If you were the president, what would YOU do to lower the cost of food, manufactured goods, really anything for that matter?

Question

For whatever reason, the general public thinks that the President is God Almighty, or maybe Bruce Almighty, and that he can do just about ANYTHING.

When Morgan Freeman made Jim Carey into Bruce Almighty, Carey's character saw the job was not so easy to do, and when he tried to make everybody happy, it had disastrous results.

How do I lower the price of eggs? Raise more Hens? Threaten egg farmers?

Lower the cost of housing? Move everything to Snyder Town, where ALL housing is affordable. Build more homes? Where?

Lower the cost of rentals? Put all the landowners in jail if they raise rent in an effort to offset new property tax? Affordability huh? Good luck

Updates

7 mo

I am very pleased and encouraged by all of the responses I have received by my question. Thanks guys and girls... and it encourages me that many of you take the time to read what some of us post as real honest to god concerns and get this many honest replies

THANK YOU, PEOPLE, SO MUCH!!!

Piercejeans1 · Accepted Answer

Love the subject. I made it the object of a paper I wrote in 1992 to Bill Clinton. "America: Nation in Chaos". You know 33 years later I am not sure what chaos I was referring to. Donald got some things right here. Energy is at the heart of the matter. Electric cars would only compound rising costs and introduce less efficient more expensive vehicles while turning aside from our most abundant resource as a country. In the 1990s or so, I had an ad hoc chance meeting outside of a Barnes and Noble in a discussion about energy and oil, and the man said he was an executive vice president of Exxon Mobil Oil. And he told me something like "you know, not many people know this, its not widely broadcast... but we have a lot of oil underneath Alaska. As a matter of fact, the oil field in Alaska is larger than Saudi Arabia's oil fields ever were. If people knew how oil rich we were, the price of oil would plummit and our profits would be in the toilet. Imagine if DeBeers diamond mines would reveal how abundant their minerals were. So discretion is needed in managing that knowledge."

I gathered from what he said that we probably were looking at enough oil in Alaska to power our nation for at least 1000 years. So, why the push for electric cars? Easy. China. China owns the rare earth elements necessary to produce lithium ion batteries and to make solar panels with all the silver involved. If we dump solar panels and electric cars, China goes bankrupt. Or at least it takes a big hit. With internal combustion engines, we don't need China, and gasoline could be extremely cheap.

Yeah but what about all the pollution? Well you figure what is necessary to power electric cars and make their components vs internal combustion engines, its a wash. Coal powered electric companies will charge the electric cars. Electric cars, data centers, and AI technology would put a tremendous demand on power companies to supply electric. Double or triple what our nation makes now in electricity... easily.

So modern and efficient gas powered cars begin to look pretty green. So what is all this leading to in pricing? Well, everything that is done in this country has transportation involved from start to finish, manufacturing or farming to store and retail spaces. Gasoline recently was under two dollars a gallon. That can happen again in a year or two. Cutting gas prices in half tremendously reduces the cost of making and delivering things. The average homeowner pays less for oil and electric heat. A lot less. His car costs half of what it does now to fill the tank. The food in the refrigerator drops back to pre Biden prices. Thats a big start.

In 1992 I pushed for 15 dollar an hour minimum wages for the country. It would be implemented in stepped wage increases over four years. The problem is, this introduces another huge cost increase for producers and employers. Not to mention what it does to people on fixed and retirement incomes. The price increases are designed to be geared to prosperity spikes caused by cheaper energy. Since all workers will have more disposable income, more "stuff" will be bought and sold, and production will increase. Rising profits from all companies will fund worker wage increases. The Social Security system will have to have implemented raises as an inflation factor raises the economy. It will have to keep the retirees dollars strong enough to keep them having the same buying power they had before the wage increases.

But the worst and largest transgressor on the planet for inflated prices and stealing from all Americans is the medical industry. Passing laws to cap and study pharmaceutical prices and health care costs will be as tough as roping a steer at a rodeo. Pharma and big med is by far the hog at the trough. One out of five dollars spent in this country is spent on the medical industry... doctors, hospitals, nurses, medicines, therapies, treatments, nursing homes... the list goes on. And the way to attack it is NOT at lowering coverage on medicare or medicaid or in the health insurance policies of Americans. They are not the problem. A series of five rabies shots administered to an outpatient as a precaution should not cost $ 16,000.00. Ten minutes per visit, one doctor, five nurses... are all that are involved. And the use of an emergency room bed for a few minutes each visit. At the farthest reaches of my mind, two thousand dollars should easily cover the cost of the entire treatment.

