[Man50D]

I'm not saying the government isn't adding a lot of taxes, I just doubt we'd see prices go down. If people are used to paying $5 for a cheeseburger, they'll keep paying, and the compnay gets the extra.

You're not considering one very important factor called competition. It will only take a small number of companies in an industry to pass on the cost savings to their customers that will either force the remaining companies to do likewise or lose business.

[John Valentine]

You're not considering one very important factor called competition.

Yes, indeedy. This response squarely addresses the common fear that business would not pass along savings to the consumer. People who harbor this fear simply don't understand how the market works. They seem to think that businesses operate in a social vacuum. Businesses don't pass on savings to the consumers because they WANT to; the do it because they MUST, or watch their business evaporate before their eyes.