What's making groceries more expensive in Canada? | Power & Politics 

same

Global cost of beef, meaning if your local farmer can sell his cow for $3 a lb to the global market why would he sell it to the local market for $2.50? Now what does make a difference is all the cattle being culled, and meat packing plans getting shut down in the name of "climate change" that is driving up the global cost of beef!

Grain prices are globally influenced, also the ban on Russian fertilizer has increased the cost of the same products by 30%. Add increase in fuel cost, labour cost, nearly a doubling in equipment cost and there you have it.

Capitalism leads to globalization which leads to the absurdity of a resource-rich, fertile land of Canada importing food and fuel from all over the world when there is no technical or logical reason for such things. Welcome to the Freak Show of Capitalism. As Carlin said "If you are born into this world you are given a ticket to the Freak Show and if you are born in America, you get a front row seat." Well, we are in North America and near USA so we are pretty close up to the freakiest sh*t. Tired of glorious market capitalism yet? Still propagandized to think anything other that capitalism must be murderous, authoritarian socialism or communism? I hope not! Just do some research yourself and you won't be in so much fear. Like Peter Joseph, Prof Wolff, Abby Martin, Richard Wilkinson, Moneyless Society, Michael Tellinger and World Beyond Capitalism.

(modern) Wars are always accompanied by a spike in global oil prices, high oil prices lead to high gas prices, high gas prices lead to (most) farmers spending more to produce and transport their food; at least until we implement a better solution then gas powered tractors and trucks. On top of that we have Russian treaties with major oil nations further driving up oil prices in retaliation for sanctions. Oil executives love it; the common person doesn't see the benefits and no amount of failed trickle down economics is going to put oil profits onto our kitchen table.

@@Caro____ Trudeau and his Liberal Government gave Atlantic Canada, and only those using Oil heating, a three year exemption from the Carbon Tax. I live near Ottawa, Ontario, in Pierre Poilievre's riding. Pierre and the Conservative Party fought to remove the home heating portion of the Carbon Tax for all of Canada. This would have gave some immediate and much needed relief to all Canadians, even the NDP voted in favor... But the Bloc Quebecois voted with the Liberals, voting against removing the Carbon Tax for all Canadians. Why the Bloc Quebecois that only hold seats in Quebec and is the only Province not charging the Carbon Tax in this specific method and rate, had a vote still escapes me. If you didn't see this a few weeks ago, I encourage you to search it and see for yourself the incredible length and valiant effort the Conservatives undertook to help all of Canada.

Yes, I remember that price fixing of Bread scandal...

It's the carbon tax. The cost of produce went up as soon as the carbon tax was introduced 😢

​@@j.barren3738the prices have nothing to do with carbon tax

Hate to due with our USA/ Canada tariffs. If you want cheap USA products start complaining about the tariffs on the USA we have. But tbh that’s the only way some industry’s can survive here is not competition directly with larger USA companies.

US poultry is polluted at that price. I live in BC and turkeys were generally $1.50/lb and up

Good for you @Lawrence! When I lived in Niagara On the Lake, I went every week for groceries. I even filled up my car with gas because it was half the amount that it is in Canada. I have had friends that have been to Canada to visit and they said that they took a deep breath when they went back through the American border into America because everything was so expensive here in Canada. And as you’ve heard now our prices are going to be even more in 2024. and no, the chickens are not full of poisons. Buy organic and you can’t go wrong.

How do you bring turkeys back across the border? We had to leave ours even when we declared it.. smoked turkey we drove back to donate it had a hard time finding someone to take it. Didn’t want to leave it at the border for the agents to “destroy”

I remember doing a similar trip and seeing a gallon (4l)ish of milk for 1.29 US and, a dozen eggs for 0.44 US. A fun day trip and could be worth the gas and exchange rate.

Doesn’t giving cancel out stealing? You want to get more than is “stolen,” look for the many ways to emit less carbon dioxide.

You forgot "at gunpoint, kidnapping and the hostage situation" till you pay up.

Carbon tax 😢

Lol exactly!

C'mon man, stop paying tax like a chump. Figure it out, bud. Find some get rich quick scheme from those RU-vidr ads, make bank and then avoid paying tax like all the smart rich people do. Jeff Bezos is a genius. He's billions times smarter than you. He must be because he is winning capitalism and if you aren't on the Forbes richest list, you are failing the game. It is dog eat dog and you better pull yourself up by your bootstraps or else you get left behind, son.

