https://youtube.com/watch?v=50LHZYio0Z0

Have you seen the latest TV commercial for the new and improved Trumpy Bear? He still has the long hair that looks like a toupee’. He now sports a tie that says America First. If you have ever wondered why things like these special stuffed animals are marketed, I will give you that answer.

In Economics 101 my freshman year in college the instructor told us about the concept of supply and demand. This is the basic tenant of the American idea of free trade. Manufacturers make what they want. Stores buy what they think they can sell.

The price is set by the manufacturer in the form of the MSRP. That means the Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price. Many retailers use this price as their price. When you see items on sale for 20% or more off, they mean that is off the MSRP. Most retail stores want to make a minimum of 45% profit on their sales. Often the suggested price allows the stores to make up to 80% off.

If the items sell as the producer hoped they would, they and the wholesalers and retailers are all happy. The customers are also happy unless they believe the manufacturer, wholesaler, or retailer is overcharging them. Those of us who don’t want to pay that high a price will wait for a sale or buy them on clearance if any are left.

Supply and demand sometimes don’t work well for the companies that make products or sell them. That is why they have marketing departments that work with advertising agencies to promote their wares. That brings us back to the new version of Trumpy bear. It is directly marketed. That means the distributor sells it to consumers.

This method allows the company to sell products even before they receive the shipment of goods. A six-to-eight-week lead time is usually enough to allow for judging the demand for the goods. Personally, I would not purchase most of these TV-only items. I prefer shopping sales and online dealers who buy unsold goods and sell them at reduced prices. When I really need or want a particular item, I purchase it at the regular price. That doesn’t happen often.

Our current explosion of gasoline prices is explained by the fact that three percent of our gas comes from Russia. Other prices are going up because Ukraine produces a lot of wheat. Crude oil prices went up the day the invasion began. There was absolutely no delay in the oil companies waiting for their cost to increase.

The oil companies use any excuse they can find to increase the price to their stations and in turn to the customer. The supply has not gone down. The cost of production is not changing yet. They want to make more money from you and I. What can we do about it? Any Congressperson, Senator, or other elected official that does nothing to stop them should be replaced.

Force those who are running this year to declare now what they will do and give them one month to stop this rape of the American public or vote them out in the primaries and in November. Remember that they must do this in a month, not wait until they are home for the election, and we must wait until the next Congress is seated.

The next time you hear someone explaining this travesty is caused by the Russian/Ukrainian war remember that they are wrong. The prices soared the day this battle began. The gas price increased due to the greed of the oil companies. They finance both Republican and Democratic candidates. The third-party candidates won’t get these funds until you elect them.