Ah, like the beautiful Healthcare Plan

Fun fact: "trickle down economics" is just rebranded horse and sparrow economics. The idea being that if you overfeed your horse, it won't digest it all and the sparrow will be able to sift through the horse shit to find bits of food to eat.

I don't think we get the luxury of it being golden with diaper don.

What are the actual indicators of a good economy?

Not all instant coffee is terrible. There's a wide variety in quality there just like with full beans.

Also keep in mind that the average American is used to shit like Folger's in a Mr. Coffee, a Keurig K-cup, or the burnt espresso from Starbucks.

I like different coffee for different purposes. Instant coffee is mostly made from commodity coffee and blends in Robusta (which I don't like, personally).

That said, in a pinch, or if I can't be bothered with the whole shebang of a pour over or espresso. Mix in a little milk and sweetener and it's quite enjoyable.

That all being said, this is some mega MAGA copium they're pumping out.

Interesting. I don't hate instant coffee, but never really buy it either except for the occasional tiny jar of decaf to keep on hand if Grandma visits (that is her jam lol).

The Simpsons reference was more toward the "cheaper alternatives" mentioned in the same quote, though.

That's great and all, but taking away an option and saying "the other option is good so why bother getting upset about it" is minimalizing the core issue. International tariffs are going to reduce consumer options and artificially raise prices.

That's totally ignoring the ethical sourcing issues with coffee as well. Specialty coffee companies have been working directly with growers in countries like Colombia, Peru, Uganda, Indonesia, etc. to give them fair wages and to combat monopoly pricing in the industry. I've spent $100 on a drum roaster to be able to buy green coffee from responsible companies that pay farmers a living wage. In the end, my home-roasted coffee costs less per pound than Great Value brand pre-ground coffee from Walmart. So now if buying green coffee gets too expensive, I'm expected to go from roasting for my own taste preference, grinding fresh beans, and brewing espresso...to instant coffee. Which in the United States is almost universally bitter dark roasted coffee with no regionally distinct tastes.

4 - Reduce Profit Margin.

1: Abandon regulations. If corporations don't have to invest into safety, ecology and such stuff they have lower production costs which can mean lower prices.

I think corporations have pretty clearly demonstrated an unwillingness to pass savings in their production chain on to the consumer. For example, very few items have gone back down to their pre-pandemic price point, even though scarcity and supply chain issues from COVID have largely resolved.

Nationalize the companies involved in production and distribution and eliminate profit, making and selling everything at-cost also works.

There's too much evidence all over the world that point 1 would never work. If deregulation relieve then from certain costs, they'll happily enjoy higher profits. 🤷

1. Reduce trade barriers, like tariffs

Secret option 4: general strike. Pay us more, charge less, or we'll eat the wealthy before we go hungry.

May 1st. 2028. We all walk out together.

Yeah, these zellenials spending all their time eating avocado taquitos on their memory foam mattresses are destroying the economy. In my day, we slept on asbestos and mouse poop mats and we liked it.

Well, we're only 8 days in. Still plenty of time for him to tariff all of our tits off.

Here's the thing.. As wishful thinking as this sounds... You and I both know this would have instantly been appealed by every major food manufacturer in the entire country and the SCOTUS would overturn it because it defeats the "free enterprise ideals" of capitalism.

Step 0. Inflation came back down to almost normal. Prices should no longer be increasing ass quickly

Your increase in suffering has slowed. Why aren't you happy?