Carbon tax 😢

@@j.barren3738 Nope. It plays a minor role.

I think this is the explanation. Ukraine produces a lot of wheat and food oils like vegetable oils. Since the invasion, Ukraine has problems producing and exporting food. Canada have had problems with wheat production due to bad weather like drought. This is driving up prices. Canada has to go to the open market and compete with other countries to buy wheat. Traditionally most of Canada's wheat has been exported. This is how I understand it. If someone knows more, please tell.

@@skh5580 It is part of the explanation for sure. Also big outfits .especially during a crisis, have engaged more in compounded mark up. Compounded markup where a parent company, more so a monopolistic outfit, inflates and manufactures overhead by means of using too many of its subsidiaries unnecessarily in order to inflate the price several times; a form of hidden price gouging. The most effected products of this is bottled water, baking products, and brand name drugs. Compound markup in not only confined to subsidiaries; we see it also in transport that affects prices on the shelves. Just one of the ways to collectively disguise price gouging as “inflation”. This gimmick does create some jobs, but mostly low paying part-time ones; and also indirectly over time devalues the earnings of the consumer.

mm polly want a cracker?

You actually bring a good point. However, he is a professor; his words should have some scrutiny and weight

Yes, CBC should really interview someone without a graduate degree in economics or a scientific illiterate. That would be sweet!

Does your brain hurt when you try to think?

@@john15008 I didn't find a lot of science in his explanation. Just general Liberal talking point.

That’s true for people who don’t file their tax returns.

@@john15008 Income tax is THEFT

@@Brian-gx7yx If we are going to call taxation theft, we might as well call the continued consumption of fossil fuels at the current rate theft, as it creates a massive technical debt for our grandchildren. Fossil fuels come with the privilege to dump the waste for free. They would not be financially viable without it. Call it a socialized externality or a technical subsidy, the effect is the same. Someone is going to pay to clean up that mess, and it won't be the people who got the value from consuming the product. Because of what you call “theft”, you do not pay the true cost of energy. There is no free market in energy, not even during the industrial revolution. All energy industries are administered and subsidized. Nobody would put up with paying the full price of energy. Not the powers that be, not the consumers.

The expert in the video was saying that greed wasn't a significant factor. Significant factors are: New Wars, Canadian Dollar Value Decrease, Destructive Weather Events.

GREED of GOV taxes. Natural gas is used in fertiliser for food production. TRUDEAU's STATIST policies are causing prices to move up because energy POWERS every other industry. Alex Epstein 's "FOSSIL FUTURE" on sale now.The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels. HUMAN FLOURISHING

Corrupt corporate price gouging plays a big role. One only has to look at the record-level profits which do not comport with inflation pressures due to rising costs. There are no lack of economists telling us big grocery retailers are being disingenuous with their facts and figures. Brings to mind that over a year ago the volume of sales in supermarkets was lower than it was before the covid pandemic hit yet record mass profits were reported; generated from a smaller volume of actual physical business. Brings to mind the gimmick of compounded markup where a parent company, more so a monopolistic outfit, inflates and manufactures overhead by means of using too many of its subsidiaries unnecessarily in order to inflate the price several times; a form of hidden price gouging. The most effected products of this is bottled water, baking products, and brand name drugs. Compound markup in not only confined to subsidiaries; we see it also in transport that affects prices on the shelves. Just one of the ways to collectively disguise price gouging as “inflation”. This gimmick does create some jobs, but mostly low paying ones; and also indirectly over time devalues the earnings of the consumer.

Namely that of the government with the carbon and fuel tax.

@@alwayslistening3340 There is no correlation between inflation and carbon pricing. What is interesting is increases in the carbon tax have been gradual, and started long before recent inflation also countries without carbon pricing experienced inflation and corrupt corporate price gouging since the pandemic. Even on fossil fuel products and fuel, the impact of the carbon tax on final prices is small. Provincial government and local regions set most of the taxes on the fuel anyway. Brings to mind that prices of fuel is all fabricated by algorithms that elude enforcement of pricing schemes. What is interesting is crude oil is purchased in long term contracts. Some folk think it is the spot price we all get quoted in the media. When the spot price rises, the pump price jumps fast, and when the spot price falls, we know what usually happens ; ) Note this happens in unison among brands, but of course the government says they can't prove price fixing or gouging, which is a lie, because the price is arbitrary and not based on shipping costs and other costs.