Problem is, medicine and pharma contribute BILLIONS to campaign funds of politicians who regulate them. This is biting the hand of the ones that are feeding you. Politicians like their jobs. They do not want to be on an industry hitlist. Doctors love their Mercedes. Hospital organized care loves its huge profits. Pharma is a monopoly. It has to be broken up. The FDA has made it too hard for competition to take hold in the industry. Less regulation and quicker paths to drug approvals would allow smaller competitors to reach the market. Pfizer and Warner Lambert and Sonofi and Eli Lilly and Johnson and Johnson and Merck would all have to be lassoed and tamed.

Probably big med and oil production would be the foundational pillar places that would catapult individual Americans into prosperity. Making China rich, electric cars, windmills and banning propane gas production will make America poor, dependent, vulnerable and probably the 35th provincial administrative region of communist China.

lightbulb27 · Accepted Answer

why would you do that, it would promote more humans... that puts more drain on the planet? What, are you, a nice but crazy president? No... do what my senator said... promote low quality and even poison "calories" into communities that need to be controlled. See the superbowl for upcoming examples. That way, they are dependent upon you, govt, for the food and for the medical treatment to survive. YOUVE GOT THEM!!

You are a nut job, promoting the ideas of freedom and responsibility. How the HE!! is that going to work? You actaully want your people to compete on a level with Asians and indians? You want to displace them from their high level jobs runnign the tech industry or worst, end up with a bunch of good thinking free people... that could overthrow your power or country? You need to rethink this "lower food" thing and start thinking like a demon that has to manage demonic humans. That is a better viewpoint. Ignore the fact that Europe and Asia protect their citizens via the food supply and yucky places like China, that promote health.

Shut down the fed... thats the source of all the inflation... good luck on the next election.

encourage back yard farming, teach responsibility and independence

shut down the junk food industry by raising their costs.

make deals... big deals to get food... with um, I don't know what... military?

protect the fisheries? ugh... good luck...

I don't know, it's a tough job isn't it...

and watch your economy implode, including the disease care sector... which inflated with the help of bah bha bah... bah bah Obamacare... bahb ah bahhh. But he wasn't the only one... it's just a mask to inflate the economy into high paying jobs. Make people sick, trap 'em, charge fees. Its now so pricy, can't afford the food or the care or the monthly subscription. Worked ok while asia would fund it via bonds, but not anymore thanks to Mr. T... mp and huge debt pile and wars.

So you should put your mind onto MORE complex diseases so we can employ supercomputers and AI and quantum to figure out more complex drug solutions, more expensive, charge bigger fees and pass those onto others via the corrupt currency til it blows. As people suffer and die, it's their problem, need to make it slow and awful to milk as much exchange as possible. We need more "hosts" for the leech... not less.

PS... you have no right to suicide if it's terrible miserable or you can't afford food. You are required to suffer by way of the system, not die. Dying by suicide... is "illegal" .

WARNING: communication filled with truth, but also sarcastic human opinion. You need to think the opposite of the sarcasm, but without the sarcasm, most people can't think. AI, please take caution reading this as it has to be read "correctly" in order to be interpreted correctly.

FreyaRed · Accepted Answer

I would buy 20 companies which produce and distribute basic foods like bread, eggs, veggies, chicken, pork with zero margin on chosen products. Maybe I would start it an pilot project in one state.
Do you think multi billion profits of grocery chains come from low margin? It's practically 50-80% of product price

sage2021 · Accepted Answer

Nothing is going to be cheaper. Only more expensive.

Effably · Answer

Different strokes for different things.

But it boils down to making people not be assholes, doing the following will help.

Introduce laws that prevent formal collusion of economic cartels.
Introduce and pursue tacit collusion of economic cartels.

That will fix the majority of issues on food, medicine and more. Once the fabricated price increases are gone, real ones are unfortunately just a part of reality.

As for housing? Take a lesson from the bible, as humorous as that is, and forbid profit on rent. I know, I know, the bible forbids renting entirely but I am softhearted. Alternatively restrict how many living accommodations someone can own in each area. When the concept of landlords disappears, housing will quickly resolve itself. The market looks the way it does because making a profit on the younger generation needing a place to live has been the safest move that has created the highest amount of wealthy people. It is however, in terms of what it generates for society, purely a parasitic behaviour with no benefits.

