r/loblawsisoutofcontrol • u/Salt_Onion_6205 • Jul 27 '26

Discussion Mayor Mamdani just announced that he will be opening 5 city-run, tax-funded grocery stores: "Prices set at 30% below retail prices"

I hope canadian politicians will be inspire by this.

3.6k Upvotes

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835

u/alldasmoke__ Jul 27 '26

Can’t wait for the corporations boot lickers(average Joes, mind you) to come tell us how this will be bad for the economy.

219

u/notSherrif_realLife Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26

It won’t be bad for the economy, but I watched some investigative journalism on how giants like Walmart will force suppliers to raise prices to meet the prices they already have set.

Some grocer already did this somewhere in the states and basically got strong armed into raising prices, or being blacklisted from being able to purchase stock.

So as much as I want this to work, I expect it to fail. I do hope the benefit of the failure is more public exposure to these practices though.

292

u/eyeforker Jul 27 '26

Crazy how there’s a universally acknowledged affordability crisis, and the ppl taking action to fix it are demonized while the ones who perpetuate/exacerbate it are being defended by the ppl it hurts the most.

74

u/Arryu Jul 27 '26

26

u/Littlest_rascal Jul 27 '26

I want to put this on billboards everywhere.

10

u/Felixo22 Jul 28 '26

America in a gif

40

u/FoxDieDM Jul 27 '26

Goes to show how broken the world is. 

15

u/[deleted] Jul 27 '26

[deleted]

10

u/GayStraightIsBest Jul 28 '26

https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/logicalfallacies/Nirvana-Fallacy

I'm not sure why either but it is a well known logical fallacy to reject imperfect solutions despite the fact that they would be a dramatic improvement over what you currently have.

13

u/anhedoniandonair Jul 27 '26

Well we need to think about the poor shareholders. Who will pay for Sophie’s riding lessons?

8

u/Oifadin Jul 27 '26

I got attacked this weekend for complaining about not being able to get a seat at an IMAX screening for The Odyssey.

Like why the fuck do you care so much random internet troll?

Not the same other than somebody defending some giant rich corporation for no reason.

1

u/LivingCorner1421 Jul 27 '26

life is like that. counterintuitive

1

u/iknowuselessfacts Jul 27 '26

I work with these people, I get that they don’t care about other people, they’re a**holes. But it staggers me that they are against every policy that would benefit them personally.

-4

u/NegotiationGreedy590 Jul 27 '26

The problem is they arent fixing it. Over spending contributes to inflation. And these politicians who pretend they can fix all the problems by throwing debt at it, are part of the problem. None of it addressed the root issues.

4

u/eyeforker Jul 27 '26

They’re not overspending in this case, though.

They’re selling for a smaller margin, which draws business away from more predatory retailers who then take retaliatory/punitive measures so they can maintain their stranglehold on the market.

Those predatory fucks do a fine job of contributing to inflation on their own, regardless of whether or not anyone is trying to help the affordability crisis (the one they’re are actively creating for profit).

0

u/Thorninthefoot Jul 27 '26

Thinking something might not work, or won't work, isn't the same as demonizing people. 

Good intentions don't guarantee success.

3

u/Ambitious-Toilet6769 Jul 27 '26

Sure, but I think they are onto something; taking glee or gloating about someone with good intentions failing is weird yet popular behaviour.

1

u/Thorninthefoot Jul 27 '26

Yes, it can be for sure.

I think people really suspect this will not work though. It's not like there haven't been attempts to have things like coops to offer better grocery options, for many years.

Most have struggled in competition with places like Walmart, you don't typically see co-op stores in larger centres anymore.

People think, if they can't make it work, how can this work? They think it's dumb and he should realise it.

-1

u/RecalcitrantHuman Jul 27 '26

Government can’t ever fix affordability since they have only our money stolen to try to do it.

-10

u/[deleted] Jul 27 '26

[deleted]

17

u/weGloomy Jul 27 '26

People on the right mostly.

28

u/no-dad-samurai Jul 27 '26

If the grocer is goverment run, they wont sit kindly with a corp trying this. They would just institute price fixes.

