Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

> Say Canada does what you say will fix everything

If you thought I was saying it would fix anything except the number on the price tag, you must have misinterpreted my comment.

> and in theory supply will increase

I don't believe an increase in taxes would cause supply to increase.

> there's only so much you can be elastic in your demand.

Demand doesn't only mean how many loaves of bread people want, or how badly they want them. It's also how many dollars they can and will pay. Picture goods being sold at an auction, as they essentially are. With fewer dollars in everyone's pockets, the winning bid will be lower, even if the bidders are just as hungry.



> I don't believe an increase in taxes would cause supply to increase.

Sorry, i meant increase proportionally to demand (because demand would go down, so there would be more supply than demand).

> With fewer dollars in everyone's pockets, the winning bid will be lower, even if the bidders are just as hungry

Not if the winning bid comes from another country, or the supplier can afford to wait (because remember, we're talking about inelastic goods - the supplier knows people need to eat and heat themselves).


> remember, we're talking about inelastic goods - the supplier knows people need to eat

So why did a loaf of bread cost 5 cents in 1900 and 5 dollars now, even though we make more bread than ever (and with less labour too)?

Couldn't the producers have "afforded to wait" until the desperate masses paid $5 per loaf, even if that were a whole week's salary?

Or perhaps the nominal amount of money in a customer's pocket is relevant to the clearing price, even for bread and oil?




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: