Why Prices Might Never Go Back Down

"you know what? we make too much money...lets lower our prices" said no company ever.

The actual problem is economists say inflation is coming down, meaning prices are no longer going up so fast. But they have already went up a ton by now and they aren't falling at all. So consumers are still suffering because prices aren't recovering even though "inflation is down". To consumers, that doesn't solve their problem, and the economic and political message is diconnected and sounds tone deaf.

We're experiencing the glory days of practicing minimalism. I'm just opting out of consumerism except obviously groceries. I'm not shopping and getting price gouged, I'm not traveling and getting price gouged, I'm not playing their stupid game anymore. I'm spending less, saving more, and doing what's best for myself, and all the corporate shareholders out there can go to hell.

The average person has never been so poor. Millions of families are struggling financially as living expenses hit the highest levels in more than four decades. Over 60% of our country lives paycheck to paycheck and about 40% earns poverty wages. Even after working all their lives, more than a quarter of older people have no savings and many believe they will never be able to retire in dignity, while around 55% of elderly people try to survive on an income of less than 25,000 a year.

The average person does not assess the economy like an economist. They ask broad questions to derive sentiment like "can I afford a house?", "is my income allowing me to make meaningful gains against my expenses?" etc. Telling someone that inflation is slowing and therefore prices are rising at a slower rate isn't helpful when they're already very high. Telling people that the job market is strong isn't helpful when most of those jobs don't pay enough to compete with current prices. This isn't hard to understand.

Imagine living in a period of unspeakable wealth and yet having to worry about grocery bills. This economy is truly broken for us millennials

I'm feeling uneasy about this situation, particularly with the possibility of a depression rather than just a recession. I'm unsure about how to strategize with my $130,000 account considering the uncertainty surrounding the economic downturn.

the problem is that no matter how difficult things get, you have people who will defend corporations and billionaires to the end.

Coffee going from $4 to $10 is a rip-off. Quit giving companies an out to gouge you.

Passed McDonald's yesterday . Both Drive Thru's were packed . People love to complain while they're waiting in line just to get ripped off .

Currently I'm just being smart and frugal with my money, I'm in the green 47% over the last 23 months and l've accumulated over $70K in pure profits from DCA’ing into stocks, ETFs, dividends and futures. However I’ve been in the red for a month now. I work hard for my money, so investing is making me a nervous sad wreck. I don’t know if I should sell everything, sit and just wait.

is it really worth investing in stocks in 2024, I’ve been on the sidelines watching the market for awhile and it seems to be pretty stagnant to me not that it matters because I’m in it for the long run, but how can one generate actual profit in this current market?

These people are living on another planet... things are totally unaffordable and out of control

The price increases from 2021 and 2022 that made everything prohibitively expensive are here to stay. The "good news," the economists say, is that those same prices will continue to grow even more out of hand, but at a slightly slower rate. And then those same economists scratch their heads and ponder why it is the public isn't celebrating lower inflation. The most tone deaf, out of touch profession imaginable

It's bad when EVERY SINGLE GROCERY ITEM you buy has went up 50%

This is wild. “They’ll go up before they go down” so people have to suffer ENOUGH. We haven’t struggled enough for my billionaires and millionaires

"...that inflation is coming down yet they don't notice any of their prices coming down" That's because as long as inflation is a positive value, it has in fact not "Come down", it's just a decrease in the rate where things will get more expensive. The fact that so few people realize this shows just how much of a failure our public education system is. Update The people posting their replies give me hope that people are seeing through the facade and more people realize what is going on than I had previously thought. Thanks all.

I doubt prices will come down. The line has been set now. For a business, they see customers will pay $2 for a widget that normally costs $1. There is no incentive for that business to sell that widget for $1 again. Businesses will never take the loss; it is always passed on to the customer, with increased profits going to shareholders/owners.

I guess we all should just stop spending money. Stop giving in to the high prices. When demand is less than the supply, prices will come down. Basic economics. Consumerism in America is out of control.

Blaming the war in Ukraine and ignoring the Feds endless spending is so laughable….