October 4Oct 4 2 hours ago, Hefeweizen said: It's all fake news. Capitalism is the best and you commies need to just pay more for your food. You think if one favors capitalism over communism, somehow price fixing is ok? Straw man much?
October 4Oct 4 2 hours ago, Hefeweizen said: It's all fake news. Capitalism is the best and you commies need to just pay more for your food. Oh no, its real. Just misrepresented by Che Guerva’s douche bag. Only 8 years late… understandable Edited October 4Oct 4 by Incredulity
October 4Oct 4 Lol this is where you act like there's no price fixing and monopolistic price gouging, because you can't trust your lying eyes? Of course there's no reporting on rulings and judgements for shit happening this year, or even the last few years - it takes years to build a case and prosecute it. Hey btw did you ever figure out IF tariffs are coming? I wonder if the USD taking a massive shit has anything to do with IF tariffs are getting implemented. Boy howdy I do love new taxes levied without legislative backing. Not like we literally had a war about it 250 years ago or anything
October 4Oct 4 8 hours ago, Thetexashammer said: You think if one favors capitalism over communism, somehow price fixing is ok? Straw man much? Never have two words meant less than “capitalism” and “communism” in the political discourse of the 2020’s
October 4Oct 4 6 hours ago, Bozo_Casanova said: Never have two words meant less than “capitalism” and “communism” in the political discourse of the 2020’s It's a failure of the educational system. Edited October 4Oct 4 by Thetexashammer
October 4Oct 4 25 minutes ago, Thetexashammer said: It's a failure of the educational system. I was talking about you too, but I’ll give you credit for not bringing it up.
October 4Oct 4 13 minutes ago, Bozo_Casanova said: I was talking about you too, but I’ll give you credit for not bringing it up. Stop being meta and tell me what you think the problem is.
October 4Oct 4 5 minutes ago, Thetexashammer said: Stop being meta and tell me what you think the problem is. The whole discourse of capitalism, communism or socialism in the context of the American economy is utterly devoid of relevance, honesty, purpose, or merit.
October 4Oct 4 4 minutes ago, Bozo_Casanova said: The whole discourse of capitalism, communism or socialism in the context of the American economy is utterly devoid of relevance, honesty, purpose, or merit. Why? There appears to be a vigorous debate that Socialism is the best way. Vast numbers of Gen Z seem to support it. Edited October 4Oct 4 by Thetexashammer
October 4Oct 4 9 minutes ago, Thetexashammer said: Why? There appears to be a vigorous debate that Socialism is the best way. Vast numbers of Gen Z seem to support it. That’s economic word salad. Even at the most basic level. Of course you’re not alone in doing it, but I suppose you would say you “support capitalism” or something equally nonsensical.
October 4Oct 4 10 minutes ago, Thetexashammer said: Why? There appears to be a vigorous debate that Socialism is the best way. Vast numbers of Gen Z seem to support it. The first thing you have to do is define socialism. Most of MAGA thinks that socialism is “that thing that the Democrats want to do.” You’re gonna have to come up with some poll numbers that define what they meant, because I personally would be fine with a Swedish style combination of socialism and capitalism, understanding that things like the military, Social Security healthcare, police protection, fire protection, the FDA, FEMA, etc. are all socialism under our current American economic construct. Which one of those do you hate?
October 4Oct 4 3 minutes ago, Bozo_Casanova said: That’s economic word salad. Even at the most basic level. Of course you’re not alone in doing it, but I suppose you would say you “support capitalism” or something equally nonsensical. I know. That's the point i was making. Thank you for explaining it.
October 4Oct 4 The first thing you have to do is define socialism. Most of MAGA thinks that socialism is “that thing that the Democrats want to do.” You’re gonna have to come up with some poll numbers that define what they meant, because I personally would be fine with a Swedish style combination of socialism and capitalism, understanding that things like the military, Social Security healthcare, police protection, fire protection, the FDA, FEMA, etc. are all socialism under our current American economic construct. Which one of those do you hate?In our current social construct, anything other than oligarchical full-regulatory-capture “capitalism” is decried as pure Das Kapital Marxism….even though functionally every other western economy is much less oligarchical than ours…well, it’s perfection.