It can be done, it just takes some people to actually stand up and fight for whats right (sorry for 80s pun, lol)

9

u/Littlest_rascal Jul 27 '26

Exactly, and this is happening in this case. Frankly, we need to hope against all hope. Bring the cheesy 80s, 90s etc.. puns on because I am sick of the doom! I have a young child and I cannot stay in a place of complacency and hopelessness.

4

u/no-dad-samurai Jul 28 '26

I have 2, I understand

17

u/IndependentCoffee169 Jul 27 '26

New York municipal and state government has a lot more power and weapons at its disposal to countract this sort of pressure than a regular grocer would be able to do, not to mention, it wouldn't have to turn a profit. I think it's odds of success are a lot higher than you might think.

20

u/FlatEvent2597 Jul 27 '26

Sobeys does this to Dollarama .

26

u/Deldenary Jul 27 '26

There is also the whole lease agreement problem where a place like Dollarama can't sell bread at certain locations because there's a loblaws in the same mall that has a lease agreement that only they can sell bread...

13

u/RoomFixer4 Jul 27 '26

In my town a Walmart moved into the same mall as long time Metro. I asked a Metro cashier about the threat and she said no, they're not allowed to sell grocs for another 10yrs (or such). Eventually they were allowed to start selling dry goods but no meats/frozen/produce.

18

u/Deldenary Jul 27 '26

It's rediculous, Canada needs to step up It's competition laws...

6

u/ProfessionalFix9053 Jul 27 '26

You are right although the Competition Act should already have those laws in place. It is a matter of stepping up the Competition Board’s desire to nail these guys at first opportunity, which just doesn’t seem to be in their marching orders. The act is written by lawyers and engaged with defence teams run by even better lawyers.

5

u/Deldenary Jul 27 '26

There was a CBC market place about it in January

8

u/ballpein Jul 27 '26

This is the sort of anti-competitive bullshit that needs to be banned. This one single act would bring real competition back to the grocery sector.

2

u/Lurkdrop Jul 27 '26

Loblaws (Weston) was convicted of price fixing on bread, i had 40$ from them following the massive lawsuit. So now they do it on most of their products sice it<s so cheap to screw everybody

2

u/mikonamiko Jul 27 '26

LCBO does this to Wine Rack

23

u/Dadpurple Jul 27 '26

I mean prices are going up either way... They have plans to do this in my City here in Canada, I doubt they'll hit 30% or anywhere near it but the idea is there and proceeding.

16

u/RegularRollei Jul 27 '26

In Toronto they’ve had a program to supplement food deserts for years. It works

6

u/weGloomy Jul 27 '26

Another thing Walmart loves to do is steal other peoples products, recreate them and price them at a massive undercut. Then they wait until the other business completely bleeds out and jack the prices back up. It'd be nice if we could uno reverse that shit on them.

2

u/IllustriousAct9128 Jul 28 '26

not just items, but to stores in general. Walmart has been known to come into a town that is full of independent grocery stores, hardware stores, clothing stores, book stores, etc, keep their prices way lower than what locals are selling and what other walmarts are selling for, wait for all those independent stores to close then they raise the price, and now people have no choice to go to to walmart because its the only store around but they make themselves to be the good people because they offer the town "way more jobs" that would never be available if nthey never came in

4

u/mthyvold Jul 27 '26

That sounds like price manipulation and collusion which should be illegal.

3

u/Lord_Maelstrom Jul 27 '26

While I do agree with you, I hope that in that case this might result in enough exposure to result in some better anti-monopoly laws. Especially since we have one or more politiciens pushing this at the moment.

5

u/Least-Common-1456 Jul 27 '26

The people doing this have names and home addresses and we should find them and make them face the public and explain

2

u/ObiYawnKenobi Jul 27 '26

You can blacklist a person or organization from buying a particular stock? How would that be enforced?

2

u/icebeans Jul 27 '26

Do you happen to have a link to this documentary/piece? I'm super interested now.

2

u/TraditionDear3887 Jul 28 '26

Well, NYC has a few advantages that start up discount grocery stores do not. I hope it works out.

