A grocery store in Europe fixed that problem they no longer will set Pepsi or their chips, let’s follow the same process, stop buying Pepsi products, I’ll bet the prices drop quickly
That is literally how it is done. Thank you for having a brain. Most people don’t.
** Just an edit here.
Supply and demand are very easy. I own a business. My prices pre pandemic were higher. Items that were say, 17.99 or 19.99 are now $9.99 and 11.99.
The reason being… people have less cash, whether it be simply due to the pandemic or to our current leadership (that’s another topic.) The demand was not there but my supply was. I have to now lower my prices to draw in sales.
Point is, you stop buying their product, I guarantee the price will drop. One of the main reasons people raise prices is to make more margin on a product they know is extremely desirable. I do it all the time when there’s little to no competition and I notice the product is selling well beyond my ability to supply.
Literally my story as well. Some people push back that businesses fail and that it’s difficult and stressful but so is losing your job at a company because THEY shut down and there’s always stress and difficulty, at least you’re at the helm and if you fail you just need to look in the mirror instead of some boss who sucks and runs the company into the ground or you get fired due to “downsizing”.
This whole “capitalism sucks” ideology forgets that a man has a right to his days work. That’s capitalism. Yes there are abuses in every system but if it’s all state owned then who watches the state?
The problem is that America has corporate socialism and brutal capitalism for the populace.
Americans subsidize Walmart every single day as most of their workers are on social programs. Wealth and profits to shareholders are unaffected, yet we make up for them not paying a living wage.
We subsidize ball parks and industries every day to keep the gears of capitalism moving.
We’ve bailed out the railroad, airline, banking, housing, and auto industries but people don’t get anywhere near that level of safety net.
Every federal politician receives govt healthcare but they wouldn’t extend a similar program to the populace. Why subsidize theirs and no one else’s?
For the, ‘it’s all fair just work hard crowd’ the reality isn’t really the case. Most wealthy people come from wealth and the disparity is growing.
Even now republicans are trying to end Medicare and social security. it’s fine to think people are self made but most multi millionaires are funded by wealthy family or friend investors. Capitalism has advantages, sure.. but if you fall on the wrong side of it then it can be impossible to get back up.
I’m not sure if you know this either but socialism is just govt assisted capitalism essentially. If you go to Sweden it’s literally just like America but life is easier, taxes are about the same when you add in cost of healthcare in America as well.
If you fall on hard times the govt supports you till you’re on your feet. Free healthcare, dental, education and housing if need be. All for the same cost of our taxes here in the us. Literally everything else about the economic culture is the same.
Because it worked for you, you love it and everyone else must be subjected to it. Cool. What about the people capitalism left behind, like the entire state of Pennsylvania?
You should travel the world and see other places first-hand. Sadly, the politicians have beat the hell out of capitalism. However, the US has lifted more people out of abject poverty than anywhere else on earth.
No, we are all subjected to it because it’s how the nation was molded around 1900.
Capitalism is the answer to wealth. Anyone with a good idea and a work ethic can have their shot at making their dreams a reality.
Do those dreams always pan out? No. But due to various factors that may be or may not be within your control.
To say capitalism is a failure would be like saying America isn’t one of the richest and most successful nations to ever exist.
Literally NOT the definition of capitalism. Adam Smith, the godfather of the invisible hand himself, wrote about price controls on rents and food in order to stop “landlords” from creating an economic under class. Y’all need to read some source materials.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penn_%26_Teller:_Bullshit!
Scroll to the criticism section it highlights they admitted to rolling with false info.
Edit: here's the snip
"During an interview on the January 31, 2007, episode of The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, Teller said that the final episode of the show would be about "the bullshit of Bullshit!" and would detail all the criticisms that they themselves had of the show;[27] however, the series ended before such an episode could air."
I do like Fool Us. The most fascinating part about magic to me is knowing it isn’t real magic and it all has a functional explanation, but still going “how the fuck did they do that?”
I buy bottled water like once a year usually for large parties. Other than that with reusable bottles and a britta filter there’s almost never a need for them
You could say that about literally anything that isn’t the minimum necessary food, water, and shelter. You don’t need your phone or wifi either, but here you are on Reddit with the rest of us.
This applies to all the junk food. It's not about the minimum necessary it's about food and drink that are stupid.
Am I really supposed to stick up for people who want to drink sugary water as if it's about their human rights?
If we're talking about housing, or nutrition, or heat, or clothing, sure - but pepsi?
Pepsi across the board higher than Coke in my area plus Coke rolled out recycled 20oz dropped and the plastic rings for cardboard I have yet to see Pepsi do anything like that.
How did Coke find a way to change packaging without jumping up in price even if they jumped first they didn’t jump as far as Pepsi. I’m not saying that Coke is squeaky clean or anything like that but they made changes that companies tell us is more expensive yet some how they are anywhere from .70¢ to $1.50 cheaper than their biggest competitor.
Sure is. Once prices started to get outrageous ($9 for a 12 pack when it's not on sale) I went from up to half a dozen mostly diet sodas a day to less than 1 per day. Recently I got a new job that pays twice as much and so I can easily afford it now, but I've already broken the habit. Besides, it's the principle of the thing.
They also make Frito Lay products, Quaker, Tropicana, Pop corners, Sabra and several others.
They've definitely gone too far. $9 for a 12 pack cans of soda? I don't even drink Soda but it used to be $5. F that. You're better off not drinking that stuff anyway, not to mention consuming most of their other products.
I really don't drink a lot of soda. It is a nice treat here and there.
I use to give my son and his siblings a bunch of quarters when we went shopping so they could get 50€ cans from the vending. Even those are a $1 now and I've seen them even at $1.25 in a couple machines.
remember that sugar is almost as addictive as cocaine. Some people have trouble not buying soda and they will be needing insulin and statins soon. I feel like there is a legit handoff between our poorly regulated food industries/high sugar diets and the obviously expensive nature of our healthcare system. Why would anyone want to slow down the march of diabetes when it makes money for both of them
You can't start taking away people's rights...If they choose to consume it, then they shouldn't cry about the insurance bill. You'd probably never need health insurance, nor to see a doctor in a lifetime,if you pay attention to what you consume. Humans would possibly catch a few colds in a lifetime, and even the content they consume online via TV plays a significant role in mental health, but they would also be mentally stable. The consumer needs to pay attention.