October 4Oct 4 4 hours ago, Gatorubet said: The first thing you have to do is define socialism. Most of MAGA thinks that socialism is “that thing that the Democrats want to do.” You’re gonna have to come up with some poll numbers that define what they meant, because I personally would be fine with a Swedish style combination of socialism and capitalism, understanding that things like the military, Social Security healthcare, police protection, fire protection, the FDA, FEMA, etc. are all socialism under our current American economic construct. Which one of those do you hate? Disagree, I don't have to define anything. It has already been defined. SOCIALISM Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster Nobody is advocating for allowing private companies to exploit their market power to raise prices and engage in anticompetitive behavior. It's been at least 100 years since we understood regulation of monopolies. His is in no way a serious allegation. It is insane. You can only conflate "capitalism" and price fixing if you are totally uneducated on the subject. Actually we have underenforced our laws by allowing large tech monopolies to exert market power. The sine qua non of the Federal Reserve is, in fact, price fixing. Which is not capitalism. Money printing, likewise, is not capitalism. College graduates should understand the words they are using. And almost universally, they don't. Edited October 4Oct 4 by Thetexashammer
October 5Oct 5 5 minutes ago, Thetexashammer said: Disagree, I don't have to define anything. It has already been defined. SOCIALISM Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster Nobody is advocating for allowing private companies to exploit their market power to raise prices and engage in anticompetitive behavior. It's been at least 100 years since we understood regulation of monopolies. His is in no way a serious allegation. It is insane. You can only conflate "capitalism" and price fixing if you are totally uneducated on the subject. Actually we have underenforced our laws by allowing large tech monopolies to exert market power. The sine qua non of the Federal Reserve is, in fact, price fixing. Which is not capitalism. Money printing, likewise, is not capitalism. College graduates should understand the words they are using. And almost universally, they don't. My question had nothing to do with what you thought the term means -whether you went to college or not. My comment had to do with you proposing that there was a vigorous debate among an entire generation that socialism was the way to go. Which begs is the question, the people you claim want socialism, is it now your opinion that all of them have a uniform definition that they are proposing? Because I think you missed the fact that most people in America are dumber than shit, and a significant number of them who aren’t dumber than shit are still willing to accept dumber than shit talking points from the team they identify with. The one true thing is that the GOP often likes to use socialism and communism as epithets - words tied to no meaning or content other than its use as an epithet that Cletus thinks means they are bad people. IOW, I was calling bullshit on the underlying proposition of your post.
October 5Oct 5 3 minutes ago, Gatorubet said: My question had nothing to do with what you thought the term means -whether you went to college or not. My comment had to do with you proposing that there was a vigorous debate among an entire generation that socialism was the way to go. Why would you ask me that?
October 5Oct 5 12 minutes ago, Gatorubet said: Which begs is the question, the people you claim want socialism, is it now your opinion that all of them have a uniform definition that they are proposing? Because I think you missed the fact that most people in America are dumber than shit, and a significant number of them who aren’t dumber than shit are still willing to accept dumber than shit talking points from the team they identify with. The one true thing is that the GOP often likes to use socialism and communism as epithets - words tied to no meaning or content other than its use as an epithet that Cletus thinks means they are bad people. IOW, I was calling bullshit on the underlying proposition of your post. 1. A graduate of UT is not dumb as shit. 2. I hate to disappoint you, but you are agreeing with me. Imagine, railing against price fixing from "big chicken" but not from the Fed or from the money printers. Edited October 5Oct 5 by Thetexashammer
October 5Oct 5 11 minutes ago, Thetexashammer said: Why would you ask me that? 7 minutes ago, Thetexashammer said: 1. A graduate of UT is not dumb as shit. > Posts AI slop as a source for his position > Claims to not be dumb as shit
October 5Oct 5 5 hours ago, Thetexashammer said: Why? There appears to be a vigorous debate that Socialism is the best way. Vast numbers of Gen Z seem to support it. No one here fucking argues that. Better regulated capitalism is not socialism or communism.
