Following the US-Israeli strikes on Iran, gas prices, grocery bills and mortgage rates have all climbed
The US-Israel war against Iran has sent shockwaves through global markets, leaving many Americans grappling with a growing financial squeeze on everyday living costs.
Following the US-Israeli strikes on Iran – prompting retaliatory attacks on US allies in the region and Iran’s decision to close the Strait of Hormuz, a critical maritime passage – costs have surged across the US. Gas prices, in particular, have spiked sharply, with the national average rising by roughly 30% over the past month. Grocery bills, mortgage rates and fertilizer costs have also climbed.
Now, many Americans are being forced to reassess their finances and cut back drastically on basic necessities such as food, clothing and electricity.
How much of this is just greedflation with an excuse of war?
100% of it is greedflation. The oil being sold at stations currently was purchased and processed months ago. Actual hits to costs would not be realized.
How much of it is the 40% additional money supply created during Covid?
If you’re paying with something as inflationary as TrumpCoin© what do you expect, QE is a scam on the working class people.
Americans? It fucked up prices all around the world, even raised mortgage taxes in the UK. Trump and Netanyahu is a world-wide pestilence that must be dealt like-wise.
Americans?
The only people in the world that matter.
Nevermind Cuba paying $20/gal for gas in the few places it’s still available. Or the Philippines seeing enormous street protests responding to surging energy prices. Or South African farms cutting their planting season thanks to fertilizer shortages. Or even the UK staring down the prospect of winter heating bills in excess of 2-3% of GDP.
Nope. Only America matters
Americans look around at all the cheap commodities around them and think “yes, capitalism is the best system for organizing an economy”. What they don’t realize is just how much this lifestyle has been the direct result of exploitation of workers and resources in the global south, destruction of the environment, consuming at a level ~5x what the earth can sustain, not to mention US dollar hegemony and a military with 800+ bases around the world that can impose the will of capital (which realizes cheap stuff is needed to pay off the working class in the global north. When capital is no longer able to maintain this, I genuine believe workers will question this whole “capitalism is the best system ever” thing.
Not just America: it’s pretty much the same in all those countries with economies were Services are a 70%+ proportion.
If most of the Economy isn’t actually creating health but rather in being an intermediary between producers and users (sales, distribution), distracting people (social media, TV, a lot of the Press), slight efficiency improvements, capital usage tweaks or even just bypassing inefficiencies in the actual economic system (most services sold to businesses, outsourcing) and extracting rents from merelly holding wealth or resources which can’t be reproduced (realestate, finance), the production of real value which allows people in such economies of “sitting in the middle and take a cut” to survive must come from somewhere else.
So at least most of Europe as well as Japan have the same disfunctional economic structure as the US and people there are also self-deluded in thinking that higher stock or house prices is a wealthier economy, though maybe not quite as thoroughly deluded as in the US.
Someone should tell them that the people who actually didn’t make it through were the 180-ish little kids that were bombed by an American missile in the middle of their school day over in Iran. Stand by and watch how the Religious Right try to argue they were child terrorists or something abysmal like that. Gas can cost 20 dollars per gallon and it doesn’t even compare. I’m just going to remind everyone conservative of that every time they mention anything about affordability.
All part of god’s plan. His mysterious ways. His mysterious ways and plans and don’t fret, he has a special plan and place for you in heaven if you simply ignore the goings ons in the world and have faith that his cruel, sadistic, horrific, mysterious plans are your fault because he gave you free will without guardrails even though being God he could have simply not allowed for the concepts of evil and suffering and just made everything peaceful and happy but it’s OK because when you get to heaven you get to worship the narcissistic asshole for eternity. Or you goes into the lake of fire and fry.
A perfect mysterious plan.
remember: this is what the owning class wants. scared, hungry, poor people are much more likely to accept shit wages and still pay more everyday for everyday things.
the gaps in pay and cost will only end up as profit in the owning classes.
bonus is that the same working people are too hungry tired or scared to merc these fuckers.
Hunger is historically also the breeding ground for rebellion.
Which is why the massive Propaganda programs distracting people away from those who are to blame for all this shit by, for example promoting Nationalism and blaming the immigrants, exist and in some countries have taken over all of the traditional Press and most of the messaging in non-traditional media such as Social Media.
Those who have most of the power will always chose to put money into brainwashing the masses, early detection and suppression of seeds of rebelion and buying politicians since that’s far more profitable for them than, say, pay sufficient taxes and salaries so that the life of the many is improved.
