Why is everything getting so expensive?

Diapers, food, rent — around the world, prices are rising. So what can we do about it?

Right now, inflation is inescapable. At the grocery store, the gas station, and in almost every country in the world, people are playing more — way more — than they did just a couple of years ago for everything.

In this video, we explore three explanations for why prices are rising, as well as different policy options for bringing them down.

Further reading:

[srt]

use to be illegal to have a monopoly now companies are buying all the competition so they dont have to compete with pricing

[Rigr_Mrtis]

The question is why is everything getting so expensive while companies are racking record profits

[FennaVa]

With markets getting expensive, inflation soaring, the Fed imposing large interest-rate hike, while treasury yields are rising rapidly-which means more red ink for portfolios this quarter. How can I profit from the current volatile market, I'm still at a crossroads deciding if to liquidate my portfolio or not

[PeterGrimm-dkzc]

All I learned is that inflation is a poor person problem.

[kaseywahl]

I'm so tired of every economic catastrophe falling on the working class.

[tmer]

In summary, things are bad and things will get worse and things might get out of hand if this man continues. Worse is our government pretends like they don't see it. I for one has been hit very hard and at this point, I am more interested in a solution because I don't think an end is near. What is the way forward for the less fortunate ones like me? How do we survive this phase? I am slowly losing my mind.

[andresbard]

Inflation is far more harmful to individuals than a collapsing stock or property market because it directly affects people's cost of living, which they immediately feel. It is not surprising that the current market sentiment is extremely pessimistic. In today's economy, assistance is critical if we are to survive.

[StopThatSquirrel]

I'm surprised there was no mention of the stagnant minimum wage as well. Not only are things more expensive on a technical level but they additionally ~feel~ more expensive because nobody is getting a raise alongside it.

[sagarkardam]

Theoretically High inflation would mean better salary for working class, but most of the inflated prices profit goes to millionaire and billionaire pockets.

[CaptainZombeh]

The short of it: Inflation is influenced by corporations and governments being greedy.

[aureliobjm]

Truth is, inflation will never reach 2% ever again, maybe in the next life, but not this one. The sad part is that these prices are never coming down ever again. Anyone purchasing groceries and gasoline is aware that real inflation is much over 10%; they simply lie about it like cheap blankets. In reality, interest rates would be in the 20s because of how high inflation is. But then despite the severe bear market, I am aware of certain investors that continue to earn over $365, 000. Wish I could accomplish that.

[NicholasBall]

The system is failing as a result of both government and federal policy. In the next days, the banking crisis would have to be epic and gigantic for the FED to decide not to raise interest rates. This won't happen; an increase and a crash are coming. There will be more negative portfolios this 2nd half of 2024 with markets tumbling, soaring inflation, and banks going out of business. My concern is how can the rapid interest-rate hike be of favor to a value investor, or is it better avoiding stocks for a while?

[sshuggi]

As someone that has to make a lot of technical reports, I envy that Vox is always able to somehow incorporate arts and crafts into their statistics heavy videos.

[diegorojas]

I miss the days of being able to buy a full shopper cart of groceries for like 70 to 80 now its 200 minimum

[Duttonmuffins]

This seems like the worst period.
Even the market are now very unpredictable. Started investing recently when the market prices were a bit high, today I am more than 60% down!

[andrew.alonzo]

Since Biden took office, there seem to have been more unfavorable results in America. These results include effects on the markets, such as price declines and sharp increases in inflation, as well as bank failures. I wonder if the sudden increase in interest rates will help value investors or if it would be wiser to stay away from the stock and financial markets for the time being.

[jawsvvvvv]

The classic saying doesn't hold water when companies just raise prices because they can.

[Custmzir]

"Home prices in India" I didn't realize it was actually an issue, we were looking for homes recently and everything seemed absurdly expensive and I was very confused as to why it was.

[wcewodi]

Managing money is different from accumulating wealth, and the lack of investment education in schools may explain why people struggle to maintain their financial gains. The examples you provided are relevant, and I personally benefited from the market crisis, as I embrace challenging times while others tend to avoid them. Well, at least my advisor does too, jokingly.

[benzero]

I think the biggest reason is obvious, but unlikely to ever have hard data to support it. Companies are using inflation as an "excuse" to raise prices (or use shrinkflation where they sell a smaller amount at the same price). Covid definitely created some supply chain inflation that's still around in some sectors, but most prices are going up simply because the national attention on inflation is a good cover for companies to mark up prices and jack up profits. Plus, so many companies are doing it that it makes the excuse even more believable, and hardly anyone who raised prices due to Covid supply chain issues ever lowered them back later when the supply was better. I think it's also the same for a lot of the layoffs we are seeing in major companies. It's about the bottom line and making the profits look good. The layoffs aren't because the businesses are in trouble; it's because the buzz around inflation and rising costs provides a prime opportunity to take some expenses (salaries) off the accounting sheets to the benefit of people at the top.