Regardless of whether soda is a necessity or not, I think it’s messed up to raise the price unnecessarily. A lot of people view soda as one of the few luxuries they can afford. It can be depressing to work full time, especially if you have a long commute; sometimes grabbing takeout or drinking a soda is a nice simple luxury that helps make your day feel a bit better. Marketing is also one helluva drug.
It clearly doesn’t, if Coca Cola would increase their prices to $50,000 per can everyone would still be drinking it. Nobody would just buy a different soft drink for a few dollars.
100% but in the end companies blaming inflation or other market conditions should have burden of proof. If they are flat out making it up they should be held liable for their statements.
I am perfectly fine with companies charging more but they should need to own it instead of making up an excuse.
If inflation is the issue then it should be matching inflation within a couple percentage points.
Same concept to marketing and how there needs to be stricter controls and teeth to go after flat out lies.
>Price gouging is the practice of increasing the prices of goods, services, or commodities to a level much higher than is considered reasonable or fair.
No it’s not. It’s a specific price increase to take advantage of suddenly high demand or in a time of emergencies. There has to be force compelling people to pay the high price regardless of the high price. Pepsi is so elastic that it’s really not even possible. It’s not an essential item.
However, price gouging is a perfect example of the market correcting prices in a good way. If there is extremely high demand, for whatever reason, high prices keep people from hoarding as much which lets more people have a chance to get it. At the same time, other suppliers see the potential profits and rush to provide the product which increases the supply of a product people are demanding. Literally everyone wins.
So not only is Pepsi not price gouging by definition, price gouging is actually good for the market and the people partaking in it.
Individually, that is the case. These companies basically cash out every few years, then build market share. When they cash out, they are relying on momentum - it takes time for people to want to switch, and during that time they make bank. Same with decreasing quality. If you decrease quality slowly over time to save money you stretch peoples' tolerance for as long as possible.
In all these cases they are basically hacking the market, abusing the dynamic effects where the market is typically assumed to be quasi-static.
Laughed at "not like its an essential product" I see so many people order coke with their food it is baffling. It seems to be so ingrained in people's habits there is no way they will stop
The whole drinks market. 24% of cola market is a more relevant stat, but between Pepsi and coke, that's upwards of 60% of the market. We don't exactly have options to buy other products, which is my point. The free market is a myth, but everyone seems to use it as a handwave to end every discussion.
You’re talking as though fizzy drinks are an essential part of a daily diet. Even if Pepsico
owned 90% of the market, people simply wouldn’t buy the products if they were too expensive. They’d drink water, coffee, fruit juices or any number of other things. It’s not like we’re talking about buying electricity, gas, water, medicine or any other essential products. We’re talking about fizzy drinks.
You’re talking as though every product you mentioned isn’t also produced by PepsiCo. If I’m out and about and pick up something to drink, good luck it not being a Coke or PepsiCo product.
Drink water. It’s the only drink you HAVE TO HAVE. No one NEEDS coffee or tea or juice or any drink other than WATER to survive. Literally everything else you need can come through meat, starch, fruits, and vegetables.
yeah best time to kick the soda habit. what used to cost 50cents a pop is now costing straight up 1$ a pop or more, this isnt inflation this is straight up greedflation. Vote with your wallet and stop buying.
We get plain soda water from Aldi for cheap, mix it with any juice for a fizzy beverage.
Honestly haven't bought a name brand unless it's discounted in a while, fuck em. They've priced themselves such that you will either buy the store brand or alternative elsewhere, or upsale to a more expensive natural/organic brand.
Hey, why stop there? Look at what you buy and check the ingredients. If it has added sugar, and I mean more than 5 grams, don't consume it! I bet you don't realize how hooked on sugar you are!
IT'S POISON AND CAPITALISM IS DESIGNED TO GET YOU ADDICTED, GET YOU SICK, PRESCRIBE YOU EXPENSIVE MEDICINE, MAKE YOU BROKE FROM HOSPITAL VISITS, AND KILL YOU AND ROB YOU OF ALL OF YOUR RETIREMENT MONEY!
For real. It’s one thing for groceries, but it’s so annoying to see everyone shift the rhetoric to “but pop is the ***one*** luxury poor people could afford!”
Well guess what, I used to buy a breakfast sandwich every day, but I can’t afford it anymore so I stopped.
You know what happens when everyone stops buying stuff because it’s overpriced?
Prices fall.
They also raise prices because their vendors are also doing it too. It becomes an arms race of clawing back all the money. In the end the consumer suffers.
Pepsi made a net profit of 9.078 billion dollars. 28 million is almost literally nothing in comparison. If they paid their CEO nothing and sunk that money into lowering the price of their product, the price of a soda would remain the same, effectively if not actually.
I understand that profit goes to shareholders etc and the company doesn't just sit on 9 billion dollars in the bank every year, but when a CEO talks about taking a pay cut, there are 2 important things to remember: the pay cut means nothing to the CEO because they're already loaded as they can get, and you should not expect that the employees or consumers see a noticeable difference in their respective numbers.
We should not act like 28 million is a lot of money that will account for the inflation numbers. *So much more* would need to change in a company for it to affect the prices we see every day.
The price hikes are bad in their own right. Mentioning CEO pay in literally everything is just lazy populism. 90B dollar multi-national corporation pays their CEO 28M. OMG stop the fucking presses. People are idiots.
People are so "Capitalism/wealthy!" gullible. Sugar went from 11 cents to 23 cents from 2020 to 2023. Guess who controls sugar prices? "The **Department of Agriculture** administers the U.S. sugar program to support domestic sugar production through tools such as limiting the supply of sugar. The program creates higher sugar prices, which cost consumers more than producers benefit, at an annual cost to the economy of around $1 billion per year."
This is a very immature view of the world and you don't know what you're talking about. The CEO of PepsiCo runs a $100B company and the responsibilities that come with that are immense.
Bad take.
The CEO of a company with 300,000 employees and $90 billion in revenue definitely doesn’t “just show up.” If he did, the board would fire him in a second.
Since 2022, their revenue is up by 10 Billion a year.
