Secret Documents Show Pepsi and Walmart Colluded to Raise Food Prices Across the Economy

10 months ago by jackalope to c/antitrust

The Trump FTC tried to hide a complaint showing Pepsi forced shoppers to pay higher prices everywhere but Walmart. But now it's unsealed. And the politics of affordability are explosive.
umbrella 19 points 10 months ago
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freedickpics 11 points 10 months ago

There's a reason prices for everything increase after they announce inflation is up

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lefthandeddude -1 points 10 months ago

In classical economics, the best way of dealing with this situation is you just tax the rich more and give it to people who produce less value, and eliminate the minimum wage. There should just be some amount that is redistributed and people vote on how much it is and whether to raise it or lower it. If it's raised too much and people get lazy and smart people stop producing, it can juts be lowered. We really should just have it as one single amount, without so much regulatory complexity. UBI will likely happen at some point in some manner.

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davel 7 points 10 months ago

you just tax the rich more and give it to people who produce less value

It’s the rich who produce less value, while having more political power.

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lefthandeddude 1 point 10 months ago

The picture is very persuasive. :-/

You win this round, you evil Marxist maniac!

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umbrella 4 points 10 months ago
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lefthandeddude 1 point 10 months ago

You make good points. You seem really smart. (Who are you?)

If there were enough education among the poor, or poor people were just smart enough, then the ultra rich wouldn't be able to trick the lower classes into voting against their economic interests. Unfortunately, there's no way for that to change, so we're in this perpetual cycle of a selfish rich class deceiving the lower classes into voting against interest using religion and wedge issues as a mechanism.

I still think market economics work really well to distribute resources if you address externalities and don't let the rich deceive the poor into acquiescing into terrible policy.

Once the boomers become a smaller voting block, younger people are bound to vote in blocks that change these horrible policies. The good news is the Internet, and even TikTok, have allowed younger people to be more aware of issues and eventually it will result in better policy.

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umbrella 1 point 10 months ago
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prole 4 points 10 months ago

If it's raised too much and people get lazy and smart people stop producing

Imagine actually believing this is a thing that would happen

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bizzle 10 points 10 months ago

Criminalize Walmart

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eldavi 4 points 10 months ago

-- 40 years ago

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HiddenLayer555 10 points 10 months ago

"Who cares if all the local independent stores got killed by giant chain stores? Chain stores are cheaper anyway!"

You would not believe the percentage of times someone says this whenever I bring up why chain stores suck. How's that Loblaws bread tasting these days?

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OrganicWetNoodle 6 points 10 months ago

It drives me insane that people never stopped to think about this. In my country we have arrived at a point where there are no independent grocery stores left, only a massive duopoly, with a third large international chain hanging onto like a few percent market share.

All 3 of them suck in different ways, prices are crazy high for the quality of food they offer, but there isn't really any choice anymore. And since only two chains share practically the entire market, their own store brands are choking the life out of our food industry, lmao.

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TheJesusaurus 6 points 10 months ago

I'm certain the consequences will be swift and severe.....  

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JoshsJunkDrawer 2 points 10 months ago

Indeed. Judge Jesse Matthew Furman, who ordered this unsealed, and the members of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, who fought to have this unsealed in the first place, will no doubt be swiftly rounded up and deported to a concentration camp in El Salvador.

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lefthandeddude 5 points 10 months ago

Lina Khan is so smart! The world would literally be so much better if everyone just made her queen of the world and had her decide everything. (This is not sarcasm. Someone that incredible and smart is a rarity and if she could rule the world, I'd gladly accept that.)

Not having her do something in which she had power to actually change market conditions is always a mistake, as we are seeing.

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Terrapinjoe 4 points 10 months ago

Lina Khan is a goddamned treasure.

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lefthandeddude 1 point 10 months ago

Seriously. Someone like her should be kept in a palace with attendants and people to do everything for her while she just divides her time between leisure and economic policy that others simply implement. Like, I would happily be a servant for someone of her intellect to just assist her in any way. Not only does she just completely understand economics, but she speaks so clearly and eloquently about economic situations in ways to make the truth evident for someone lacking her exceptional abilities. I genuinely think that if she were queen of the world, about 99 percent of the worlds problems would dramatically decrease of just be gone within 5-10 years after her coronation. Many of the worlds problems are caused by not understanding externalities and markets and then not aggressively regulating those same markets if and only if needed.

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shalafi 1 point 10 months ago

She's my hero. Mamdami picked her up on his team, so she's not out the game.

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