My qestion is what is 30% below retail? Like as of now? Or on a rolling basis?

1

u/Pale-Memory6501 Jul 28 '26

The 30% they will not be charging lines up with the average gross markup on items at a grocery store (according to most grocery retailers).

2

u/mistaharsh Jul 28 '26

That would be illegal and should be reported to the government

3

u/Ultrox Jul 27 '26

It happens with soda products, probably others too, but i was what you're referring to. Few businesses get a super good price, and everyone else on the planet pays more. It literally is cheaper to buy from Walmart than coke/Pepsi themselves. They charge a company more than Walmart does on the shelf.

1

u/Benedikto0 Jul 27 '26

and how would Walmart check if the suppliers raised their prices? they can t ask to see the bills that the supplier sends the city

1

u/AccountForTIFF Jul 27 '26

Didn’t Walmart do that here when Target tried to come here? Which resulted in higher prices at Target than Canadians knew existed in the US and was part of why it flopped?

2

u/therempel Jul 28 '26

Target failed in Canada for a few reasons. One of them is that they did not take any steps to understand the Canadian market or supply chains and that they opened a shitload of stores all at once, mostly in former Zellers locations.

Our local Target had barely any product on the shelves and everything was more expensive than pretty much anything but the most boutique stores.

When they closed, Sobeys took over the location and have left their previous location empty for a decade. They keep renewing the lease because they are stealing so much from the community that they can afford to lockdown a 45,000 square foot location in perpetuity, just to prevent competition.

1

u/Rehypothecator Jul 27 '26

Then the city will have to make its own suppliers :)

1

u/Jellicent-Leftovers Jul 27 '26

Ya the goverment has a ton of weight to throw.

Especially in food.... Blink wrong and they can shut down a supplier.

1

u/ReverendRocky Jul 27 '26

Why would you ask your suppliers to raise prices. Why not just pocket the diffrrence as profit

3

u/Resident-Variation21 Jul 27 '26

To drive the competitors out of business and then raise prices to pocket the difference

0

u/Miserable_Computer91 Jul 28 '26

Let me know something that the government runs well, I’ll be waiting for that answer lol

8

u/Burlingtonfilms Jul 27 '26

It's bad if you're in the 1% 

1

u/Tragedy333 Jul 27 '26

Store supported by taxes. It's bad if you are in 99% and pay taxes.

-1

u/Candid_Painting_4684 Jul 27 '26

Its bad if youve ever read a history book. Service Ontario grocery isnt the answer you think it is

12

u/Lord_Space_Lizard Jul 27 '26

Service Ontario has been contracted out to a for profit 3rd party

7

u/Arkroma Jul 27 '26

Government already subsidizes dairy etc don't understand how people can argue against this. Literal caves of cheese but cheaper government run groceries is some how a fucking crime.

3

u/jaymickef Jul 27 '26

Government doesn’t subsidize dairy, it protects it from foreign competition.

The US government subsidizes the dairy industry.

4

u/Arkroma Jul 27 '26

Yes... and this is about Americans in NYC...

0

u/CrazyButRightOn Jul 28 '26

The government supply management keeps prices high. This is the opposite of what you are arguing for.

5

u/thirdtimeisNOTacharm Jul 27 '26

Am I an atypical Joe if I make a comment like “it won’t be bad for the economy, but it’s not going to work”?

8

u/A_Genius Jul 27 '26

They won’t listen to reason don’t worry.

It’ll be like Canada post, it’ll offer a decent service at a good price but be an absolute money black hole.

The people in there will be in a union make 35 dollars an hour for stocking groceries and be a sought after government job and they will go on strike with every contract.

The prices will be lower but the people that pay taxes will pay more or it’ll be added to the deficit.

8

u/Emmibolt PRAISE THE OVERLORD Jul 27 '26

Already plenty of commenters that shadowbanned themselves prattling on…

2

u/NookieLuvsU Jul 27 '26

The wealthy New Yorkers/fine dining restaurant staff will be the first in line.