October 5Oct 5 5 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said: Better regulated capitalism is not socialism or communism. Indeed, that was my point. Your comment should be addressed to Hefe. Edited October 5Oct 5 by Thetexashammer
October 5Oct 5 4 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said: Better regulated capitalism is not socialism or communism. No, but it's an extremely effective way to shut down discussion by claiming anyone who advocates for some market regulations is really a SOCIALIST(!!!!!)
October 5Oct 5 Everything that Fox News tells me I shouldn’t like is either socialism, evil left agenda, or woke. I’m not sure which one, but it’s one of them for sure.
October 5Oct 5 42 minutes ago, tbone_ said: Everything that Fox News tells me I shouldn’t like is either socialism, evil left agenda, or woke. I’m not sure which one, but it’s one of them for sure. You're just not anti-antifa enough.
October 5Oct 5 14 hours ago, Thetexashammer said: Indeed, that was my point. Your comment should be addressed to Hefe. Hefe wasn't seriously arguing that point. It's your side, if not you specifically, that constantly argues that anything other than pure laissez-faire capitalism is socialism or communism.
October 5Oct 5 23 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said: Hefe wasn't seriously arguing that point. It's your side, if not you specifically, that constantly argues that anything other than pure laissez-faire capitalism is socialism or communism. No, but his lack of education on the subject renders him unable to contribute to the thread, or to understand the discussion, so all he has left is his ability to act out as a child would. He is a micro example of Bozo's macro example. Edited October 5Oct 5 by Thetexashammer
October 5Oct 5 On 11/17/2023 at 9:18 AM, Bozo_Casanova said: None of it yet- the rise of new car prices over the last several years was enabled by 0-3% interest rates and the dealer margin is built into that number. In a normal new car market car dealers typically make around 3-4% margin on new car sales. They make the real money on factory incentives, flipping trade-ins, service, and ESPECIALLY F&I. Some dealerships even operate the new car sales end as a break even or loss leader business by design and make it back on finance discount (this is especially true with subprime). “Market adjustments” by dealers represent the extraordinarily rare circumstance that they have a scarce good- either an exceptionally popular model, or a general supply shortage, and when financing is cheap they have a partner to make high prices more palatable for a buyer. so 2021-22 was a perfect storm of 1) low rates 2) low supply 3) high demand driven by cheap debt and stimulus We’re seeing the opposite now- high rates are making high MSRP new vehicles less attractive, there are few truly new concepts coming in at this moment to drive a premium, the cost of floorplan financing* has risen to dealers can’t afford to let stock sit, and the supply chains are returning to normal. So right now I’m seeing dealer discounts in the 15-20% range on bro-dozers that would have sold for MSRP last year, and financing incentives on vehicles that would have had a 5-10k “market adjustment” last year. Cars are a fairly high price elastic product on a coat of ownership basis because the the market addressability has underwriting standards dealers can’t do much about other than eat the difference to keep the lights on if they have to. For them the market giveth and taketh away. And now in 2025 we find ourselves back in normal times, where the 4th quarter you can get a little more on your trade in, pay a little less than MSRP, and get an interest rate well under risk-free with good credit even on popular new cars. somebody tell me again why it’s so urgent that we go back to historically low Fed funds rates? Edited October 5Oct 5 by Bozo_Casanova
October 6Oct 6 3 hours ago, Bozo_Casanova said: And now in 2025 we find ourselves back in normal times, where the 4th quarter you can get a little more on your trade in, pay a little less than MSRP, and get an interest rate well under risk-free with good credit even on popular new cars. somebody tell me again why it’s so urgent that we go back to historically low Fed funds rates? Without Brrrt money printer the debt service payments are going to look worse and worse. Devaluation of the dollar is the path out of this apparently. FYI, if I don't respond to a stupid comment it's probably because you're on ignore. It's my problem, not yours, that I don't want to read diarrhea on my screen, but I fully understand your frustration and send my thoughts and prayers for your comments.
