this post was submitted on 08 Feb 2025
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Corporations can get away with unreasonably and unjustifiably raising prices because government power to control them decreases year by year, and is just about to be completely extinguished in the US by the current administration. Same thing with corporations violating the law - it's just a little further behind. This has been a continuous process of the people with money and power dismantling all the systems that can keep them in check over the last several decades.
Corporations can raise prices however they want because there's no law against it. There may be for declared emergencies (e.g. hurricane or something), but other than that, prices are kept in check by market forces. If supply dips, prices go up to keep some inventory on the shelves, and if supply exceeds demand, prices will drop to move inventory. That's how it works, regardless of who controls the White House.
That's alarmist BS. The President cannot change the law without a bill passed by Congress, so the next President can reverse whatever EOs make it past judicial review. The GOP has a narrow majority in Congress, so that's going to put a damper on what Trump can do long term.
Yes, Trump can cause a lot of damage, and that's likely to happen, but that damage can be reversed. The critical bit here is Congress, and we'll have midterms to determine whether people like the direction the GOP is taking or they want something different. I think a likely outcome is that inflation goes up (if Trump makes good on tariff threats), the Fed tightens monetary policy, and Trump is forced to either lighten up or lose the midterms. It's also likely that Trump is bluffing and just looking for some meaningless concessions so he can claim a win. We'll see. But I highly doubt we'll see systemic change in any meaningful way.