzer water. It’s about self accountability 

And if you're already doing that? 

I'm guessing you're going to say, 'there's something else they can cut.' The answer to that is sure. So if they're doing that too? And so on and so on. 

Nothing else can be squeezed. What do they do? 

[ThreePointTakedown]

41 minutes ago, JimmyBT said:

So you’re saying they didn’t get the numbers from US customs and boarder patrol? 

I'm saying that you are reporting something as true that you have not investigated and confirmed. 

Also, the 7m+ number is not necessarily people in the country. Just 'encounters' at the border. If you are trying to say that 'encounters' is the same as people now living in this country, you have more work to do. 

Edited March 4 by ThreePointTakedown

[ThreePointTakedown]

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/30/business/economy/inflation-companies-profits-higher-prices.html

Just a year ago. 

'Some of the world’s biggest companies have said they do not plan to change course and will continue increasing prices or keep them at elevated levels for the foreseeable future.

That strategy has cushioned corporate profits. And it could keep inflation robust, contributing to the very pressures used to justify surging prices.

 

As a result, some economists warn, policymakers at the Federal Reserve may feel compelled to keep raising interest rates, or at least not lower them, increasing the likelihood and severity of an economic downturn."

They know what they are doing and don't care that it hurts consumers. 

[mspart]

What does encounter  mean and what happens to those people that were encountered?   It seems to me that those encountered are allowed to continue into the interior which is why NYC, Chicago, and DC are screaming.   

mspart

[Bigbrog]

2 minutes ago, ThreePointTakedown said:

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/30/business/economy/inflation-companies-profits-higher-prices.html

Just a year ago. 

'Some of the world’s biggest companies have said they do not plan to change course and will continue increasing prices or keep them at elevated levels for the foreseeable future.

That strategy has cushioned corporate profits. And it could keep inflation robust, contributing to the very pressures used to justify surging prices.

 

As a result, some economists warn, policymakers at the Federal Reserve may feel compelled to keep raising interest rates, or at least not lower them, increasing the likelihood and severity of an economic downturn."

They know what they are doing and don't care that it hurts consumers. 

So where did you get your original assortation that "companies were experiencing record profits"??  This article doesn't seem to say that but rather companies have had to raise prices due to inflation in order to stay in business.  What were they supposed to do, not raise prices, not make any money, lay off workers and go out of business??  SMH

[ThreePointTakedown]

14 minutes ago, mspart said:

What does encounter  mean and what happens to those people that were encountered?   It seems to me that those encountered are allowed to continue into the interior which is why NYC, Chicago, and DC are screaming.   

mspart

Any chance that isn't what it means?

[mspart]

Possibly.   You tell us Mr Smart guy.

mspart

[mspart]

21 minutes ago, ThreePointTakedown said:

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/30/business/economy/inflation-companies-profits-higher-prices.html

Just a year ago. 

'Some of the world’s biggest companies have said they do not plan to change course and will continue increasing prices or keep them at elevated levels for the foreseeable future.

That strategy has cushioned corporate profits. And it could keep inflation robust, contributing to the very pressures used to justify surging prices.

 

As a result, some economists warn, policymakers at the Federal Reserve may feel compelled to keep raising interest rates, or at least not lower them, increasing the likelihood and severity of an economic downturn."

They know what they are doing and don't care that it hurts consumers. 

TPT, you don't seem to understand that as costs rise (taxes, cost of product, cost of employment, cost of perqs, cost of maintenance, cost of capital, etc), prices rise to cover those costs.   It is simple Econ 101.   Thank your buddy Biden for the inflation rather than rail on those that are reacting to it.   To be fair, Trump has some culpability too, but Biden poured gas on that fire with this big spending in 2021.  

Profit margin is a real thing.    And people are used to making a certain profit margin.   More comes in, profit margin stays the same, more is made.  Simple math. 

mspart

[Wrestleknownothing]

1 hour ago, mspart said:

Due to inflation, costs for everything is going up.   Food is included in everything.   Inflation was at 7-9% last year.   So prices rose at that rate and we still don't have inflation tamed and that continues the increase. 

mspart

Level setting for the conversation.

General inflation:

Food inflation:

Between the 1970s and early 2000s, food-at-home prices and food-away-from-home prices increased at similar rates. However, between 2009 and 2019, their growth rates diverged; while food-at-home prices deflated in 2016 and 2017, monthly food-away-from-home prices rose consistently. Differences between the costs of serving prepared food at restaurants and retailing food in supermarkets and grocery stores partly explain this difference.

In 2020, food-at-home prices increased 3.5 percent and food-away-from-home prices increased 3.4 percent. This convergence was largely driven by a rapid increase in food-at-home prices following the onset of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, particularly for meats and poultry, while food-away-from-home price inflation remained similar to its 2019 inflation rate. In 2021, all food prices increased 3.9 percent as prices began accelerating in the second-half of the year. No food categories tracked by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Economic Research Service (ERS) decreased in price in 2021 compared with their prices in 2020.

In 2022, food prices increased by 9.9 percent, faster than any year since 1979. Food-at-home prices increased by 11.4 percent, while food-away-from-home prices increased by 7.7 percent. Food prices rose partly due to a highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreak that affected egg and poultry prices and the conflict in Ukraine, which compounded other economy-wide inflationary pressures such as high energy costs. All food price categories increased by more than 5 percent, and all food categories grew faster than their historical average rate.

In 2023, food prices increased by 5.8 percent. Food price growth slowed in 2023 as economy-wide inflationary pressures, supply chain issues, and wholesale food prices eased from 2022. Food-at-home prices increased by 5.0 percent, and food-away-from-home prices increased by 7.1 percent. While prices increased for all food categories except for pork, prices grew more slowly in 2023 than in 2022 for all categories.

[ThreePointTakedown]

12 minutes ago, mspart said:

Possibly.   You tell us Mr Smart guy.

mspart

I have no interest in guessing how a government organization defines this term.

[mspart]

2 minutes ago, ThreePointTakedown said:

I have no interest in guessing how a government organization defines this term.

So I guess we'll stay with the numbers quoted.  

mspart

[ThreePointTakedown]

12 minutes ago, mspart said:

TPT, you don't seem to understand that as costs rise (taxes, cost of product, cost of employment, cost of perqs, cost of maintenance, cost of capital, etc), prices rise to cover those costs.   It is simple Econ 101.   Thank your buddy Biden for the inflation rather than rail on those that are reacting to it.   To be fair, Trump has some culpability too, but Biden poured gas on that fire with this big spending in 2021.  

Profit margin is a real thing.    And people are used to making a certain profit margin.   More comes in, profit margin stays the same, more is made.  Simple math. 

mspart

Fair. 

Tax has remained even. Cost still up. 

Cost of product has gone up and come back down. Cost still up. 

Cost of employment has not risen much in two years. Cost still up.

Cost of perks. The thing the company CAN control. Not sure if they've gone up. But profits have gone up and I would imagine the benefits for those profits have kept pace. Cost still up.

Cost of maintenance. Seeing as all other things have stayed even, that this has too. Cost still up. 

Cost of capital has gone up. Doesn't seem to be effecting record profits. Cost still up.