I'm sorry you're in this situation

rice lentils, salt is all in need

No meat!??

@NKHSP No meat?

Exactly!!

same place where higher BoC rates go??

Carbon tax goes to fund trudeaus slush fund and $ 8 million barn

Ukraine

Oh, brother! Look up CRA Schedule 14 and educate yourself.

It does

Canada and the US have a distorted and pernicious form of competition because it has primarily an economy of monopolistic power that limits real capitalistic competition, that exploits a population, rather than serving it. So guess who has to mitigate the damage cause by this? The current bout of "inflation" (excluding the price of housing) is almost entirely due to corrupt corporate price gouging; one only has to look a record-level profits which do not comport with inflation pressures due to rising costs. The rise of production costs have little to do nowadays with internal costs and rising prices.

@@rps1689 You forgot to mention that the entire planet is in a dire financial situation. I do agree with you though. Unfettered Capitalism is a curse, just take a look around the planet. What amounts to Dictatorships is just as bad. Democratic Capitalism with a social conscious would work for me

@@ethimself5064 I did forget to mention that.

@@rps1689 U welcome 👍

95% of the population cannot comprehend what you're talking about.

Only thing I have noticed is some junk food and some services.

Most the cashiers in the bank dont know what "fiat" or fractional reserve banking is. 100% can tell you all about fluid genders or name each of the Kardashians, but ask them how many years they amortized their $100 a month payment over. "What do you mean? Its a $100 a month". @@genuineappeal3458

​@@genuineappeal3458and that's an issue. Most of the Canadians I've talked to don't understand the basic nature of inflation, taxing and regulations

Labour. The price of labor has went down

The tax isn't the issue, the system is the sickness. The capitalist-driven system is not set up to be sustainable. It just isn't. Haven't you noticed cost of living going up and up each year, for decades? I was a child in the 80s and 90s and costs just keep going up. Why is a hot dog so much more inflated since the 90s, now in the 2020s? Are the ingredients coming from space or something? No. It is because every cost goes up in a capitalist system where the incentives are to maximize profits, compete for self-interest and infinitely grow. Wal-Mart would rather own everything than become a Union where the workers make a living just form their 35 hours a week there. Amazon would love 90% of online sales to go through that online store. Big corporations profits add to a countries GDP, so don't we want that? Super high GDP and everything else will be okay? Nah, it doesn't work like that. The capitalist system is structurally dysfunctional. We've got to build a better system from the ground up, community by community or else we don't have much better to look forward to. Suggestion: Watch "A NEW WORLD Free from financial slavery - UBUNTU & Contributionism by Michael Tellinger" on RU-vid and see where that takes you.

Canada has a distorted and pernicious form of competition. This is because it has primarily an economy of monopolistic power that limits real capitalistic competition. There is no way Weston's lobbyists are going to let government reduce their stranglehold on the country. They're virtually untouchable in the current system. No Frills, Shoppers Drug Mart, Superstore or Atlantic Superstore are not going anywhere and big corporations will not tolerate the government going back to the days of having structures that reduced the formation of monopolistic outfits and the tools to divest them if they arose. Lobbyists for these outfits have way too much influence on the tax regime.

We have much more than five grocers. It's the carbon tax on the delivery of the food 😢

@@j.barren3738 The carbon tax on the delivery of food is not what is causing the increase in the big grocery stores. Canada has only 5 grocery chains - Metro, Loblaws, Sobeys, Walmart and Costco. These five are part of monopolistic competition, which is when any product is being offered by a handful of sellers effecting a small competition between them hence very little control from the buyer front.

@@j.barren3738 Only five grocery chains. Small grocers are irrelevant; they can barely compete with the big chains. The problem is competition doesn't work nowadays like it did back in the 70's, i.e., before trickle down economics. Back then inflation squeezed big corporations and the biggest companies, but not now; only small businesses experience the pressure of competing during inflation, as no big corporation today is competing for low overhead and that internal costs have nothing to do with consumer pricing.

@rps1689 idiotic take

@@Alexander-js8zz You're not to bright are you..?

I'm wondering how they can keep blaming things that should make food prices raise more everywhere.. but they're not raising as high (or in some places, much at all) as here-- which really destorys those arguments.

​@@Alexander-js8zzdoes to China.

