• donuts
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    1 year ago

    You’re right, but the prices of things are determined by supply and demand, not the goodness of some CEO’s heart.

    If McDonald’s determines that raising their prices has sapped demand (at that price) they will be forced to lower the price by cutting into their profits somewhat or otherwise lowering their costs.

    In capitalism, businesses will always set prices as high as consumers allow them to get away with.

    • @Viking_Hippie
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      1 year ago

      the prices of things are determined by supply and demand

      Nowhere near reality. Corporations and banks have been artificially depressing wages and inflating costs for decades. The prices of things and labor are determined by regulatory capture aka the rich and powerful bribing the people writing the rules.

      If McDonald’s determines that raising their prices has sapped demand (at that price) they will be forced to lower the price by cutting into their profits somewhat or otherwise lowering their costs.

      Aww it’s so adorable if you actually believe that 🥹

      In capitalism, businesses will always set prices as high as consumers corrupt politucians allow them to get away with.

      Fixed that for you.

      • @lemmington_steele
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        1 year ago

        you still need to sell the burger to make your income (franchising aside for now). no matter how monopolistic you are, there is always a demand constraint

        • @Viking_Hippie
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          51 year ago

          no matter how monopolistic you are, there is always a demand constraint

          Not necessarily. People can’t choose to not eat and some people simply don’t have any other options due to factors such as living in a food desert, not being able to afford better ready-made food, lacking either the ability, time or energy (often two or all three) to cook themselves and other limiting factors.

          Like with employment, the “free market” of food isn’t anywhere near as free or equal as “it’s just supply and demand” types pretend to imagine.

        • @Viking_Hippie
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          51 year ago

          No it wouldn’t. All it would require is regulatory capture , which is pretty much as abundant in capitalism as hydrogen is in the natural world.

      • donuts
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        -41 year ago

        Hmm… On one hand I could go with fundamental logic and economics… But on the other hand some condescending guy on the fediverse said I’m wrong.

        Say whatever makes you feel better about yourself but it’s not exactly rocket science: if McDonalds charged $15 for a Big Mac, a significant number of people would get their burgers at a competing restaurant. If they charged $20 for a burger, nobody would ever go there.

        Prices are not set arbitrarily by the deep state cabal or whatever nonsense you want to believe in.

        • @Viking_Hippie
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          41 year ago

          fundamental logic and economics

          That’s just it: you have to look at just the basics and pretend the rest of the world doesn’t exist in order to conclude “supply and demand. End of story.”

          some condescending guy

          Yeah, when you’ve heard grown people pretending to know anything confidently state the same childishly simplistic take that just so happens to comport with their own biases but not the whole of reality a few hundred if not thousand times, you get a bit jaded.

          I’d apologise for my condescension being rude, but frankly your confident assertion that the basics are the end result is even more rude in its assumption that I must be enough of a moron to be convinced by the most trite bullshit.

          it’s not exactly rocket science

          True, but it’s a hell of a lot less basic than you pretend.

          If McDonalds charged $15 for a Big Mac, a significant number of people would get their burgers at a competing restaurant. If they charged $20 for a burger, nobody would ever go there.

          Except for the fact that some people greatly prefer the Big Mac to anything the competitors have to offer, others don’t have any competitor close enough to make switching worthwhile for them, others still have an irrational brand loyalty to McDonald’s sometimes to the point of it being an integrated part of their personality.

          There’s thousands of factors like these that give them power over the customer rather than the completely straightforward 1:1 interaction you’re assuming.

          Prices are not set arbitrarily by the deep state cabal or whatever nonsense you want to believe in.

          To claim any such thing would indeed be nonsense, which is why I didn’t.