Corporations squeezed the public to a breaking point and they’re now backing off a tiny bit to ensure that people can continue to spend, spend, spend. They’ll keep toeing the line as much as possible, that’s just capitalism.

Anecdotally, in 2020 at the start of the pandemic I could feed a family of 2 for around $35/week by bargain hunting. Kept many spreadsheets of shopping lists and costs. The same deal-hunting strategy now costs around $80/week. These new deals might get me down to, what, $70? $75?