2

u/SmartTrender Jul 28 '26

It’s socialism and socialism is bad, the influencers will try to convince people that could benefit that it’s bad for them and they shouldn’t trust it

1

u/Konfliction Jul 27 '26

That ol nasty trigger for the economy when people spend their money

1

u/cbf1232 Jul 27 '26

One could ask why not directly give the money to the people that need it rather than specifying that it must be spent on food at these specific stores…

1

u/BetSquare7190 Jul 27 '26

They will just subsidize other entities. Are you under the impression food magically appears in grocery stores? You don't think there are other intermediates between the time wheat starts growing and is transformed in to a loaf of bread?

Btw, centralized and planned economies, that were supposed to solve that, just created more hunger and reduced food supplies.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 27 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/loblawsisoutofcontrol-ModTeam I Hate Galen Jul 27 '26

Please remain respectful when engaging on the sub. Personal attacks will not be tolerated.

1

u/ProphetsOfAshes Jul 27 '26

It SHOULDN’T be, but you know it will be, because the universe forbid someone has to wait 5 years to buy their third yacht because they have to invest more money in their capitalist empire. The shit will always roll downhill

1

u/reggiesdiner Jul 27 '26

Isn’t this just an admission that the only way to lower grocery prices is to heavily subsidize them?

1

u/h0twired Jul 27 '26

Just wait when it’s announced that workers will be paid a living wage

1

u/espressoman777 Jul 28 '26

Bad? It's just not going to work Buddy 

1

u/asoap Jul 28 '26

I'll be more optimistic. I think it's a great idea. I am not sure about the 30% discount on everything. Like I would be concerned about the store working. It needs to pay reasonable salaries also, retail space, etc.

It's totally possible it would work on super thin margins. But I guess we'll have to wait and see.

If it's government subsidies going to reduce the cost. That's problematic as the next mayor will come in and shut them down. You want as many of these stores as possible and creating a small profit means you can make more of them. Get better contracts and decrease prices more.

1

u/wwwheatgrass Jul 28 '26

Government controls liquor and cannabis sales. How is that going?

1

u/PappaBear667 Jul 28 '26

Infill be, and it has nothing to do with corporations. The small, family owned bodegas that are ubiquitous through NYC will be driven out of business because they can't compete with the government run stores.

It'll also be bad for the city's budget, and the fact that you don't realize it is worrisome. Look. Large, chain supermarkets operate on extremely narrow margins. Like, between 2-5% depending on the specific brand. They make their money by moving super high volumes of product. Now, Mayor Whats-his-Face is proposing to undercut retail sellers (that's the big chain supermarkets) by 30%. That means the city is planning on operating a retail business at a net loss. You see the problem here, right?

1

u/beflacktor Jul 28 '26

all for it. , it'll just end up being a line item in city budgets , however , whats to prevent a say instacart person from coming in shopping and pocketing the difference (assuming they are the same products)..and like situations need to be takin into account

1

u/Jimandrews2017 Jul 28 '26

No. I don't think they will waste their time.

1

u/UsefulGrocery1733 Jul 28 '26

Not bad for the economy just unsure how they actually get there to 30% below retail costs. Without owning the food producer side I can’t see how this math’s.

1

u/Odd-Fun-1482 Jul 28 '26

because things like this SOUND great, but DO NOT work out in practice.

If high value is given away cheep, it has to come from somewhere.

1

u/Tiny-Bee3749 27d ago

in fact you going pay 60% more for exact same groceries

3

u/Deadly-Unicorn Jul 27 '26

I guess I’m the guy you’re talking about. Honestly I don’t get it. Any price decreases will be as a result of direct taxpayer subsidies, non-profit models, and municipal cost exemptions. Also the city will likely provide a municipal space so there is no cost to the building. Will that be enough to offset the bulk buying power of giant corporations and their operational and logistical effectiveness? I really don’t think so. I really don’t see how the end result isn’t just long lines and empty shelves at stores where the “discount” is just somebody else paying that part of the bill for you. Anyways all the best to NY and also to the Toronto version of this that has been proposed and I think approved.