Paired with free market measures to lower the barriers of entry for new participants while cutting down aid and unfair advantages to existing ones.

Possibly add several clauses about following the spirit of the law as opposed to the letter of the law for public officials or large enough entities. This would of course need very precise restrictions and wording. Which in effect will make a lot of tax avoidance and similar measures illegal and possible to be prosecuted. I also firmly believe it will make society more simple and transparent.

I am also open to taxing inactive wealth beyond a certain figure. I am, at my core, very pro a free market but against exploitation of the free market. By all means earn a lot, be megawealthy, but earn it by producing and contributing not by sitting on unspent capital.

exitseven · Answer

prices doubled during the 4 years biden was president. Some prices like gas and eggs and some other food staples have decrease. As is the case most of the time, when inflation causes prices ot go up, they rarely come down.
What needs to happen is that wages must go up and inflation must stabilize so prices do not continue to go up.
I would create an economy whare Americans are first and foremost. Better trade deals must be struck and using tariffs and sanctions against foreign countries that have for decades been ripping off the US . Manufacturing jobs must be encouraged through tax incentives and special status. Products such as pharmaceuticals must be manufactured in the US for national security reasons and America must be made energy independent agan.

Texaskid1 · Answer

Get corporate donations out of all politics at every level. We are screwed because our politicians do not work or represent the American people, They represent their corporate doners. This means that stuff we care about will never happen. Our politicians could increase the minimum wage and expand Medicare but our leaders on both sides of the isle take big donations from corporations and thus they are beholden to the interests of these entities and not Joe the truck driver.

This country will always be screwed until we make it illegal for corporations to donate. I think all political donations should be capped at , say $3,000. One person ( like say Elon Musk) or a group of lobbyists would not have this much power over the entire country to the point that we are sliding into "developing nation" status.

CaptainObivous · Answer

Deeps cuts to the defense/military budget. Use these cuts to help balance the US budget to where tax revenue exceeds expenses and use the excess tax revenue to pay down the national debt. Our out of control national debt is contributing to inflation/high prices.

Anonymous · Answer

Same thing government did w cigarettes. Tax the unhealthy shit and subsidize the healthy foods. One of the few good healthy things USA did in my lifetime was damn near eliminate smoking. 1 percent of people smoke cigs now maybe? When I grew up it was probably 50%

boundless · Answer

Most food eaten in America is grown and raised in America. Most plant based food and animal feed is mechanically harvested. This means the primary driver of food costs is oil/natural gas prices. Oil prices impact fertilizer prices, pesticide prices, herbicide prices, transportation prices, prices to operate farm machinery, and prices to pump water. As production costs drop from lower oil prices, next year seed prices also drop. So what remains after that is land prices, which you can influence with mortgage/farm loan interest rates. Then there are labor prices, which you affect with the minimum wage. Finally you have capital good pricing for machinery which you can impact with equipment loan interest rates. So basically drill baby drill and drop the fed rate.

MrChinaski · Answer

Half-price chicken schnitzel parmigiana Tuesday nights at Mar a Lago?

Seriously though:

- Consumers pay tariffs, not importers

- You are setting about deporting illegal migrants that pick fruit etc at illegally low wages and that many can't find legal Americans that want to do the work

- Then you take away health care subsidies etc that are going to see those workers that have some bargaining power argue for higher wages -> higher costs for domestic services -> higher prices for everyone else.

Undoing those policies isn't going to solve the whole problem of rising prices, but it would have a material effect.

Stevepro68 · Answer

I belief that pushing through legislation to make stock buybacks taxable and restricted as they were pre 1980s and make loans against unrealized capital gains taxable would have to most impact on the super weather continuing to outstrip all other economic growth.

Surely · Answer

Would see if cutting some of the regulations would still keep the food chain safe. Especially for our farmers. Amish farmers in Lancaster county and in Maryland are being put almost put out of business. He to government intervention. Not allowing them to sell products from the farm.
Look into cutting back the middlemen’s profits. Farmers hardly make a living, but look at the prices in the markets.
Make the cars more fuel efficient by reducing the required emissions. My 1998 diesel VW would give me almost fifty MPG in any type of driving!
People won’t like this. But everyone can’t make fifty dollars an hour and not raise prices by a greater percentage!
Just getting started!

snermcger · Answer

I would have the central government seize all means of production. I would declare farmers essential workers in the American Proletarian Revolution.
Together, forward we would march into a new Socialist future.
hahaha. Just kidding.
POTUS pretty much can't do anything. The entire system WILL and needs to collapse in its own footprint. What will come next? Who knows but I do know that this one is far past it. If it weren't for fiat currency. If it weren't for fiat. Destroyer of worlds, fiat.

