Harris to propose federal ban on 'corporate price-gouging' in food and groceries
Harris to propose federal ban on 'corporate price-gouging' in food and groceries
Vice President Kamala Harris would expand FTC authority to help enforce a proposed federal ban on excessive prices in the food industry.
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I support the idea, but I wonder how they even ban something like that? Are they going to try to set limits on gross margin for companies or control prices somehow? Do they try to artificially control inflation by mandating that prices can only rise X% within a certain amount of time on certain products? Or are they going to monitor the prices on foods and take action whenever a certain threshold is crossed? I think corporate price-gouging needs brought under control, but I don't know where you would start.
I don't have a solution, but saying that prices can only go up 3% a year (or whatever number they pick) will guarantee that prices go up exactly 3% every year.
It probably isn't the only fix, but they need to look into anti-trust issues with grocery stores and food suppliers buying up their competition.
No need to enforce, create a non profit State run grocery chain and watch as prices crash in the private ones.
...isn't that just a co-op grocery store with extra steps?
I agree though, we should incentivize having food co-ops in every state.
Not really, a co-op will redistribute the profit to the members but you still need to become a member in order to get money back (requiring that you put money down upfront which isn't a possibility for everyone) and the goal is still to make profit.
State run means if there's profit it goes in the government coffers and is used to pay for social programs, but if it's a non profit it would mean adjusting prices the next year based on sales predictions to compensate or reinvesting all profits to open more branches with the surplus necessary coming from the government.
In the end the goal would be to run it as close to cost as possible.
Ah, you're right in that co-op's are more direct contributions.
My equvilancy was coming from the fact that I was thinking of the taxpaying base as the "members" of the co-op, and the redistribution of profits of it's members as the social services. I mean you vote for the board of a co-op too so...technically...the co-op model could work here.
I guess, but if the goal is just to put pressure on the private equivalent then only a non profit would truly bring them to their knees as a co-op can still have greedy members putting people on the board that will do everything they can to maximize the redistribution going to the members so they might get a nice check at the end of the year, but day to day their grocery is no cheaper and it isn't cheaper for non-members (if they're also allowed to shop there).
We've seen a co-op being ruined by greed and then privatized in Canada (an outdoors equipment store but still)...
Food is an essential need, I don't even understand how come we let the private sector take care of it in the first place and the State corporation option has been tried elsewhere (in an European country if I'm not mistaken) and prices plummeted when they entered the market and private ones just had to adapt and lower their prices as well.
How about things like not putting up cameras in the aisles then charging you extra if you don't make a horrified face when you look at the price tag... looking at you, Kroger...
In my Kroger store there's just one aisle with a big tv to remind you that you're on camera... The aisle with diapers and baby food.
I'm actually talking about something different. That's letting you know that Kroger frowns upon feeding babies. I'm talking about the new story the last few days about how they're planning to use some sort of dynamix pricing scheme to squeeze as much money as possible out of customers by looking at you face when you read price tags. So if you look like you're having a negative reaction they'll send you an coupon or something but if you don't make a horrified face you'll pay more.
I support it too… though I will say it smacks of “something the proles will like, but vague enough that the corpos don’t lose their shit”. Hopefully, that will refine into actual policies that meaningfully help citizens, instead of corporations, but we will have to see how that pans out AFTER the election.