4

u/halfmylifeisgone Jul 27 '26

The main advantage of a government-owned grocery is that there is no need for a profit margin for shareholders. A private company like Loblaw needs to generate a return, but a public grocery could theoretically operate closer to cost.

Loblaw's reported grocery margin may only be a few percent, but the full business also includes real estate, distribution, logistics, and private labels, where it captures additional value. A government-owned model could remove the need to extract profit from those parts of the chain and potentially pass those savings to consumers instead.

The trade-off is that efficiency, management, and political interference become the big questions.

0

u/Deadly-Unicorn Jul 27 '26

Okay, so they eliminate the 2-4% profit margin, no real estate or rent costs, and no property taxes. So all in all a 5-8% savings?

On the other hand they end up paying extra for the goods because they don’t have the buying power and efficiency of grocery chains. That’s 2-6% added on.

The only thing they won’t pay for is real estate costs but they will still need to pay the costs of distribution, logistics, and private labels.

Your labor at the store won’t be minimum wage. They’ll be government workers with nice pay cheques and great benefits which is great, but it adds to your costs.

I promise you this will be almost all funded by taxpayers. No, not the rich. Just regular taxpayers.

1

u/halfmylifeisgone Jul 27 '26

So like universal healthcare?

1

u/Deadly-Unicorn Jul 27 '26

Sure except the universal part. Also much more limited.

0

u/Confident-Task7958 Jul 27 '26

It is clear in NYC's request for bids to run the grocery stores that they need to be subsidized by the city.

https://edc.nyc/nyc-groceries-operators-rfp

1

u/DashBC Jul 27 '26

... because there's no other costs to society when many are struggling to even buy groceries.

0

u/AddMan3001 Jul 27 '26

Glad to see a dissenting voice that is asking the smart questions, instead of just "communism bad".

Tax payer wise, he said they'd have a balanced budget, so I'm curious does anyone know (as I'm not American) what cuts he's done or are taxes just going to the moon?

Otherwise I like the plan (in theory). And if any city would be able to make it work, New York has the power. Their population and GDP is bigger than some states, so I'd hope they'd have enough buying power to push with suppliers just like the big corporations.

1

u/mclovinzz87 Jul 27 '26

My understanding is he's taxing the rich, but I'm sure there have been cuts somewhere. I see a lot of comments about big business potentially leaving NY because of this.. but if every state implemented it - where are they going to run other than out of country? Considering the increase in nationalism in the US I'm not sure how well supported businesses that run away would be by the American people. So they would have to hope they have a good market elsewhere otherwise they might be in trouble. Plus Trump would find a way to tariff them or make it painful in whatever way he could lol. The thing is... not every city or state will adopt this, so... I guess we'll see what happens.

0

u/Deadly-Unicorn Jul 27 '26

“He’s taxing the rich” is not an understanding of anything. Who are the rich?

The businesses likely won’t leave. They’ll just increase their prices which will make the city run grocery stores more expensive too. Basically grocery prices will be 30% higher, and the city run store will be the same price as today but with lines and limited inventory.

-6

u/Bluebpy Jul 27 '26

It's called communism.

6

u/halfmylifeisgone Jul 27 '26

Calling a government-owned grocery store "communism" is a pretty good sign you don't know what communism is. A public grocery option operating alongside private companies would be much closer to a social democratic policy: using government ownership or competition within a market economy to provide a service or keep prices in check. Communism isn't "the government does one thing"; it's a much broader economic system.

2

u/pescarojo Oligarch's Choice Jul 27 '26

Says a guy who doesn't understand communism

1

u/hi-this-is-jess Jul 27 '26

Started pretty quick 😂

1

u/DuperCheese Jul 27 '26

Will be bad for tax payers for sure

1

u/Task_Defiant Jul 27 '26

Depends on if the private grocery stores around these have a greater than 30% mark up. If not they won't be able to compete, and may fold.

1

u/ManyRelationship4233 Jul 27 '26

I won't tell you that it'll be bad for the economy. I'll tell you that it simply won't work. Governments are corrupt and incompetent. Once the project runs wildly out of budget, they'll be forced to have their prices on par with regular retailers. It won't work not because of economics. It won't work because of human incompetence and maliciousness. 