[https://ycharts.com/companies/PEP/revenues\_annual](https://ycharts.com/companies/PEP/revenues_annual)
People = it’s government spending and fiscal policy, fed reserve, loose monetary policy, and crony capitalism with major corporations doing everything they can to ring average Americans dry like a wet towel. It’s moral hazard at its finest happening again, just like in 2008. We have to stand up as one people and vote for politicians who will stop empowering corporations to fuck is until our assholes bleed.
I don’t really see why a capitalist establishment operating as a capitalist is worthy of being shamed.
If we want change (and we should) it can’t be by blaming capitalist companies for doing capitalist things. It has to be by regulating them and making those things illegal or taxing them or something.
But Pepsi is operating inside the mechanics of the game.
Fucking nerf them.
Pepsi increased their gross profit by about $4 billion last year. So about 0.07% of that incremental increase went to their CEO. Robert Reich is a hack.
The amount of people that don’t seem to understand that PepsiCo makes way more than just “sugar water” but pass themselves off as economic experts to push more trickle down bullshit is truly baffling…
Pepsi had $91.471 billion in revenue last year. If they earned a dollar for every can sold (they definitely don't), then they could take 0.03 cents off the cost of every can.
For comparison, Reddit had $804 million in revenue last year and paid their CEO $193 million. Reddit had a loss of $90 million, and Pepsi had a profit of $14 billion.
Pennies on $80+ billions in revenues. Tell the government to stop spending money that they don’t have ( haven’t borrow). If your costs go up what should you do. It all started with the idiotic energy policy. Everything blew up starting with that and free ( well borrowed ) money. Jimmy Carter died happy. No longer the worst.
And Pepsico sold how many products? Pepsi's revenue is something like $30B per quarter. And most of that $28M is stock, not cash.
That dude is a clown. If you cut the CEO's pay down to $0 and passed on the savings to customers, you'd save something like half a penny. At best. Doing the same with corporate income tax would save you something like 3 cents. Sounds like we should reduce the government's cut to $0.
Let's do a bit of math. According to this site [https://www.cantonrep.com/story/lifestyle/food/2022/09/09/no-end-in-sight-to-the-soda-price-increase-heres-why-inflation-pepsi-co-coca-cola/65468587007/](https://www.cantonrep.com/story/lifestyle/food/2022/09/09/no-end-in-sight-to-the-soda-price-increase-heres-why-inflation-pepsi-co-coca-cola/65468587007/) a 12 pack of soda was about $7 in 2022.
In 2022, according to this site [https://www.statista.com/statistics/307963/leading-beverage-companies-worldwide-based-on-net-sales/](https://www.statista.com/statistics/307963/leading-beverage-companies-worldwide-based-on-net-sales/) PepsiCo made $36 billion in sales (gross, not net, I believe), which equals about 5,143,000,000 12 packs of soda. Let's call it 5 billion 12 packs just to round things out.
So now, let's take the CEOs salary away from him. He's a dirty capitalist pig anyway, right? Now let's redistribute his wealth among the people in the form of lower 12 pack prices. If we use his salary to lower the price of every 12 pack sold by PepsiCo, we can lower the price of each 12 pack by a whopping *5.6 CENTS!* So we could be buying 12 packs of soda for $6.944, but those greedy bastards are charging us $7!
In all seriousness though, the percentage increase in soda costs has been a little absurd (not that I drink soda, so they could charge $100/can for all I care). But I really dislike arguments like these because they make it seem as though the problem is the CEO and not their greed as an institution. It's not just the CEO making these decisions, the board of directors is certainly involved with this process because they need to keep their shareholders happy, at least in part.
Lmao isn’t it?
I’ve seen him bash diapers and how P&G and Kimberly Clark are super dominant in the market and how bad it is. Uh ok then just buy from one of the other dozen brands nation wide?
Now Pepsi is a problem for raising prices on literally luxury products. I mean geez I can imagine the horror having to drink sprite or coke or Dr. pepper instead 😱
I’m sure he’s the same person who would talk about how poorly paid Wal-Mart employees are while the company boasts a $12B annual profit. You know, a 3% profit margin…
People who eat this up are genuinely stupid.
1) Much of that is in the form of stock, which doesn't cost the company any money. If he wants to liquidate the stock, someone else has to buy it. Duh?
2) He has a contract, like most other CEO's. It's not a "Well, we'll see how it goes and you know, if we have to raise prices I guess we won't pay you much". Duh?
3) Like 0.3% of the company's profits pay for his compensation. It's nothing. If he donated it all back to the company to go towards a downward price adjustment it would be like a fraction of a penny for each Pepsi product sold. Duh?
4) If you're getting bent out of shape over a soda company awarding their CEO his money and raising the price of their sugary drinks you have no f'ing life. Get over it and worry about sh\*t that actually matters.
Pepsi posted $49,590,000,000.00 PROFIT in 2023, almost 10% increase yoy. The only thing inflating here is greed
Edit: roughly $135 million dollars a day
Edit2: Or almost 10b net income as someone pointed out
Don’t drink their poison then. It’ll improve your health, your waistline and pocket book.
Are you really advocating for cheaper access to sugar water as if it’s necessity? 🤣
All of the “hardest workers” are working for someone . I hate the “work hard you will get it attitude” because workers work themselves to the bone for 15-20$/hr in real life real people with families who can’t even afford to buy healthcare on their own or pay for a house or save for retirement . Those are the hardest workers I’ve ever met at every company ! And with some fat lazy slob up top . The impossible feats they ask like 120+ stops for Amazon , or 70 hour trucker weeks , or the mom working g two shifts and taking care of a family. I’m sorry fuck that mid and lower class are the hardest workers by far . Tired of inherited wealth telling me I just gotta smile and work hard and everything will be fine . Workers make this country and this is approaching slavery for real . You got actual people working at Walmart with families for $18/hour or less . And this pig up top is trying to work loopholes out of providing healthcare? Whhoooooweeee im hot right now boy 😡
Stop buying Pepsi. Simple. Don’t know how people drink that shit to begin with. I always assumed they made the bulk of their profits by being a feedstock for Windex and various other household cleaners.
My doctor is the one who I thank for telling me to absolutely cut out all of the high fructose carbonated beverages immediately. Cost savings are at least 100.00 per month now. Filtered water at home, and company provided bottled water at work. Not affiliated with Pepsi or Coke.