It's definitely happening here

And it's a good question considering I always thought Canada is agricultural power house that produces and exports wheat and barley and other things. A

And natural gas is used in fertiliser for food production. Alex Epstein 's "FOSSIL FUTURE" on sale now.The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels. HUMAN FLOURISHING

0.15 percentage points. So a very small percentage. Inflation is worldwide and most caused by gauging and corps taking advantage of the system cuz they can.

@@ellenmoore7282 Correct. There are countries without carbon pricing or lower carbon pricing that have experienced corrupt corporate price gouging.

"Democracy" under capitalism instead of capitalism under democracy. A person like Galen Weston and those CEOs of Sobeys and Metro wouldn’t survive in the capitalist era before supply side economics. A capitalist with some scruples exploits innovations and markets, unlike them that exploits suppliers, customers and workers. George Weston could have only dreamed of how easy Galen has it in this era of corporate welfare and would highly likely call him a sponger.

Problem is not Capitalism but Canadian Protectionism. If there was actual free market and companies like aldi and other brands could enter Canadian market it should drive down prices

@@akapbhan The thing is no Western Nation has a free market; just a mixed market system where the goal is balance, which we see tipping in the wrong direction. Government and lobbyists have always intervened in making the rules in this type of system, but now do so in favour of a concentrated few instead of the middle and upper middle class. Every economic system has a cost to society even a so called "free market" one, as those that succeed in them control most of the resources. No economic system is escapable from some type of authority be it government or those that control the resources, which is why no pure free market exits. What we should be seeing is - competition being a driving force that creates value to the consumer and innovation. Now “competition” results in higher prices; when costs go down, prices go up. This is what happens when the pillars of an economy are primarily monopolistic outfits. Monopolies do not want competition, and the government should not be helping them grow especially taking taxes from the middle and upper middle class to do so. Brings to mind Monopolistic competition, which is when any product is being offered by a handful of sellers effecting a small competition between them hence very little control from the buyer front. No lack of this south of the border. A few examples to name a few would be only three companies control about 80 percent of mobile telecoms, four companies control over 80 percent of corn and seed sales.

Carbon tax 😢

@@j.barren3738 Nope. The carbon tax have been gradual, and started long before recent inflation also countries without carbon pricing experienced inflation and corrupt corporate price gouging since the pandemic. Even on fossil fuel products and fuel, the impact of the carbon tax on final prices is small. Provincial government and local regions set most of the taxes on the fuel anyway. Carbon tax has no effect on the price of fuel, as the prices of fuel is all fabricated by algorithms that elude enforcement of pricing schemes.

Those that make peaceful protest impossible, make violent revolution inevitable. JFK...a Liberal. Oh how things have changed.

​@annalee5751 the modern liberal is not liberal anymore

Answers are always so easy when you don't know how things work, just blame the politician you don't like. Careful you don't get lost in that way of thinking , you may end up with a whole bunch of irrational hatred and will constantly be misplacing your anger.

STATIST GOV POLICIES. When you tax things prices go up. Natural gas is used in fertiliser for food production. Energy POWERS every industry. Alex Epstein 's "FOSSIL FUTURE" on sale now.The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels. HUMAN FLOURISHING

@@LFC-Adrian Neither are the Cons.

I'm a latín I really concern about what are u telling to the community I wanna live in canada but I'm not sure if I gonba have the opportunity it looks really crazy the situation over there

@@mr.chicken9085 I was born and raised in Canada, it's a beautiful gorgeous country. It's the second largest country on planet Earth and there are many opportunities for you and every legal immigrant from Toronto, Calgary, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, Vancouver and many more. Yes, our food and housing prices have increased along with inflation but it's still better here in comparison to South America which has massive inflation. We are more accepting of immigrants who want to work and do well for themselves and contribute to our country with their talents. Our crime rates have increased but again in comparison to other countries it's still much safer. You'll just need to get used to our winters, but thanks to global warming that's getting better too!

This is mostly because of the carbon tax. The government does have control. This causes fuel to go up and the delivery costs of produce and products.😢

Carbon tax equals inflation 😢

This is all about Trudeaus carbon tax on the delivery of food 😢

@@j.barren3738 oooh

It is out of control.

2b dols is 50.00 per Cdn ? not a lot 200$ for a fam of 4

Trudeaus taxes make it cheaper to import things than buy local. The plan is to destroy all manufacturing or farming capabilities within Canada. It's a WEF agenda, and the Liberals are driving it home. Remember, by 2030 we will ALL own nothing.