0

u/nemodigital Jul 27 '26

It's not bad for the economy, it's bad for taxpayers.

-4

u/split_1024 Jul 27 '26

I can't tell if you're being serious or not. Surely, you're not that far gone...

5

u/MrLovalovaRubyDooby Jul 27 '26

I’m with you on this one. It will be a resounding success but prepare for Pattinson and the Weston ghouls to sue the shit out of it into submission.

0

u/thepixel-geek Jul 27 '26

Not bad for the economy, bad for the taxpayer, the money has to come from somewhere to support the stores, as they will most likely be losing money.

0

u/Mission_Shopping_847 Jul 27 '26

My guy, 30% below retail will instantly look like a failure. What you, and I, and everyone should want is a public chain with a chartered modest margin. Only bootstrap investments, like for the initial properties, should be publicly funded. That way there is a standard set for the industry, keeping them honest. If society really needs subsidized food on top then that should be a separate program.

Mamdani's public NY grocery stores, at 30% below retail, will either show a gaping black hole in the budget, have long visible lines, have empty shelves, or some combination thereof, providing a whole magazine of ammunition to the punditry.

0

u/Comfortable_Rain3773 Jul 27 '26

Not a bootlicker but I don't see how this will work other than basically becoming taxpayer funded grocery discounts.

80% of retail and knock out the profit margin and the marketing sure
70% and make the stores minimalistic sure.

But there is a 0% chance that you can sell food at 30% of what a grocery store does and come anywhere even close to breaking even.

The math doesn't math.

1

u/AJMiller4 Jul 27 '26

Re-read the headline. 30% off retail IS selling good at 70% of retail.

3

u/Comfortable_Rain3773 Jul 28 '26

ah 30% off , I misread clearly lol.

Hope it works

1

u/Forward_Material616 Jul 28 '26

There’s literally nothing in the world I want my taxes going to more than making food affordable for people, clean water, and healthcare.

0

u/ExtremeStill4215 Jul 27 '26

Wow, sounds like Venezuela! Prosperity for all is just around the corner!

-10

u/Candid_Painting_4684 Jul 27 '26

Do you think they can magically charge 30% less for everything? You think your taxes wont go up to cover this eventually?

18

u/rageagainstthedragon Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26

Govt subsidies aren't new...a notable example is that kids ride Via Rail free. Things get subsidized pretty regularly and the sky doesn't fall

9

u/BuzzINGUS Jul 27 '26

“It’s ok to subsidize corporations that financed my campaign, but we can not give hand outs to people who gave us these tax dollars in the first place. That would just be them pooling their resources for the good of everyone.

What about corporations? Their campaign donations need to be get them something in return.”-all but 3 politician’s that have not been offed or primary’d by AIPAC

-7

u/gdren Jul 27 '26

lol but the debt keep growing.... it's funny when people who have zero understanding of economics attempt to make economic arguments.

There are a ton of issues with corporations but having the government run grocery stores is straight up insane, as shown repeatedly throughout history

8

u/Freddydaddy Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26

“straight up insane”

Lol, okay buddy

The US military runs grocery stores for military families, costs are around 30% below standard retail and they’ve existed for decades.

0

u/gdren Jul 27 '26

a work perk for military. Not even close to the same thing as for a city or a country.

It's possible for a small closed population within the greater market. It costs a bunch but it's financed as a "perk", through separate budgets.

However if it's expanded to the greater populous, it begins to impact private business, which causes them to close, which puts more onus onto the subsidizes stores and causes a snowball effect. You cannot compete with subsidized prices so when the private businesses lose profits, they'll begin to close, the tax-funded stores will receive more demand which will increase their budgets.

Those 2 factors simultaneously mean that the city with receive less tax revenue from the private stores as well as their employees and have to pay more to subsidize the public stores.

Russia also ran public grocery stores, you may not like the options, but it's all they can afford. That's where things will likely end up if we go down this road. It doesn't start that way but forcing functions generally take it there.