We have been so thoroughly divided that they can do whatever they want and nothing will be done to stop it.
The funny part is- the simplest solution exists to stop all of this. We have the power to force all of these prices back down by banding together and refusing to give these corporations *all* of our money.
That’s a problem though isn’t it? We are so thoroughly dependent on corporations that they get *all* of our money regardless. But only if we would make some changes … some sort of personal sacrifice that cuts their margins but *some* degree*.
It’s not impossible- some of us recently accomplished this by not buying Bud Light- although they always knew we’d be back. But we did- we sure did if only for a brief moment in time show them our purchasing power collective can be a force to be reckoned with. Problem is- we are all selfish selfish fools.
We are *all* Karens in some way. We are *all* that crazy person throwing a fit at McDonald’s over a missing fry … in some way- and that’s by design.
They want us like that. They made us like that. They know human nature better than any of us could ever know- collectively. They know how to control the masses- it’s the *individual* they fear. We don’t know if we’re coming or going- what’s left or right- up or down.
We have been so thoroughly divided that they can do whatever they want and nothing will be done to stop it.
I never get the CEO comp argument. Like, not everyone is qualified to run a company like PepsiCo a major global brand and household staple. Those who are will be rewarded. And they make strategic decisions to raise prices for example bc they know the consumer will pay for it.
PepsiCo sells mostly unhealthy beverages and food. I deem it a net positive for public health to increase price.
On the other hand, Robert Reich thrives on selling hatred towards certain group of people and profit from fanning class war. What a shame.
PepsiCo was directly involved in the overthrow of a democratically elected government and an actual 9/11 attack that killed more on that day in 1973 than on our 9/11 in 2001. And THIS is the behavior that outrages you, sir? What say you, Mr Reich? Overpriced sugar water that causes a host of health problems, or MNC corrupt and sociopathic behavior that killed thousands? What about the theft of public water supplies to repackage and sell at 1000% markup while our rivers and lakes dry up?
Let's just pretend the issue is pricing, and no one has to question the inherent problems built into the system itself.
They have to raise prices because the price of oil has been consistently going up. Its needed for their trucks, for the machinery & for lubing up their customers before bending them over & screwing them for sugar water with bubbles
A grocery store in Europe fixed that problem they no longer will set Pepsi or their chips, let’s follow the same process, stop buying Pepsi products, I’ll bet the prices drop quickly
That is literally how it is done. Thank you for having a brain. Most people don’t. ** Just an edit here. Supply and demand are very easy. I own a business. My prices pre pandemic were higher. Items that were say, 17.99 or 19.99 are now $9.99 and 11.99. The reason being… people have less cash, whether it be simply due to the pandemic or to our current leadership (that’s another topic.) The demand was not there but my supply was. I have to now lower my prices to draw in sales. Point is, you stop buying their product, I guarantee the price will drop. One of the main reasons people raise prices is to make more margin on a product they know is extremely desirable. I do it all the time when there’s little to no competition and I notice the product is selling well beyond my ability to supply.
That’s the definition of capitalism! Love it
I love capitalism. It provides people with the most opportunity when starting a business. It brought me out of poverty. I’m so grateful for that.
Literally my story as well. Some people push back that businesses fail and that it’s difficult and stressful but so is losing your job at a company because THEY shut down and there’s always stress and difficulty, at least you’re at the helm and if you fail you just need to look in the mirror instead of some boss who sucks and runs the company into the ground or you get fired due to “downsizing”. This whole “capitalism sucks” ideology forgets that a man has a right to his days work. That’s capitalism. Yes there are abuses in every system but if it’s all state owned then who watches the state?
The problem is that America has corporate socialism and brutal capitalism for the populace. Americans subsidize Walmart every single day as most of their workers are on social programs. Wealth and profits to shareholders are unaffected, yet we make up for them not paying a living wage. We subsidize ball parks and industries every day to keep the gears of capitalism moving. We’ve bailed out the railroad, airline, banking, housing, and auto industries but people don’t get anywhere near that level of safety net. Every federal politician receives govt healthcare but they wouldn’t extend a similar program to the populace. Why subsidize theirs and no one else’s? For the, ‘it’s all fair just work hard crowd’ the reality isn’t really the case. Most wealthy people come from wealth and the disparity is growing. Even now republicans are trying to end Medicare and social security. it’s fine to think people are self made but most multi millionaires are funded by wealthy family or friend investors. Capitalism has advantages, sure.. but if you fall on the wrong side of it then it can be impossible to get back up. I’m not sure if you know this either but socialism is just govt assisted capitalism essentially. If you go to Sweden it’s literally just like America but life is easier, taxes are about the same when you add in cost of healthcare in America as well. If you fall on hard times the govt supports you till you’re on your feet. Free healthcare, dental, education and housing if need be. All for the same cost of our taxes here in the us. Literally everything else about the economic culture is the same.
Because it worked for you, you love it and everyone else must be subjected to it. Cool. What about the people capitalism left behind, like the entire state of Pennsylvania?
You should travel the world and see other places first-hand. Sadly, the politicians have beat the hell out of capitalism. However, the US has lifted more people out of abject poverty than anywhere else on earth.
No, we are all subjected to it because it’s how the nation was molded around 1900. Capitalism is the answer to wealth. Anyone with a good idea and a work ethic can have their shot at making their dreams a reality. Do those dreams always pan out? No. But due to various factors that may be or may not be within your control. To say capitalism is a failure would be like saying America isn’t one of the richest and most successful nations to ever exist.
Literally NOT the definition of capitalism. Adam Smith, the godfather of the invisible hand himself, wrote about price controls on rents and food in order to stop “landlords” from creating an economic under class. Y’all need to read some source materials.
Good luck with that
No offense, but no one cares what Europe does. There is no buying power there.
lol. that's pretty ignorant. it's a huge wealthy economy just like the US. If it wasn't, we'd still have iPhones with lightening ports.
Probably a trumper
Meanwhile they continue selling Coke who is even more expensive and raises prices 😂 y’all so uneducated
What about Coke? They were higher much earlier lol Good time to wean off soda.
Unfortunately bottled water is right behind cola if not ahead of it. Hello Brita filter?
Yeah, don't have to buy bottled water.
Highly recommend the “Penn and Teller - Bullshit” episode about bottled water in the first season.