October 6Oct 6 1 hour ago, Hefeweizen said: FYI, if I don't respond to a stupid comment it's probably because you're on ignore. It's my problem, not yours, that I don't want to read diarrhea on my screen, but I fully understand your frustration and send my thoughts and prayers for your comments. Uh . . . you responded to him?
October 6Oct 6 Apparently my phrasing was muddled. I find Bozo to be pretty insightful and my comment wasn’t directed at him but someone he quoted earlier up thread. I appreciate the opportunity to clarify.
October 6Oct 6 On 10/4/2025 at 6:55 PM, Thetexashammer said: Nobody is advocating for allowing private companies to exploit their market power to raise prices and engage in anticompetitive behavior. You new here? That is EXACTLY what several posters have stated in the past. It’s usually in the terms of “they are required to charge the highest prices the market will pay by their shareholders “.
October 7Oct 7 2 hours ago, Fudge Nuggets said: You new here? That is EXACTLY what several posters have stated in the past. It’s usually in the terms of “they are required to charge the highest prices the market will pay by their shareholders “. Shhh . . . he's an economicks geenyus.
October 7Oct 7 You new here? That is EXACTLY what several posters have stated in the past. It’s usually in the terms of “they are required to charge the highest prices the market will pay by their shareholders “. What I love is the idea that nobody is advocating for that…except the entire current administration, which is doing the actors a particular favor by removing as much oversight and regulation to address those things as can possibly be removed, and then some.It’s like saying “nobody is advocating for people to drive 100 mph through your neighborhood. We’re just ensuring that the richest people in your hood have Ferraris, and we’re prohibiting cops from doing traffic enforcement there.”
October 8Oct 8 On 10/6/2025 at 4:24 PM, Fudge Nuggets said: You new here? That is EXACTLY what several posters have stated in the past. It’s usually in the terms of “they are required to charge the highest prices the market will pay by their shareholders “. This is exactly what a fiduciary should do in that position. These fucking numbnuts want to argue with reality.
October 8Oct 8 On 10/4/2025 at 6:55 PM, Thetexashammer said: Disagree, I don't have to define anything. It has already been defined. SOCIALISM Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster Nobody is advocating for allowing private companies to exploit their market power to raise prices and engage in anticompetitive behavior. It's been at least 100 years since we understood regulation of monopolies. His is in no way a serious allegation. It is insane. You can only conflate "capitalism" and price fixing if you are totally uneducated on the subject. Actually we have underenforced our laws by allowing large tech monopolies to exert market power. The sine qua non of the Federal Reserve is, in fact, price fixing. Which is not capitalism. Money printing, likewise, is not capitalism. College graduates should understand the words they are using. And almost universally, they don't. Who do the guys who own those tech monopolies vote for, consistently? Who do they give an overwhelming amount of campaign contributions to, which party? Why do you think that is?
October 8Oct 8 11 hours ago, Hefeweizen said: This is exactly what a fiduciary should do in that position. These fucking numbnuts want to argue with reality. If such a responsiblity exists, wouldn't it be to find the price point that maximizes profit?
October 8Oct 8 A real MAGA movement would be to eliminate the middle men in major industries such as healthcare, real estate, autos, student loans, etc. that siphon money for "services" that could be eliminated or replaced.
October 8Oct 8 5 hours ago, jimmyjazz said: If such a responsiblity exists, wouldn't it be to find the price point that maximizes profit? Yes. If it’s a monopoly or close to it with cartel like control it makes it easy to maximize.