This is why so much of the Press is now Propaganda (either overtly so or using Manufacturing Consent techniques), so many of the supposed Representatives of voters only represent an tiny fraction of people and governments in supposed Democracies keep pushing for the kind of civil society surveillance that would make the likes of the Stasi green with envy.
Things will get much, much worse, before they either crack into Rebellion or Democratic systems are subverted into extreme repressive Authoritarianian systems.
Personally, looking at the World now, I fear the US will end up in Authoritarianism, as will part of Europe.
Sometimes, rebellion. Other times, reactionary pogrom.
The Russian mass murder of Moscow Jews under the younger brother of the Czar came about due to a global energy crisis. Japan’s invasion and genocide within China and Korea, too.
for sure. but i feel the current era’s owning class knows how to ebb/flow the troubles just enough to keep real rebellion away. :(
Looting = shopping
The ones most sensitive to price increases are the ones who consistently vote to for these types of leaders. They are visceral, reactive, and planning for the future is just paycheck-to-paycheck. They are reactionary. I worry most about what they do when they can no longer afford necessities, and how many ways that will be blamed on their levelheaded neighbors.
Time to electrify and become energy independent with renewables. There’s no straight that can be shut down that would stop your solar panels from generating electricity. No government can stop the wind from blowing and wind turbines from spinning.
Yeah, that’s one of the perplexing things going on with right wing nationalists in basically all countries. You’d think they’d be all in into generating our fucking own energy and using it ourselves instead of sending money over to mostly the Middle East. But no, they’re all into fossil fuels - even in countries which have absolutely no such resources and need to import everything 100%.
But that’s the thing with such people, thinking is not their strong suit.
It’s a twofer.
Roll coal and kill darkies.
Large. Stupid. Loud. Trucks.
Aka - manbaby bullshit
Because they’re eating up their propaganda like good lil boys.
They are all backed by fossil fuel companies and weapons manufacturers…
Hm! MAYBE if we Vote for ANOTHER Republican Government things will Improve THIS time?
To bad alternatives to fossil fules keep getting shut down, by the same people that complain about fule prices.
It’s the USI citizens’ turn to fight for their rights. Revolt and burn your government down.
You just watch how hard we won’t fight.
But we can attend a few more parades. That’ll teach 'em.
Do something better then. Take ownership or quit bitching
You have zero idea what actions I take in my own community.
How many phone numbers did you collect at the rally yesterday? How are you coordinating? How are you organizing rather than just mobilizing and sharing clever signs? Did you do anything like direct people to the DSA or answer real questions about fighting back against the entrenched Uniparty?
Here in Seattle, everyone’s so willing to stand up and show how hard they would fight if they could only find the time away from their desk job, but the meekness is insane. Perhaps its different where you live, but I don’t see anyone here willing to do a damned thing. I suspect most places are that way.
Marching on a Saturday affects no businesses. In fact, it brings money into places.
The only way we can send a clear message to the government is by cutting off dollars.
Let’s hope these high gas and food prices do something real to our spirit. Because if we just turn around and vote a milquetoast Democratic “leadership” back into power instead of truly changing things, then none of this is important.
The only action of yours we can see is your attempt to discourage others who are in fact doing something. Put up or shut up.
How are you reading discouragement here? I am literally telling people what needs to be done to make change.
Get over it, lib. You’re the one not providing solutions.
Trouble is, ain’t nobody gonna listen to anybody talking like that.
I don’t think I’m going to make it through. Damn everyone that voted for Trump. Damn them to Hell.
Damn everyone that voted for Trump.
Silicon Valley fascism was coming one way or another. It’s been building steam since the 90s.
Trump’s just one agent. It could have been under DeSantis or Cruz or Bloomberg or Hillary.
The notion that one party can just win forever, because the other is worse, only breeds shittier and shittier candidates.
First step is just to outlive Trump. You want to live long enough to see that worthless piece of shit in the ground. It shouldn’t take too long. Then pick the next piece of shit to outlive. Spite is useful.
I’m not making enough money to cover my mortgage. My industry is using AI as a reason to not rehire. I got professional certifications to switch industries, but nobody is hiring for jobs that can cover my expenses. Unless something happens soon I’m not going to make it.
I don’t want to join the military for a war for the benefit of Israel. I’m an old man.
You and I are in the same damn boat. I’m sorry internet friend, I wish this timeline wasn’t so fucking stupid.
I’m sorry you’re in the boat with me. Let’s do our best to float.
You’ll make it through. It will be hard, and you will make decisions you never thought you’d have to, in ways you never imagined you would.
The survival instinct is strong. Theres a “code of the sea” for a reason.