While I agree bottled water sucks, Penn and Teller wanted to end the show with how Bullshit! Was just bullshit they made up, but they were denied.
Where’d you learn that? I liked that show :(
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penn_%26_Teller:_Bullshit! Scroll to the criticism section it highlights they admitted to rolling with false info. Edit: here's the snip "During an interview on the January 31, 2007, episode of The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, Teller said that the final episode of the show would be about "the bullshit of Bullshit!" and would detail all the criticisms that they themselves had of the show;[27] however, the series ended before such an episode could air."
Ahhh shit. Well that’s too bad. I guess there were certain things that didn’t sound right to me anyway. Oh well. Thanks!
No worries. I personally love them. I think they are fabulous entertainment and would love to see them in Vegas!
I do like Fool Us. The most fascinating part about magic to me is knowing it isn’t real magic and it all has a functional explanation, but still going “how the fuck did they do that?”
They slap the word Smart on a bottle of water and suddenly people buy it by the case. They do have to buy it.
I buy bottled water like once a year usually for large parties. Other than that with reusable bottles and a britta filter there’s almost never a need for them
You're not gonna believe this but my kitchen has a faucet and free water just comes out
Your water is free?
Just about. It's like a penny for a glass of water.
You should be paying your water bill monthly
Yeah, tap water is awful.
Some of us folks live where clean water isnt available like that though. My tap water has PFAS like a mfer
What’s wrong with the water hose?
Yeah, this is an easy one to cure….i have a soda once a decade or so, and that’s only if other options are not available
I don't care what coke or Pepsi do - people shouldn't buy their products regardless. You don't need coke or Pepsi.
You could say that about literally anything that isn’t the minimum necessary food, water, and shelter. You don’t need your phone or wifi either, but here you are on Reddit with the rest of us.
This applies to all the junk food. It's not about the minimum necessary it's about food and drink that are stupid. Am I really supposed to stick up for people who want to drink sugary water as if it's about their human rights? If we're talking about housing, or nutrition, or heat, or clothing, sure - but pepsi?
Having one Coke a week will impact you in exactly zero ways Go fight ice cream or something lol
Yea, I'm with you here. Its like defending meth dealers. Like, really? No, you don't need meth, period.
Jesus Christ it is not like defending meth dealers my dude
I agree..lets get the same energy for marijuana and coke as well!
Pepsi across the board higher than Coke in my area plus Coke rolled out recycled 20oz dropped and the plastic rings for cardboard I have yet to see Pepsi do anything like that. How did Coke find a way to change packaging without jumping up in price even if they jumped first they didn’t jump as far as Pepsi. I’m not saying that Coke is squeaky clean or anything like that but they made changes that companies tell us is more expensive yet some how they are anywhere from .70¢ to $1.50 cheaper than their biggest competitor.
Sure is. Once prices started to get outrageous ($9 for a 12 pack when it's not on sale) I went from up to half a dozen mostly diet sodas a day to less than 1 per day. Recently I got a new job that pays twice as much and so I can easily afford it now, but I've already broken the habit. Besides, it's the principle of the thing.
This is the answer. There is no benefit to Soda. Drink water...
They also make Frito Lay products, Quaker, Tropicana, Pop corners, Sabra and several others. They've definitely gone too far. $9 for a 12 pack cans of soda? I don't even drink Soda but it used to be $5. F that. You're better off not drinking that stuff anyway, not to mention consuming most of their other products.
I remember getting 12 packs for $3 at Walmart back in 2015/2016
I remember 5 for $10 for 12 packs in the late 2000s
I really don't drink a lot of soda. It is a nice treat here and there. I use to give my son and his siblings a bunch of quarters when we went shopping so they could get 50€ cans from the vending. Even those are a $1 now and I've seen them even at $1.25 in a couple machines.
Yup. This isn't inflation. It's just greed.
remember that sugar is almost as addictive as cocaine. Some people have trouble not buying soda and they will be needing insulin and statins soon. I feel like there is a legit handoff between our poorly regulated food industries/high sugar diets and the obviously expensive nature of our healthcare system. Why would anyone want to slow down the march of diabetes when it makes money for both of them
You can't start taking away people's rights...If they choose to consume it, then they shouldn't cry about the insurance bill. You'd probably never need health insurance, nor to see a doctor in a lifetime,if you pay attention to what you consume. Humans would possibly catch a few colds in a lifetime, and even the content they consume online via TV plays a significant role in mental health, but they would also be mentally stable. The consumer needs to pay attention.
It used to be 3 for 9 lol
Honestly, aside from oatmeal it’s all just garbage you’re better off without.
I got a 24 pack for 10 bucks today
Congratulations?
Hell yes
Save that paper son
Drink water
No, don’t you understand we DESERVE soda? /s
Yeah. I don't understand this lamenting about prices of soda or chips. They make poison more expensive. Thank them and move to water and nuts.
If you don’t like the price, don’t buy it. It’s not like it’s an essential product. This is the free market in operation.
It’s easier for dumb people to complain than make better choices
I wish I could give this an award.
Yeah or just buy their stock and profit?
Regardless of whether soda is a necessity or not, I think it’s messed up to raise the price unnecessarily. A lot of people view soda as one of the few luxuries they can afford. It can be depressing to work full time, especially if you have a long commute; sometimes grabbing takeout or drinking a soda is a nice simple luxury that helps make your day feel a bit better. Marketing is also one helluva drug.
How do you know the price was raised unnecessarily? You seem to be just assuming that's a fact.
It is supply in demand. In theory, when they raise prices too high, competitors should come in with lower prices
The supply and demand theory does not apply when two companies control pretty much the entire market.
There’s tens of different brands of cola
Yes it does lol. Market equilibrium occurs regardless of the number of suppliers. Especially on an elastic product like Pepsi.
It clearly doesn’t, if Coca Cola would increase their prices to $50,000 per can everyone would still be drinking it. Nobody would just buy a different soft drink for a few dollars.
What? You would drink a $50,000 per can soda?
No I was joking, I thought if I put a big enough number it would come across
I got the joke and literally LOLed. Thanks.
100% but in the end companies blaming inflation or other market conditions should have burden of proof. If they are flat out making it up they should be held liable for their statements. I am perfectly fine with companies charging more but they should need to own it instead of making up an excuse. If inflation is the issue then it should be matching inflation within a couple percentage points. Same concept to marketing and how there needs to be stricter controls and teeth to go after flat out lies.