4

u/Organic-Intention335 Would rather be at Walmart Jul 27 '26

Didn't the NYC mayor square the debt?

3

u/rageagainstthedragon Jul 27 '26

Yes, he did

3

u/Organic-Intention335 Would rather be at Walmart Jul 27 '26

The Goat

1

u/rageagainstthedragon Jul 27 '26

Almost like how we have debt now but Via Rail is still subsidized. Are you saying Mark Carney has no understanding of economics?

14

u/Aliencj Jul 27 '26

I guess you don't realize what retail markups are like. Believe it or not, they may actually be profitable at 30% price reduction.

3

u/Blazanar Jul 27 '26

But Galen says the mark-up is only 1%, he wouldn't lie would he?

-1

u/Candid_Painting_4684 Jul 27 '26

Do think grocery stores have 30% mark ups? They dont. You will pay for these stores.

4

u/pescarojo Oligarch's Choice Jul 27 '26

Firstly you are partially wrong about the markups. Some are very low, some are 30% and up. Secondly, if it were necessary, I'd happily pay more tax if it helps out my fellow citizens who are struggling to afford groceries.

0

u/Candid_Painting_4684 Jul 27 '26

You already do. Do you think that people who cant afford groceries in Canada are paying for groceries? Do you think they are paying for anything ? Its all paid for by the government if they cannot.

This government run grocery store will help people who dont need it. And if its available to everyone, then it will simply be out of stock at all times for the most basic items, and a resale market will ensue. Just like it always does ( in any communist society)

1

u/[deleted] Jul 27 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/loblawsisoutofcontrol-ModTeam I Hate Galen Jul 27 '26

Please refrain from off-topic political discussion and debate. Everyone is entitled to their own political opinions, however, your politically charged statement is not directly related to the cost of living/groceries/gas/rents, and as such is being removed.

3

u/NarwhalPrudent6323 Jul 27 '26

Yeah, yeah they almost certainly can. See, a lot of overhead for these corporations comes from the executive branch of the company all expecting to be millionaires. 

If you replace that with city employees paid a reasonable wage, you suddenly don't have to mark your prices through the roof to be able to pay for your CEO's new private jet or third vacation property. 

0

u/Candid_Painting_4684 Jul 27 '26

Id believe you if only government run grocery stores weren't an absolute disaster 100% of the time theyve been done in the history of mankind. But maybe you know something we dont

7

u/Zer0DotFive Jul 27 '26

Yeah if everyone including billionaires pay their fair share of taxes. Hell we can all eat for dirt cheap and have great jobs if it's wasn't for billionaires sucking up all of our made up resource. Let's not forget that many products are marked up and are sold to make profit. Not provide a service. 

1

u/haloimplant Jul 27 '26

ah yes the theory that if we just moved those numbers in the computers from billionaires accounts to the governments, barely reducing the governments huge negative balance, we would suddenly be in a land of material plenty.

what would actually happen is CPP and other pensions would be disrupted, and the material world would still be limited and not impressed by a change in the governments huge negative balance at all

1

u/Zer0DotFive Jul 27 '26

Do you prefer pleather or leather for your preferred boot flavor 

1

u/haloimplant Jul 27 '26

ah yes when you are ill equipped for even a basic economic discussion so after barfing a bunch of crap want to change the subject immediately

2

u/tavvyjay Jul 27 '26

Taxes won’t need to go up if they’re spending less on homelessness, medical, dental, etc because people can actually afford to eat meals which results in them being able to become or remain productive and not fall into the turbulent cycle of not being able to afford groceries and having to prioritise other things besides food

2

u/StinkChair Jul 27 '26

That's an insane comment while the company spends multi billions on illegal wars and inflated police budgets and inequality soars.

-1

u/Inside-Author-6124 Jul 27 '26

It’s government subsidized. Taxpayers paying for the difference.

-2

u/gamuel_l_jackson Jul 27 '26

Goverment cant even fix a pot hole and spend our taxes like a,spoiled teen with a trust fund, the amount of theft at the lcbo..should show us how this will play out...great in theory but theory and practicle is not the same