but not a peep about the profit rate

The ugly truth about financial abuse by people and corporations,and the truth about money.

They go everyday totally not aware of the level of exploitation and wealth extraction we live under.

They think if the stock market goes up they'll do better financially when they are workers. Truth is if the stock market goes up the value of thier labor goes down.

One of the problems of our economic model is that this accountability is missing.

But also the republicans lie about everything,they propagandize and
Make sure financial knowledge is skewed to the point it seems unlintelligible,when really you need to stop blindly trusting people who's sole reason to get into "business " is to extract profit from you. Learn to be cynical about the most overglorified market bullshit.

The market is a Ponzi scam,albeit huge.

We have people running a Ponzi scheme who are corrupt to the core, who present themselves as moral and righteous, who wrap themselves in the flag, or in "God's word", or whatever is convenient to them at the moment, all working together to delude as many voters as they can.

How exactly is the "regular" person supposed to protect themselves from this? Why should a carpenter, a nurse, a sales clerk have to get an education in finance, become experts in things they may have no interest in, or even if they do, no time for. How can they cast a vote that will actually be for someone who will protect their interests when what they hear is skewed, biased, and unintelligible as you say. This is simply impossible. Especially when they're constantly manipulated to respond to everything emotionally.

Cynicism can be a very useful tool. Sadly, the Trump base's cynicism is aimed in the wrong direction. These people have been tricked, deluded, and their worst human attributes have been used and warped and amplified, and in the end turned against themselves. And they're so deluded they can't see it.

I'm heartened by something posted today on DU which showed the younger generations in our country see right through this rot. I believe the Republican party's time is very limited because the young are leaving it. The corporations we have yet to deal with and I think the Democratic party will.

End republicans forever and that scares the shit out of them . And I laugh. Good riddance I say. And yes I see through it too. I just hope more people might be able too.

Liquid gold. The markup is tremendous.

employees. The way you're using the term "true value" it sounds like you need to better familiarize yourself with economics, also.

Being paid six bucks an hour would not be poverty if markup profit
was capped and didn't make workers poor on six bucks.

There has to be a limit and the growth imperative needs to stop on a finite planet

Consumers actually have a lot of power. That's why foreign cars ate American vehicles lunch in the 1960s and 70s.

If every business is a ripoff, then one should grow and prepare their own food, build their house, build their car, etc.

As far as consumers go, one of the problems we have here is the hatred of less expensive foreign goods. Think what you'd be paying for TVs, cars, etc., without products made globally.

It's a big topic, and a few lines can not do it justice.

Is what a consumer is willing to pay. That is different than the cost to produce.

The difference is called profit. Part of that profit goes into overhead such as the cost of facilities, the administration cost for the company, taxes, wages and benefits of the employees...

While the markup may seem arbitrary, a lot of consideration goes into it. An item priced too high will not sell. A company that sells its goods at production cost will soon be out of business.

At the most basic, you may want to familiarize yourself with the laws of supply and demand to explain how the price of goods is determined.

But I also know there is rampant poverty alongside rampant greed.

The value of medical treatment to save the life of a loved one would be very high for most of us.

I know I am. The zero sum bias is getting old.

and the employees. The enormous markup on drinks is basically what makes a restaurant an almost-viable enterprise.

New people joined the site almost every day and immediately posted a photo of one or more knives. Their question was always: "How much is this worth?"

The standard answer to the question, by almost everyone, was: "Put it on eBay and you'll find out in just one week." That was the only valid answer to such a question, really. There are too many variables in collectibles pricing for anyone to give an answer after only seeing a photograph.

I joined the site because I had purchased an old Barlow knife at an estate sale from a box of tools that was labeled: "Tools. $1 each." I knew nothing about old knives, but I thought it looked very interesting. So, I joined the site and lurked there long enough to see how people did things. Then, I took a dozen detailed photos of the knife, showing every aspect of it and every flaw. But, I didn't ask the usual question. I asked if anyone could tell me more about the knife. I got tons of replies, all with useful information about the maker, the age of the item, and much, much more. I also got very specific questions from some members, all of which I answered, and ended up with even more information about my find. Not once did I ask about its value.

Then, I went on eBay and listed it for sale, writing the description of that particular Barlow knife based on information I had received from the knife collectors' forum. A week later, I found out what its current value was. That $1 pocket knife sold for $250 in the auction. The buyer was a member of that collector' forum, it turned out, but I never mentioned that I was selling it there. The buyer emailed me later and said that he was glad I had approached learning about my find the way I had.

There are no shortcuts to figuring out the value of anything. It's a complicated question, and one that depends on the market.