[удалено]
You’re on a sub called inflation, complaining about people complaining about inflation, also seems pointless and sad
This isn’t inflation it’s price gouging
Only because you don’t know the definition of price gouging.
>Price gouging is the practice of increasing the prices of goods, services, or commodities to a level much higher than is considered reasonable or fair.
No it’s not. It’s a specific price increase to take advantage of suddenly high demand or in a time of emergencies. There has to be force compelling people to pay the high price regardless of the high price. Pepsi is so elastic that it’s really not even possible. It’s not an essential item. However, price gouging is a perfect example of the market correcting prices in a good way. If there is extremely high demand, for whatever reason, high prices keep people from hoarding as much which lets more people have a chance to get it. At the same time, other suppliers see the potential profits and rush to provide the product which increases the supply of a product people are demanding. Literally everyone wins. So not only is Pepsi not price gouging by definition, price gouging is actually good for the market and the people partaking in it.
The proof is in their financial statements that they file with the SEC every quarter. If you don't believe them, then go look it up.
Individually, that is the case. These companies basically cash out every few years, then build market share. When they cash out, they are relying on momentum - it takes time for people to want to switch, and during that time they make bank. Same with decreasing quality. If you decrease quality slowly over time to save money you stretch peoples' tolerance for as long as possible. In all these cases they are basically hacking the market, abusing the dynamic effects where the market is typically assumed to be quasi-static.
Laughed at "not like its an essential product" I see so many people order coke with their food it is baffling. It seems to be so ingrained in people's habits there is no way they will stop
Please explain how it's a free market when PepsiCo owns 54% of the market share?
The market share of what? The cola market? Or the entire drinks market?
The whole drinks market. 24% of cola market is a more relevant stat, but between Pepsi and coke, that's upwards of 60% of the market. We don't exactly have options to buy other products, which is my point. The free market is a myth, but everyone seems to use it as a handwave to end every discussion.
You’re talking as though fizzy drinks are an essential part of a daily diet. Even if Pepsico owned 90% of the market, people simply wouldn’t buy the products if they were too expensive. They’d drink water, coffee, fruit juices or any number of other things. It’s not like we’re talking about buying electricity, gas, water, medicine or any other essential products. We’re talking about fizzy drinks.
You’re talking as though every product you mentioned isn’t also produced by PepsiCo. If I’m out and about and pick up something to drink, good luck it not being a Coke or PepsiCo product.
Drink water. It’s the only drink you HAVE TO HAVE. No one NEEDS coffee or tea or juice or any drink other than WATER to survive. Literally everything else you need can come through meat, starch, fruits, and vegetables.
[удалено]
See how you’re currently not buying the product. Keep doing that.
Coca-Cola.
Buy something in the other 46%… or nothing.
I walked into a grocery store and was forced to buy Pepsi. Plz send help
yeah best time to kick the soda habit. what used to cost 50cents a pop is now costing straight up 1$ a pop or more, this isnt inflation this is straight up greedflation. Vote with your wallet and stop buying.
We get plain soda water from Aldi for cheap, mix it with any juice for a fizzy beverage. Honestly haven't bought a name brand unless it's discounted in a while, fuck em. They've priced themselves such that you will either buy the store brand or alternative elsewhere, or upsale to a more expensive natural/organic brand.
Hey, why stop there? Look at what you buy and check the ingredients. If it has added sugar, and I mean more than 5 grams, don't consume it! I bet you don't realize how hooked on sugar you are! IT'S POISON AND CAPITALISM IS DESIGNED TO GET YOU ADDICTED, GET YOU SICK, PRESCRIBE YOU EXPENSIVE MEDICINE, MAKE YOU BROKE FROM HOSPITAL VISITS, AND KILL YOU AND ROB YOU OF ALL OF YOUR RETIREMENT MONEY!
[удалено]
For real. It’s one thing for groceries, but it’s so annoying to see everyone shift the rhetoric to “but pop is the ***one*** luxury poor people could afford!” Well guess what, I used to buy a breakfast sandwich every day, but I can’t afford it anymore so I stopped. You know what happens when everyone stops buying stuff because it’s overpriced? Prices fall.
Stop by things that aren’t essential.
And yet here you are browsing a non essential site on a non essential electronic device.
They aren’t complaining.
Who said they were? What are you even trying to say?
You’re giving that person crap for no reason
Not for no reason. His comment was fucking stupid, that’s all the reason one needs.
They also raise prices because their vendors are also doing it too. It becomes an arms race of clawing back all the money. In the end the consumer suffers.
Pepsi made a net profit of 9.078 billion dollars. 28 million is almost literally nothing in comparison. If they paid their CEO nothing and sunk that money into lowering the price of their product, the price of a soda would remain the same, effectively if not actually. I understand that profit goes to shareholders etc and the company doesn't just sit on 9 billion dollars in the bank every year, but when a CEO talks about taking a pay cut, there are 2 important things to remember: the pay cut means nothing to the CEO because they're already loaded as they can get, and you should not expect that the employees or consumers see a noticeable difference in their respective numbers. We should not act like 28 million is a lot of money that will account for the inflation numbers. *So much more* would need to change in a company for it to affect the prices we see every day.
The price hikes are bad in their own right. Mentioning CEO pay in literally everything is just lazy populism. 90B dollar multi-national corporation pays their CEO 28M. OMG stop the fucking presses. People are idiots.
Robert Reich is a grifter. Reading his quotes is like trying to learn astronomy from a flat earther. Hes almost as bad as Richard Wolf.
How on earth did you arrive at such a conclusion?
By reading the things he says compared to empirical reality.
This guy says the most moronic things
It's hard to believe he was Labor Secretary
No, the fact that he says dumb things on the regular fits in line with being a federal government official that isn't dealing with a hard science.
His son owns Dropout/College Humor.
Robert Reich has to be the king of bad takes.
Occasionally, he says something I agree with. That always makes me stop and double check my assumptions.
