If the price of PVC pipe as a case in isolation is any indication I suggest price gouging. Feed stock, natural gas went up significantly but only briefly, PVC went up and stayed up in spite of natural gas prices now being less than 1/4 of what they zoomed up to for that one short time. And yet, with these persistent and much higher prices the stuff is still flying off the shelves.
The other factor, much more persistent and wide spread, is the burgeoning cost of gooberment. A cost that produces absolutely nothing and just takes and takes and takes. The sheeple don't understand and only understand they have less than they need or want and think gooberment is the answer to give it to them.
Some crazy woman wrote an editorial in the paper today complaining about Oklahoma ranking low or last in so many things except poverty where it ranks right up near the top. Her solution? Raise taxes because Oklahoma also has one of the lowest tax rates. Fact is, per capita, Oklahoma has the same range of revenue base as most states but it also has a lot of empty land with roads to nowhere to maintain. Fact is, Oklahoma has a balanced budget amendment so the state can't go into debt to finance the largess like so many others do. Fact is, Oklahoma is horribly mismanaged start with looking at the number of small mismanaged and top heavy independent school districts that should be consolidated. Fact is, you can't even take all the money from the "rich" and make ends meet when you spend too much. Fact is, America no longer produces stuff that the masses can make, there are too few meaningful jobs in America and that is a loss of prosperity. Either too few jobs or too many unskilled and unemployed / underemployed sheeple.
A nation cannot tax itself into prosperity.
That is like grabbing ahold of your shoes and trying to pick yourself up off the floor...................