October 9Oct 9 Hey, look! More price fixing and illegal collusion to ARTIFICIALLY INFLATE PRICES and extract wealth from nonwealthy people. But lulz, $141M is just a cost of doing business given they made billions off of ripping off renters https://fortune.com/2025/10/03/americas-landlords-settle-claim-they-used-rent-setting-algorithms-to-gouge-consumers-nationwide-for-141-million/ Real estate giant Greystar and 25 other property management companies have agreed to collectively pay more than $141 million to settle a class action lawsuit accusing landlords of driving up housing costs by using rent-setting algorithms offered by the software company RealPage. Greystar, the nation’s largest landlord, would pay $50 million under the proposed settlement agreement, which was filed Wednesday in a Tennessee federal court. The deal would still require a judge’s approval. The companies have also agreed to no longer share nonpublic information with RealPage for its rent algorithm — a key stipulation, since plaintiffs say RealPage used that information to enable landlords to align their prices and push up rents. “This represents a fundamental shift in the multifamily housing industry and will help reverse the type of anticompetitive coordination alleged in the Complaint,” attorneys wrote in the settlement filing. Edited October 9Oct 9 by Captainant
October 9Oct 9 Greystar just sold a lot of properties here in Houston. I'm sure someone in that arena can expand but seems notable
October 9Oct 9 1 hour ago, Captainant said: Hey, look! More price fixing and illegal collusion to ARTIFICIALLY INFLATE PRICES and extract wealth from nonwealthy people. But lulz, $141M is just a cost of doing business given they made billions off of ripping off renters https://fortune.com/2025/10/03/americas-landlords-settle-claim-they-used-rent-setting-algorithms-to-gouge-consumers-nationwide-for-141-million/ I remember this story when it first came out last year, specifically cause there were so many smoking-gun quotes from both the software vendor and the companies that used it. The plaintiffs lawyers involved must have thought they'd died and gone to heaven. Quote RealPage acknowledged that its software is aimed at maximizing prices for landlords, referring to its products as “driving every possible opportunity to increase price,” “avoid[ing] the race to the bottom in down markets,” and “a rising tide raises all ships.” A RealPage executive observed that its products help landlords avoid competing on the merits, noting that “there is greater good in everybody succeeding versus essentially trying to compete against one another in a way that actually keeps the entire industry down.” Another landlord commented about RealPage’s product, “I always liked this product because your algorithm uses proprietary data from other subscribers to suggest rents and term. That’s classic price fixing…”
October 9Oct 9 1 hour ago, UTPhil2006 said: Greystar just sold a lot of properties here in Houston. I'm sure someone in that arena can expand but seems notable Not at all related I suspect. I know we all like a good villain when shit we don’t like happens, like when supply/demand pushes rents through the roof. But I can tell you the apartment industry has been setting rents off comps rents since long before this software came about and will continue to do so long after. All you have to do is call the comp property or look on their website to get the same info. Nothing will really change. Supply and demand set real estate prices, not software. That said, yes, my industry tries as hard as it can to reach as far as it can into the pockets of renters to the benefit of our owners. Just like, you know, every other company trying to make a profit since the beginning of time. Edited October 9Oct 9 by tbone_
October 11Oct 11 On 10/9/2025 at 3:36 PM, Captainant said: Hey, look! More price fixing and illegal collusion to ARTIFICIALLY INFLATE PRICES and extract wealth from nonwealthy people. But lulz, $141M is just a cost of doing business given they made billions off of ripping off renters https://fortune.com/2025/10/03/americas-landlords-settle-claim-they-used-rent-setting-algorithms-to-gouge-consumers-nationwide-for-141-million/ Real estate giant Greystar and 25 other property management companies have agreed to collectively pay more than $141 million to settle a class action lawsuit accusing landlords of driving up housing costs by using rent-setting algorithms offered by the software company RealPage. Greystar, the nation’s largest landlord, would pay $50 million under the proposed settlement agreement, which was filed Wednesday in a Tennessee federal court. The deal would still require a judge’s approval. The companies have also agreed to no longer share nonpublic information with RealPage for its rent algorithm — a key stipulation, since plaintiffs say RealPage used that information to enable landlords to align their prices and push up rents. “This represents a fundamental shift in the multifamily housing industry and will help reverse the type of anticompetitive coordination alleged in the Complaint,” attorneys wrote in the settlement filing. Luigi-esque