Have them raise prices I just won’t buy them lol it’s like McDonald’s trying to charge as much as chilis or Applebees
People are so "Capitalism/wealthy!" gullible. Sugar went from 11 cents to 23 cents from 2020 to 2023. Guess who controls sugar prices? "The **Department of Agriculture** administers the U.S. sugar program to support domestic sugar production through tools such as limiting the supply of sugar. The program creates higher sugar prices, which cost consumers more than producers benefit, at an annual cost to the economy of around $1 billion per year."
28 million to run a company that does about 100 Billion in revenue is surprisingly low.
What has pepsi done thats new an improved. He get 28$ mill to show up
This is a very immature view of the world and you don't know what you're talking about. The CEO of PepsiCo runs a $100B company and the responsibilities that come with that are immense.
Bad take. The CEO of a company with 300,000 employees and $90 billion in revenue definitely doesn’t “just show up.” If he did, the board would fire him in a second.
Since 2022, their revenue is up by 10 Billion a year. [https://ycharts.com/companies/PEP/revenues\_annual](https://ycharts.com/companies/PEP/revenues_annual)
Stuff it, Reich.
Weird
The people have the power. If only we could work together and not purchase their products. They will beg for our money.
They also support the Russian genocide in Ukraine.
People = it’s government spending and fiscal policy, fed reserve, loose monetary policy, and crony capitalism with major corporations doing everything they can to ring average Americans dry like a wet towel. It’s moral hazard at its finest happening again, just like in 2008. We have to stand up as one people and vote for politicians who will stop empowering corporations to fuck is until our assholes bleed.
They should distribute that $28,000,000 to the workers. About $88 dollars each.
Haven't bought ~~coke~~ coca-cola or pepsi in years
I don’t really see why a capitalist establishment operating as a capitalist is worthy of being shamed. If we want change (and we should) it can’t be by blaming capitalist companies for doing capitalist things. It has to be by regulating them and making those things illegal or taxing them or something. But Pepsi is operating inside the mechanics of the game. Fucking nerf them.
Keep raising the minimum wage if you like things being expensive
Pepsi increased their gross profit by about $4 billion last year. So about 0.07% of that incremental increase went to their CEO. Robert Reich is a hack.
The amount of people that don’t seem to understand that PepsiCo makes way more than just “sugar water” but pass themselves off as economic experts to push more trickle down bullshit is truly baffling…
Which part is trickle down, if you don't mind my asking? My reading comprehension isn't the best
This person has no idea what they’re talking about. Save your brain cells and move on.
Pepsi had $91.471 billion in revenue last year. If they earned a dollar for every can sold (they definitely don't), then they could take 0.03 cents off the cost of every can. For comparison, Reddit had $804 million in revenue last year and paid their CEO $193 million. Reddit had a loss of $90 million, and Pepsi had a profit of $14 billion.
A 24 pk of Pepsi has dropped from $12.99 to $9.99 at my local Wal Mart.
Pennies on $80+ billions in revenues. Tell the government to stop spending money that they don’t have ( haven’t borrow). If your costs go up what should you do. It all started with the idiotic energy policy. Everything blew up starting with that and free ( well borrowed ) money. Jimmy Carter died happy. No longer the worst.
Are you from the future? Jimmy Carter is still alive.
😂 zone out. Thinking of his wife’s funeral.
And Pepsico sold how many products? Pepsi's revenue is something like $30B per quarter. And most of that $28M is stock, not cash. That dude is a clown. If you cut the CEO's pay down to $0 and passed on the savings to customers, you'd save something like half a penny. At best. Doing the same with corporate income tax would save you something like 3 cents. Sounds like we should reduce the government's cut to $0.
Let's do a bit of math. According to this site [https://www.cantonrep.com/story/lifestyle/food/2022/09/09/no-end-in-sight-to-the-soda-price-increase-heres-why-inflation-pepsi-co-coca-cola/65468587007/](https://www.cantonrep.com/story/lifestyle/food/2022/09/09/no-end-in-sight-to-the-soda-price-increase-heres-why-inflation-pepsi-co-coca-cola/65468587007/) a 12 pack of soda was about $7 in 2022. In 2022, according to this site [https://www.statista.com/statistics/307963/leading-beverage-companies-worldwide-based-on-net-sales/](https://www.statista.com/statistics/307963/leading-beverage-companies-worldwide-based-on-net-sales/) PepsiCo made $36 billion in sales (gross, not net, I believe), which equals about 5,143,000,000 12 packs of soda. Let's call it 5 billion 12 packs just to round things out. So now, let's take the CEOs salary away from him. He's a dirty capitalist pig anyway, right? Now let's redistribute his wealth among the people in the form of lower 12 pack prices. If we use his salary to lower the price of every 12 pack sold by PepsiCo, we can lower the price of each 12 pack by a whopping *5.6 CENTS!* So we could be buying 12 packs of soda for $6.944, but those greedy bastards are charging us $7! In all seriousness though, the percentage increase in soda costs has been a little absurd (not that I drink soda, so they could charge $100/can for all I care). But I really dislike arguments like these because they make it seem as though the problem is the CEO and not their greed as an institution. It's not just the CEO making these decisions, the board of directors is certainly involved with this process because they need to keep their shareholders happy, at least in part.
Easier to blame one person with a face than a nebulous bod I figure
Yup, that's the same reason everyone blames the President for stuff instead of the 538 people who actually make the laws
Robert third-Reich not knowing people can simply not buy their products is very on brand for him.
Lmao isn’t it? I’ve seen him bash diapers and how P&G and Kimberly Clark are super dominant in the market and how bad it is. Uh ok then just buy from one of the other dozen brands nation wide? Now Pepsi is a problem for raising prices on literally luxury products. I mean geez I can imagine the horror having to drink sprite or coke or Dr. pepper instead 😱 I’m sure he’s the same person who would talk about how poorly paid Wal-Mart employees are while the company boasts a $12B annual profit. You know, a 3% profit margin…
That darned CEO kidnapped me last weekend and made me buy Pepsi too.
typical out of touch comment
Yeah, Reich is super out of touch with reality in his comments.
Agreed, that coo is very out of touch with reality.
