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> Yep, the capital owning class just doesn't care if their businesses go into shock because they already have their cash in hand.

What if there was inflation?



Inflation generally helps big business and its owners. They get to raise prices, and they usually get to raise prices more than the average firm does because they have little competition. You're seeing this now with record-high corporate earnings.

As long as the capital-owning class is holding equity (stocks, real estate) they benefit from inflation.


> Inflation generally helps big business and its owners.

I'm not sure that follows in extreme cases. I don't even think it follows in baseline cases (2% inflation yoy).

Raising prices leaves customers with limited resources, as wages do not follow at anywhere near the same rate.

If inflation brings prices up, consumers can only spend on specific items, prioritizing necessities over entire verticals of goods. For the vast majority of companies, it's bad.


That effect is true, but the vast majority of big (top-100 in S&P 500) businesses are in relative necessities. That's how you get to be big: position yourself as a critical component in a key consumer value chain.

Take a look at a sampling of the top 50 or so companies by market cap. There's computing & telecom (Apple, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, NVidia, Intel, Comcast, AT&T, Verizon, Broadcom, Cisco), which is fundamental to obtaining products & services these days. Retail (Amazon, Walmart, Costco, Target, Home Depot, and Lowe's). Financial services, necessary for paying for things (JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Visa, Mastercard, Bank of America). Critical enterprise software (Oracle, Salesforce). Health care (United Health, Johnson & Johnson, Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Abbott Labs, Merck). Oil (Exxon and Chevron).

Of the top 50, the only ones that I think would be seriously vulnerable are Tesla, Netflix, and possibly branded foodstuffs (Coke/Pepsi/McDonalds). Sure, it'll be devastating to the vast majority of companies - but it's companies like restaurants, niche hobby stores, luxury activities, etc, not the staples that make up the S&P 500.


AND Ryan's point about taxing unrealized capital gains was that it forces founders to divest over time. Which one is it?




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