Yes Ontario organes in January 😢

High taxes and punitive regulations make it costly to produce locally.

And this is just a start

Natural gas used in fertiliser for food production.

@@Mike-or3ry And the fuel for all of the hard work farmers do as well as all shipping etc of farm products.

Tax's go up, so does everything else. Its not rocket appliances julian

@@Nagle1234 Not always.

@@rps1689 Yes, always. Jsus fkn crst you people a retrded. (I know I misspelled everything, it was done to prevent youtube from deleting my comment.)

@@Nagle1234 Nope. No lack of examples over the decades. Raising taxes in the 90s did not cause inflation nor increases in prices on a lot of goods and service and didn’t even slow down the economy not even in the US. Also before the policies of supply side economics took hold, when raising interest rates happened and when taxes went up, companies usually increased their prices more slowly or even lowered them to encourage demand, which lowered inflation. But those days are pretty much long gone. Small businesses during "real inflation" experience getting squeezed in regards to competing, but the problem is nowadays large monopolistic corporations and their conglomerates don't.

@@rps1689 because the business's were doing well enough that they took on the cost of the extra taxes. Once they realized that the public will just accept new taxes thrown on their businesses and expect them to take the financial loss they finally started adding those costs to their products, essentially passing the cost of the tax back on the public who accepted it. And I dont blame them. Why should they take the financial burden of sending money to other countries to provide a service to the public who is fine with seeing them taxed.

Also consumers should understand how competing for low overhead; and internal costs have nothing to do with consumer pricing when it comes to big grocers and big corporations. Also know the profits that they report are those that they only have to report due to accounting schemes and gimmicks that not only hide financial gains and profits, but collectively disguise price gouging, which is the primary reason for the "inflation" we see in food prices. One only has to look record-level profits which do not comport with inflation pressures due to rising costs. Brings to mind over a year ago, the volume of sales in supermarkets was lower than it was before the covid pandemic hit yet record mass profits were reported; generated from a smaller volume of actual physical business; and that was only the profits they have to report. One of the most interesting gimmick is compounded markup where a parent company, more so a monopolistic outfit, inflates and manufactures overhead by means of using too many of its subsidiaries unnecessarily in order to inflate the price several times; a form of hidden price gouging. The most effected products of this is bottled water, baking products, and brand name drugs. Compound markup in not only confined to subsidiaries; we see it also in transport that affects prices on the shelves. Just one of the ways to collectively disguise price gouging as “inflation”. This gimmick does create some jobs, but mostly low paying part time ones; and also indirectly over time devalues the earnings of the consumer. Carbon tax has been too gradual over the years to cause the “inflation” we have seen for what is sold on the shelves in the 5 big grocer chains in Canada. There are no lack of economists telling us big grocery retailers are being disingenuous with their facts and figures. Plus you rarely see anyone brining up the profits and financial gains they can hide with accounting schemes and gimmicks that gets offshored. Basically these big outfits already get their manufactured overhead and losses socialized at the tax payers’ expense and never pass on the savings to the consumer.

@@rps1689 You seem to know the ins and outs of the price gouging problem and that is good. But do you have any suggestions about how to solve these ever rising prices and cost of living in a capitalist-driven economic system? System change perhaps?

Obviously, you have never read the PBO’s reports on carbon pricing. Even as the price on emissions increases, there will ALWAYS be a cohort that receives a net benefit. If you want to be a member of that cohort, strive to emit less.

Yet another example of how capitalism is socially, economically and environmentally unsustainable.

But capitalism can stay in our lives, exploiting and oppressing as much as the Market Gods decide?

Or the item you're trying to buy is not available.

As much as I dislike Trudeau, you dishonour those that perished under A dolf's regime by comparing him to that dictator.

I found they are only good up to about -28C.

Definitely not Canada

Not only has Canada's corrupt Liberal government sent Ukraine well beyond what we should have, but Trudeau has also sent over our military equipment that has basically rendered our CAF useless.....all for a "war" we shouldn't be involved in.

Unfortunately over 12 percent of Canadians live in condos or apts. Yes. More people should take advantage of any good soil they have on their property.

Yeah; if you file income taxes you get money back, and often not just from the carbon tax. Try it sometime.

@@Robsta42 I file every year on time, thanks though.