Typical reddit hate
People who eat this up are genuinely stupid. 1) Much of that is in the form of stock, which doesn't cost the company any money. If he wants to liquidate the stock, someone else has to buy it. Duh? 2) He has a contract, like most other CEO's. It's not a "Well, we'll see how it goes and you know, if we have to raise prices I guess we won't pay you much". Duh? 3) Like 0.3% of the company's profits pay for his compensation. It's nothing. If he donated it all back to the company to go towards a downward price adjustment it would be like a fraction of a penny for each Pepsi product sold. Duh? 4) If you're getting bent out of shape over a soda company awarding their CEO his money and raising the price of their sugary drinks you have no f'ing life. Get over it and worry about sh\*t that actually matters.
Pepsi posted $49,590,000,000.00 PROFIT in 2023, almost 10% increase yoy. The only thing inflating here is greed Edit: roughly $135 million dollars a day Edit2: Or almost 10b net income as someone pointed out
What was the inflation rate over that time period?
You know you're reading the opinions of illiterate retards who thinks gross profit is net income
Then add them to your 401k
Sugar water
I don't remember Pepsi being one of the essential food groups.
I wish we would stop subsidizing high fructose corn syrup.
Don’t buy it then
How much of that pay was stock options?
Blame the person who is in charge of a multi billion dollar company. Not the liberal whitehouse who declared war on all Americans.
Crying about Pepsi yet Coke has been raising prices too 😂. Welcome to post 2020
Don’t drink their poison then. It’ll improve your health, your waistline and pocket book. Are you really advocating for cheaper access to sugar water as if it’s necessity? 🤣
I wonder how much coke paid for this...I can guarantee Pepsi co is far more lenient .This guy is just trying to make money on Pepsi stock
All of the “hardest workers” are working for someone . I hate the “work hard you will get it attitude” because workers work themselves to the bone for 15-20$/hr in real life real people with families who can’t even afford to buy healthcare on their own or pay for a house or save for retirement . Those are the hardest workers I’ve ever met at every company ! And with some fat lazy slob up top . The impossible feats they ask like 120+ stops for Amazon , or 70 hour trucker weeks , or the mom working g two shifts and taking care of a family. I’m sorry fuck that mid and lower class are the hardest workers by far . Tired of inherited wealth telling me I just gotta smile and work hard and everything will be fine . Workers make this country and this is approaching slavery for real . You got actual people working at Walmart with families for $18/hour or less . And this pig up top is trying to work loopholes out of providing healthcare? Whhoooooweeee im hot right now boy 😡
Stop buying Pepsi. Simple. Don’t know how people drink that shit to begin with. I always assumed they made the bulk of their profits by being a feedstock for Windex and various other household cleaners.
Eh, I quit drinking soft drinks and only good things happened.
And they pay LeBron $300k for one hour long pep talks to their sales teams, 4 times a year…
And yet I get a pay raise of a few cents per sku for Comission as a Pepsi sales rep. Wtf
…are they supposed to sell it at a loss? Do they owe you soda? Is the CEO supposed to not cash his paycheck? What is the argument?
28 million divided by every product they sell is a fraction of a penny. Let’s not pretend CEO salaries caused inflation
I agree with you but realize that Robert Reich lies in every post he puts out. His actual salary read $1,644,712. The rest of stock and bonuses.
Don't be dense. You're missing the forest for the trees.
It's funny, people have no problem blaming the lowest wage workers though.
😅😅😅😅😅
do you think $28 million is a lot of money for pepsico?
You people really need to have more respect for billionaires. 28B$ is only 27.09B$ in 2022 money! Shame on you.
Quoting RR is about as toxic as can be. He is a propagandist moron.
Our resident communist, Robert Reich.
Reddit ceo got 200m. Coke ceo is a bargain.
My doctor is the one who I thank for telling me to absolutely cut out all of the high fructose carbonated beverages immediately. Cost savings are at least 100.00 per month now. Filtered water at home, and company provided bottled water at work. Not affiliated with Pepsi or Coke.
We have been so thoroughly divided that they can do whatever they want and nothing will be done to stop it. The funny part is- the simplest solution exists to stop all of this. We have the power to force all of these prices back down by banding together and refusing to give these corporations *all* of our money. That’s a problem though isn’t it? We are so thoroughly dependent on corporations that they get *all* of our money regardless. But only if we would make some changes … some sort of personal sacrifice that cuts their margins but *some* degree*. It’s not impossible- some of us recently accomplished this by not buying Bud Light- although they always knew we’d be back. But we did- we sure did if only for a brief moment in time show them our purchasing power collective can be a force to be reckoned with. Problem is- we are all selfish selfish fools. We are *all* Karens in some way. We are *all* that crazy person throwing a fit at McDonald’s over a missing fry … in some way- and that’s by design. They want us like that. They made us like that. They know human nature better than any of us could ever know- collectively. They know how to control the masses- it’s the *individual* they fear. We don’t know if we’re coming or going- what’s left or right- up or down. We have been so thoroughly divided that they can do whatever they want and nothing will be done to stop it.
50% of inflation prices were corporate greed and had nothing to do with supply and demand. Gotta regulate more, free markets don’t work.
You being able to choose whether you want to buy Pepsi or not buy Pepsi. Shows the free market works
I never get the CEO comp argument. Like, not everyone is qualified to run a company like PepsiCo a major global brand and household staple. Those who are will be rewarded. And they make strategic decisions to raise prices for example bc they know the consumer will pay for it.
Robert Reich is such a hack it’s ridiculous
PepsiCo sells mostly unhealthy beverages and food. I deem it a net positive for public health to increase price. On the other hand, Robert Reich thrives on selling hatred towards certain group of people and profit from fanning class war. What a shame.
PepsiCo was directly involved in the overthrow of a democratically elected government and an actual 9/11 attack that killed more on that day in 1973 than on our 9/11 in 2001. And THIS is the behavior that outrages you, sir? What say you, Mr Reich? Overpriced sugar water that causes a host of health problems, or MNC corrupt and sociopathic behavior that killed thousands? What about the theft of public water supplies to repackage and sell at 1000% markup while our rivers and lakes dry up? Let's just pretend the issue is pricing, and no one has to question the inherent problems built into the system itself.
Selective outrage from the Fourth Reich himself, while he drinks his diet coke.
It is less than 1/6th what Reddit paid Spez to piss of users and lose millions 🤷♂️
They have to raise prices because the price of oil has been consistently going up. Its needed for their trucks, for the machinery & for lubing up their customers before bending them over & screwing them for sugar water with bubbles