Who’s Really Behind America’s Obscene Grocery Prices? The Hidden Grocery Cartel Exposed

Hello, Earnest Mann here. Let’s set the record straight — food prices in this country aren’t just high, they’re obscene. And that difference isn’t just semantics. It’s the difference between being ripped off and being robbed blind. In this episode, I unpack a manipulative pricing scheme hiding in plain sight, engineered not by your friendly neighborhood farmer, but by the mega grocery store chains who have no interest in “razor-thin margins,” no matter how many press releases say otherwise.

The Lie of High Supplier Costs – And the Truth They Won’t Tell You

You’ve been told that rising prices at the grocery store are just passed down from struggling suppliers, right? Wrong. Most of these large supermarket chains buy food at nearly identical prices — because there are only about six supply chain companies in the U.S. But unlike what they’d have you believe, these corporations dictate prices down to suppliers, not the other way around. The reason you’re paying more for the same bottle of ketchup at Whole Foods isn’t about ambiance or overhead — it’s corporate greed wrapped in marketing manipulation, pioneered by none other than Edward Bernays back in the 1930s.

Marketing Isn’t Harmless – It’s Legalized Theft

“Marketing” sounds innocent. But what it really means is psychological manipulation. It convinces you that paying more is reasonable — even necessary — when in truth, it’s a tool for profit maximization at your expense. Grocery chains aren't reacting to prices — they're setting them, and using a well-oiled machine of consumer perception to keep you docile while they hike your bill.

The Illusion of Thin Margins and the Profit Truth

They’ll claim razor-thin margins while raking in billions. Don't buy the story. I know the numbers. I’ve seen the wholesale costs and I’ve tracked the sky-high markup percentages. These corporations aren’t victims of inflation — they’re engineers of it.

What Needs to Change — And Why Price Controls Might Be the Only Way Out

Unless the government does what it did in the 1970s and institutes price controls, this runaway freight train will keep barreling down the tracks — crushing households under a mountain of manufactured scarcity and inflated prices. Right now, we’re letting the fox guard the henhouse. And not only is he still hungry, he’s also running the damn store.

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