What free market? no Western Nation has a free market; just a mixed market system where the goal is balance, which we see tipping in the wrong direction. Government and lobbyists have always intervened in making the rules in this type of system, but now do so in favour of a concentrated few instead of the middle and upper middle class.

Enabled by the government.

Yep. There is no way big chain grocer's lobbyists are going to let government reduce their stranglehold on the country. They're virtually untouchable in the current system. They will not tolerate the government going back to the days of having structures that reduced the formation of monopolistic outfits and the tools to divest them if they arose. Lobbyists for these outfits have way too much influence on the tax regime.

Well keep in mind him and his party's opposition to the carbon tax rests on a distorted portrayal of what it is and what it costs.

Mostly disguised price gouging by means of account schemes and gimmicks.

To think we used to have the tools and structures that reduced the formation of monopolistic outfits and the tools to divest them if they arose. But that pretty much came to an end over time with the policies that stemmed from the supporters of supply side economics. The structures and tax regime we have now; favours the biggest corporations and oligarchs, reduces competitive advantage, bleeds the bottom continually to sustain growth at the top.

Hello beautiful👋🏻 how are you doing? how does it feel to be the most prettiest lady around here? Love your smile by the way I just wanted to say hi hope you’re having an amazing day🙌🏻🙌🏻😊

Are you familiar with compounded mark up? It is a way to disguise price gouging.

Why don't they just let us keep our money in the first place? How can they hand out more than they tax us for? that's not even possible without going into debt. It's a top down distribution of wealth, with them being the only ones virtuous enough to decide how they divide it amongst us peasants. What a joke

I remember during one of my business classes the prof saying something along the lines of how much the price of a beef steak would cost if the Canadian government didn't subsidize the meat industry. His answer was between $40-50 CDN and this is 2009/2010 time frame. I just looked it up; "In 2021, the Canadian government committed well over $1.7 billion in subsidies to animal agriculture". With all the money we are giving to everyone and everything else in the world, why can't the Canadian government put more into the programs to keep prices down for consumers?

Carbon tax when all is said and done affects prices by about 2-3% they did a study about this

GREED BY THE STATIST FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.

You shouldn't be able to buy Canadian vegetables cheaper in the US, even when accounting for the exchange rate-- that makes little sense... but that's currently a reality right now.

@@StephInOttawa It is crazy even within Canada. Something is fishy when you can buy some products in BC that are products of NB that are cheaper in BC than that of NB.

That's nothing compared to the carbon and fuel taxes.

Corrupt corporate price gouging is primarily the reason for the increase in food prices. What is interesting is the carbon tax is baked into the price of fuel. Fuel prices are down 20-30% from last year yet still see them in part blaming the cost of fuel for the price increases on the shelves. Heck even farmers already receive exemptions for most necessary fuels.

A poutine is $3.99 plus hst on my A&W app. Decent deal.😂

They don't want to dip into the financial gains and profits they can hide with accounting schemes and gimmicks.

Capitalism, that's why.

@@coolioso808 Yep. "democracy" under capitalism instead of capitalism under democracy the way it should be under a mix market economy in the Western World. I’m old enough to remember when the biggest news papers had a labour section along with the business section. Sad to see even major media outlets do not have broadcasting segments on labour. Also remember what happens when you build the economy from the bottom up and middle out - it grows the middle class and creates a ladder for the poor.

To offset the record costs they have to pay just to get merchandise onto the shelves.

Due to high taxes and regulations.

The cost of housing today was inevitable. There are conservatives, then there are conservatives in power. The conservative element in both parties is what “burned” Canada in regards to the housing crisis and the burden we see on the middle class today. This was inevitable considering it was conservatives in power here and south of the border like that of Neo liberals, Reaganites, and Mulroney's ilk that supported policies over the decades that made investing in real estate more enticing than that of more important things for the betterment of the nation, its competition, and its economy. They did this with programs and policies that created more favourable tax treatment for capital gains and went to great lengths incentivizing investment more and more over the decades in hundreds of ways to the point of giving those gains a lower rate than personal income. Building wealth through home ownership was inevitable due to the gradual devaluation of earnings. The writing was on the wall since the early 90s and we we warned how this devaluation of main street earnings would cause housing to be more of a commodity than that of a home and would make it pretty much a must to own a property in order to make up for the devaluation of the average worker's earnings by the turn of the 20th century.

An election would cost $600m+ that expense would further fuel inflation.😂😂