[helen___keller]

> Greed is not an explanation, because greed is everywhere in the supply chain, right down to the bottom. The question shouldn’t be why they wanted to (since why wouldn’t they?), but why they could.

Although I agree with you, I think there's something to be said for the late/post pandemic psychology.

Stocks were booming irrationally. Gamestop, Tesla. Crypto going wild. Unprecedented greed, not just among the big bad corporation, but literally gripping the entire nation. Savings rate had been up since early mid 2020(?) and seemingly every household was flush with cash. Professionals were job hopping for magnificent pay increases. Every 'pandemic hobby' had shortages. I paid $200 for a two leaf houseplant that now costs $30-$50 in 2023. A friend of mine paid hundreds to pre-order keyboards a year out from delivery, and the moment they were fulfilled secondhand markets would trade them at huge markups.

So then my question is: if you are a corporate worker living in this environment of greed, why wouldn't you explore price increases with greater than normal vigor?

I don't buy "big evil corporate" narratives but I do think America in general was engulfed by greed around that time

[anon291]

Many people made a lot of money during the pandemic whether by stock or government handouts. American savings rates soared during the pandemic. Many view this as a success of the child tax credit. That's one view. The alternate view is that COVID shutdowns depressed the availability and desirability of goods and services. Why keep up with the Joneses if you never see them? Entire industries were deemed dangerous and demand dropped...

Once things reopened, people started spending their savings. It's not that the tax credits and bailouts reduced poverty. It's that not having anything worth buying made people save their money instead.

But once things became available again, there was suddenly a lot more money chasing smaller numbers of goods (it takes time for production to ramp up). This leads to higher prices, and inflation.

As this goes on, people start demanding higher wages to keep up with price growth. Once that happens, price growth is fixed. No one's going to accept to a pay cut.