October 24Oct 24 Just in time for Tday Walmart CEO Announces Return of Thanksgiving Savings Basket Including Turkey at Lowest Price Since 2019 https://people.com/walmart-ceo-announces-return-of-thanksgiving-savings-basket-with-2019-turkey-prices-11833976
November 19Nov 19 Take it up with propaganda outlet Rueters The overall decline put the price of the meal at $55.18, 5% down from 2024, the lowest since 2021, driven lower by a 16.3% decline that shoppers found in what retailers were charging for a 16-pound turkey, the American Farm Bureau Federation reported in its annual survey of holiday meal prices Ultimately it doesn't help much after 2020-24 inflation (worst in 50 years, food stamp recipients went form 17 million to 40 million) that permanently lowered the standard of living for all Americans except the investor class. Sides are still up in price though https://www.reuters.com/business/us-thanksgiving-dinner-cost-drops-third-year-farm-bureau-says-2025-11-19/ Edited November 19Nov 19 by ChickenSandwich
November 19Nov 19 14 minutes ago, ChickenSandwich said: Take it up with propaganda outlet Rueters The overall decline put the price of the meal at $55.18, 5% down from 2024, the lowest since 2021, driven lower by a 16.3% decline that shoppers found in what retailers were charging for a 16-pound turkey, the American Farm Bureau Federation reported in its annual survey of holiday meal prices Ultimately it doesn't help much after 2020-24 inflation (worst in 50 years, food stamp recipients went form 17 million to 40 million) that permanently lowered the standard of living for all Americans except the investor class. Sides are still up in price though https://www.reuters.com/business/us-thanksgiving-dinner-cost-drops-third-year-farm-bureau-says-2025-11-19/ from your link: Quote But the overall price was still about 13% higher than what the bureau's "classic meal" - featuring turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, sweet peas, dinner rolls, pumpkin pie and other items - cost in 2019, during President Donald Trump's first term and before the COVID-19 pandemic and the relief efforts arising from it stoked a surge in inflation. The details of the report and the Farm Bureau's analysis, moreover, showed price pressures still working through the food supply and demonstrated the tensions emerging in retail between increasingly price-sensitive consumers and companies fighting to keep market share amid rising costs. Walmart (WMT.N), opens new tab, for example, touted its 2025 Thanksgiving meal basket for 10 at less than $4 per person, versus about $7 last year, but the company subbed out fresh stuffing ingredients for a mix and also featured nine of its in-house brand items, which helped lower costs. Walmart did sub in the well-known Butterball turkey, which is more expensive than the brand it used last year. It was an example of what U.S. Federal Reserve officials and retail analysts say has become widespread behavior among cost-stretched households who are switching to store brands or moving to discounters like Walmart for the first time. Federation president Zippy Duvall said food prices remain "a real concern for many families," and noted the loss of an estimated 15,000 family farms over the past year "because of factors including historically low crop prices, high supply costs and trade uncertainty, which continue to squeeze farmers and ranchers." The Trump administration's immigration enforcement has fallen heaviest on Hispanic communities, a traditional source of farm labor, while its trade disputes with other countries led China to scale back its purchases of U.S. soybeans and slapped tariffs on many imported goods. Food costs have become a major political issue in the U.S. as the Thanksgiving holiday approaches after a record-long government shutdown that disrupted air travel for weeks. Trump campaigned on a pledge to lower prices. But it is unusual in the U.S. for overall prices to fall and inflation has proved sticky during his first months in office. The Consumer Price Index in September, the latest data available owing to the shutdown, was running at 3.0% annually, the highest since January. The data shows a number of household food staples were up by the most in three years that month and more than half the items in the index were rising in price by more than 3%. Feeling heat from households pinched by inflation, Trump last week rolled back the steep tariffs he had imposed on hundreds of different imported food items, including beef, bananas and coffee, after his Republican Party suffered losses in the first elections held since his return to the White House in January. you posted this article in defense of Trump's handling of inflation and the price of consumer goods? Yikes
November 19Nov 19 14 minutes ago, Foosters said: from your link: you posted this article in defense of Trump's handling of inflation and the price of consumer goods? Yikes He's a useful idiot, and his ironic username is the tell.
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