Why does everything feel like a scam?

Substack ^ | 8/19/26 | Hanna Horvath

[EnderWiggin1970]

I live in New York, which is a very expensive city, so I have become somewhat desensitized to paying stupid amounts of money for normal things. I don’t regularly experience sticker shock because, to some extent, I live inside the sticker shock.

But lately, even I have been losing the plot.

A few months ago, I paid $35 for tortellini at a restaurant and received four pieces of tortellini. I recently saw supermarket strawberries listed for $15. The other day I was shopping for a trash can and discovered that a distressing percentage of them cost more than $100.

And even outside the confines of New York, my sense of what constitutes a normal price seems to melt away: replacement charging cables, drugstore skincare, streaming subscriptions, concert tickets, luggage, any piece of furniture. I encounter perfectly ordinary things and think, Wait, is that actually what this costs now?

At this point, the problem goes beyond things simply becoming more expensive. I increasingly have no idea how much any of this is supposed to cost.

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TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: fraud; greed; hahasubstack; inflation; pricing; scam; substackloser

[EnderWiggin1970]

I thought this was a pretty good article, and I sure feel the same way. It does a good job of debunking "greed" as an explanation for anything; since greed is a constant through human history (and exists on both sides of any given transaction), if something has changed we must look for another explanation than the one that is a constant.

In theory, capitalism has a very obvious response to all of this. If a company charges too much, makes its product worse or treats you badly, you take your money somewhere else.

Competition is supposed to discipline this kind of behavior. The shitty company loses customers, a better competitor wins them, everybody learns a valuable lesson about capitalism, Adam Smith smiles down upon us, the end.

[nickcarraway]

Because it is?

[crusty old prospector]

You must endeavor to persevere, comrade.

[JZelle]

It’s going to ask you a question, sucker.

[VTenigma]

Ditto

[dfwgator]

You stole my post.

[al baby]

EXACTLY !!!!!

[MCF]

Currency debasement. It happens to all fiat currencies

[neverevergiveup]

If I was still living in NYC I would be most concerned about any NYC-based assets I might have (not financial assets like stocks and bonds that are not geographically at risk - but hard assets, like a condo / apartment etc.). There's no telling what is going to happen to them over the short term, or actually even the longer term.

There are enough people in the greater NY metro area that are financially strapped such that the DSA message will potentially resonate - leading to more companies and wealthy people leaving and a devaluation of assets.

Plus, the more the city loses revenue the more they aren't going to be able to take care of things like paving and washing streets, patrolling the subways, picking up garbage on time, etc. It could become a hell hole in relatively short order - particularly if the ‘defund the police’ and government store people remain in charge.

[neverevergiveup]

If I was still living in NYC I would be most concerned about any NYC-based assets I might have (not financial assets like stocks and bonds that are not geographically at risk - but hard assets, like a condo / apartment etc.). There's no telling what is going to happen to them over the short term, or actually even the longer term.

There are enough people in the greater NY metro area that are financially strapped such that the DSA message will potentially resonate - leading to more companies and wealthy people leaving and a devaluation of assets.

Plus, the more the city loses revenue the more they aren't going to be able to take care of things like paving and washing streets, patrolling the subways, picking up garbage on time, etc. It could become a hell hole in relatively short order - particularly if the ‘defund the police’ and government store people remain in charge.

[neverevergiveup]

If I was still living in NYC I would be most concerned about any NYC-based assets I might have (not financial assets like stocks and bonds that are not geographically at risk - but hard assets, like a condo / apartment etc.). There's no telling what is going to happen to them over the short term, or actually even the longer term.

There are enough people in the greater NY metro area that are financially strapped such that the DSA message will potentially resonate - leading to more companies and wealthy people leaving and a devaluation of assets.

Plus, the more the city loses revenue the more they aren't going to be able to take care of things like paving and washing streets, patrolling the subways, picking up garbage on time, etc. It could become a hell hole in relatively short order - particularly if the ‘defund the police’ and government store people remain in charge.

[VRW Conspirator]

And deport the illegals.

[CFW]

How Planned Obsolescence Works

“Planned obsolescence takes different forms, from flimsy materials that wear out quickly to software updates that make older devices sluggish. Some products are designed with non-replaceable parts, ensuring that a minor failure requires a full replacement. Others use proprietary components, making repairs difficult or expensive. In the tech world, software compatibility is often weaponized—older devices become useless simply because they can no longer run new applications.”

https://www.songbirdandco.com/planned-obsolescence

[al baby]

Thats because we all share a brain

[DoodleBob]

But this entire mechanism depends on there being somewhere else to go.

That is part of it. You have to fuse the other two parts.

Being a consumer now requires vigilance

Frankly it ALWAYS required vigilance. But here’s the kicker….

I will probably continue paying absurd amounts of money for things because I live in New York.

We have a winner.

I worked in Manhattan for a LONG time, but I lived in NJ. When you leave that “tropical little island off the coast of America” (as the Village Voice once called Manhattan) you find LOTS of competition for goods and services. Indeed, we got our meat from a farmer, found great book stores, had a local organic food store (and not While Foods) and killer diners.

When you’re trapped in Gotham, it’s REALLY hard to find deals. Further, there are local regulations that will stifle competition. The ONLY thing I found in great supply in Manhattan that approached a perfect competition was music. Tons of musicians playing their guts out and hoping you buy a shirt so they can eat. Aside from that, people who live in Manhattan need to get off the island. indeed, the author reminds me of the media…they live in NYC or LA and that is their perspective.

You can’t live on a ship at sea and complain about the lack of dirt.

[Kudsman]

Kiss.

[VTenigma]

Devaluation of the dollar though outrageous excess printing to sustain an open border welfare state that abandoned producing durable for the myth of manipulating money to produce GDP. Deficit spending is a stealth tax very few acknowledge. We are now approaching the end game. I fear for my children’s future. Rough sledding ahead.

[Texas resident]

NYC is an island. Like Hawaii. Most of everything has to be imported. And there is limited space, so the market determines the price of sq footage and goods and services.

[ansel12]

I don’t think he mentioned how they jumbled up quantities and ounces making it almost impossible to figure out unit pricing in your head.

Instead of 6 packs, 12 packs and 24 packs of cans of drink or corn, or sauce, of X ounces it is various ounces in 6 packs in 8 packs 20 packs, 18, 24, 30, and it is done with a lot of various products.

[Celtic Conservative]

Move to the middle of nowhere. Things are cheaper there. Calmer, too.

CC