A tentative deal to end the Iran war makes it reasonable to ask how soon prices will drop for gasoline, groceries, airline tickets and other items that got more expensive during the conflict.
Not so fast, experts say.
Even after oil starts flowing again from the Middle East, it could take a while for consumers to see a difference at local fuel pumps, supermarkets and other places they shop, according to economists and industry analysts.
Fighting over the Strait of Hormuz disrupted not only supplies of crude and refined fuel but also the supply chains for fertilizer, food and even footwear. Businesses expect higher costs to linger, which means their customers might need to prepare for that too.
“It is not clear, despite three months of war, that anything has been achieved that makes the American consumer better off,” Brett House, an economist who teaches at Columbia Business School, said. “In fact, by almost any measure, not just the American consumer, but the world, is worse off as a result of this attack.”
In other news, water remains wet. Any sort of disruption (see COVID) and everyone jacks up prices due to precieved (or real) scarcity. Then they realize they can make more money at jacked up prices or try to recoup losses, and the prices stick high after the fact
And then, since high prices across a major portion of the economy eventually push all other prices higher, they’re not really making more money anymore, because their costs go up; so they need to keep those prices higher.
Meanwhile no one’s getting raises since all the rich people are just paying each other, so we all get fucking squeezed.
and that is why we organize