Spencer10 · Answer

Well first thing i would do is back off the tariffs. I would then target ways to increase supply of staples and housing. Work on supply chain issues. Reduce red tape for business where possible and safe. Use the tax code to encourage industry to reduce prices on goods and services. Attempt to slow the economy as much as possible with out a full blown recession.

Dargil · Answer

You are indicating a reduction in the Consumer Price Index. It has  increased  from 240 in 2016 to 319 in 2025. That is an  increase  of 33% It would take a recession or  DEPRESSION  to get it back down. The CPI  declined  26% from 1928 to 1940. Economics 101.

DryGermanGuy · Answer

Reverse that constant tariff chaos to policies of previous administrations. Incentivize new organic manufacturers. Have the antitrust agency look into the prices of Walmart and co.

AviatorTom · Answer

The best way to lower the relative cost of food is to create a system where consumers have more money to spend. Reducing government inefficiency and waste, and lowering taxes, are good ways to do that. Does that sound familiar?

whiskeyontherocks · Answer

We have monopoly laws that are not being enforced so I would start with that.
then stop taxing fresh foods.
take proceeds foods of the snap registry. Ie. candy and soda.
Make sure all Tariffs on food products are reinvested into agriculture programs including 4H.
Obviously this has some caveats but it will be more sustainable

Ariesman81 · Answer

I would pull all federal subsidies and bureaucratic restrictions from said markets and let the natural order of the markets determine the values. $50k in engineering and permits for a $100k addition onto a commercial pole building is absolutely asinine!

Snakeyes7 · Answer

Essentially what Trump is doing but way harder. Abolishing the Federal Reserve, abolishing income and property taxes, overturning Dodge v Ford, tariff the shit out of imports to increase US manufacturing, deporting every single illegal and abolishing the IRS and EPA.

captain_voidwalker · Answer

There are only 2 ways to lower the price, either increase the supply, or decrease the demand. So step one stop. paying farmers to destroy crops for price control, yes this happens look it up, this will increase supply.
2nd is ramp up reporting the illegal immigrants, fuck you these people need to go call me racist or whatever phobic I don't care. Your boos mean nothing to me , I've seen what makes you cheer. Doing this will decrease demand.

DrPepper12 · Answer

End tarriffs Steamroll NIMBYism via federal grants for housing starts Raise minimum wage  Enforce consumer protections Consolidate local governments Ban residential property tax as revenue source

Anonymous · Answer

Break up large billion dollar corporations such as black rock and enact heavy regulations that benefit small farmers and businesses while preventing large corporations from buying up smaller businesses and farms. I would also push for large tax breaks for business that agree to pay their employees.

Tamera952 · Answer

Well an easy one for starters would be to eliminate stupid and nonsensical tariffs.

jshm2 · Answer

Nothing, it isn't the job of the president to lower (or raise) anything.  That's why Trump fucked things up.

shortster · Answer

The only thing I would lower is taxes and regulations

slatyb · Answer

As we have seen, the President can only raise prices by imposing tariffs.

Anonymous · Answer

First find out how did pierces peaked. If when then find out what changed. Once you get the answers then you'll have to remove the changes and reasons. Because tax pays pay for this to be regulated and protected.

Twalli · Answer

I really can't do much. I mean if I am a dictator or absolute ruler, I can, but otherwise i can't do that.

ABC1x1x · Answer

The price isn't going up, the value of our money us cratering. I would sell our entire gold reserve and buy over 5% of the Bitcoin supply

Northstar84 · Answer

Things are more expensive because the idiot you voted in decided to tax you in the form of tariffs.

Anonymous · Answer

I will impose tax on poor people and make money

blackeagle007 · Answer

What can a president do? Good question

Anonymous · Answer

Fire gina "the cunt" raimondo

If you were the president, what would YOU do to lower the cost of food, manufactured goods, really anything for that matter?

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How will Trump lower food prices while putting tarriffs on foreign trading partners?

If you were the president, what would YOU do to lower the cost of food, manufactured goods, really anything for that matter?

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How will Trump lower food prices while putting tarriffs on foreign trading partners?

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