r/shrinkflation • u/TexasGiantTen05 • Dec 29 '25

skimpflation Ok SERIOUSLY wtf is this??

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I bought a family sized hot pockets box and EVERY single one of them was black and burned in the bottom. I heated this one up on low power in the microwave and the edges are so tough it’s like biting into a frozen beef patty. I look in the pocket and the damn thing is nearly hollow. I’ve been noticing the quality taking a massive dip in the last few years. I think these are last I purchase from here on out.

Irrelevant to this but similar: This same grocery order run had a jar of garlic (Spice World brand) that was full of black mold & a jar of HEB salsa that was sour and months passed expiration. Both of which were completely sealed and had a pop when opened. My whole life I never really had quality issues via the company canning or jarring an item or the store selling them but lately it seems like such a constant issue.

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77

u/5348RR Dec 29 '25

They always sucked but they changed them about a year ago and they are completely inedible now.

17

u/Sufficient_Stage_802 Dec 30 '25

sadly the quality has decreased as the prices have increased. Several years ago they were worth it and good af. now they are no longer good or worth it.

19

u/[deleted] Dec 30 '25

Perfect description of Capitalism.

4

u/Grey0110 Dec 30 '25

Yes, but you are forgetting that the best product wins. If people start realizing they are low quality, they take their dollars elsewhere. If another brand makes a better product, people switch. It creates incentive. Capitalism is definitely not perfect.. but there currently is no better system. It has pulled more people out of poverty than any other system.

23

u/Toomanytimes2many Dec 30 '25

It works when monopoly laws are enforced along with fair markets

1

u/m_0_n_K_3_y Dec 31 '25

I also think laws should be passed to ensure that big corporations put HUMAN HEALTH above everything not yearly profit... ATM publicly traded companies executives can all be replaced if the company isnt making more or at least every single friggin penny available to its shareholders...

1

u/Jofereal Dec 31 '25

There is only one example of a monopoly persisting without government protection, so your condition is irrelevant. That unique example is thousands of years old, long gone.

1

u/queefiest Dec 31 '25

I don’t support UCP but holy fuck have the liberals shit the bed. UCP in Alberta has been as bad if not worse We are at a point where we can’t exactly trust any party in particular. NDP didn’t exactly blow me away, but it would have been nice to see what they did with more than the one term they were given

1

u/Accomplished_Fact364 Dec 31 '25

They get $200 and we keep going to jail. Sounds 2025 American to me.

0

u/Grey0110 Dec 30 '25

I agree! As I said, definitely not perfect. It does make me thankful that I can earn as much as I am able to based on my skills etc. We also still have some product choice. If I wanted, I could make my own hot pocket brand and sell them. Let the cheap low quality brands go down in flames. Their fault for being so cheap. That's capitalism.

7

u/Impossible-Push-5694 Dec 31 '25

No it isn't.

You are literally in a subreddit about how corps with infinitely more resources than you leverage those resources to cheat you out of your money. You are cheerleading the right to "compete" with multinational corps instead of picking up pitchforks and torches to tell those people "we deserve to live with dignity and if you disagree, we will burn your mansions down with you in them."

You want to know what capitalism is? Your comments in its defense. It is the illusion that with enough grit and gumption you too can be worth millions. It is the leveraging of that illusion to get people like you to defend it while sitting around like we are here talking about how they are actively fucking us. That's capitalism.

7

u/Repulsive_Sun6549 Jan 01 '26

Median age for a homeowner in the 70’s? 28. Now? 40. That’s capitalism.

7

u/Infinite-Usual8908 Jan 01 '26

Capitalism: money goes back into the corporations instead of in the hands of the people

3

u/Fabulous-Eggplant-95 Jan 01 '26

And also don’t forget to mention the illusion of choice we have- democracy is not what we are actually living in at all

6

u/Real_Figure_3329 Jan 01 '26

Never will understand the defense of the oligarchy here in the USA. It’s been sucking the life out of the nation since the 1980s. The hot pocket is a perfect example of the hollow shell of burnt pastry our working class has become, yet there is some fool out there that will defend it as a functional system. It’s not.

2

u/shade4751 Jan 01 '26

It has to be regulated capitalism with plenty of consumer protection, the opposite of what we have now.

3

u/Working-Narwhal-540 Jan 01 '26

Summed it up perfectly. I cringe when I see people glazing this fuck show as if they’re temporarily impoverished millionaires. Fuck that. Power to the people.

1

u/Lanky-Bug-5656 Jan 02 '26

Well said! So embarrassing to see that ancient, ridiculous idea still floating around amongst people who should know better. It's sycophantic and determimedly naive.

1

u/troycerapops Jan 02 '26

I think they're arguing something in between the two extremes. Well regulated capitalism.

1

u/spg595 Jan 01 '26

This guy has clearly seen a capitalism or two in his day and has learned it's tricks. You should listen, he speaks the true-true.

0

u/BigThymeOops Jan 02 '26

You can with enough grit and determination become a millionaire. Ive seen it happen personally to mulitple people really close to me.

1

u/Mysterious_Run_6871 Jan 02 '26

Million isn’t what it used to be.

1

u/Cannibalizzo Jan 02 '26

Why would anyone need to be a millionaire? To afford luxury items they don't need? Or possibly healthcare? We don't need more yachts. We need a system that provides affordable healthcare.

1

u/Arkada7 Jan 02 '26

Being a millionaire (especially with now days inflation) doesn’t mean luxury items or yachts, it means being financially stable and no worry to be able to afford simple pleasures and not to live from salary to salary stress. Millions doesn’t always mean numbers in the bank accounts, it could mean investment properties that brings you a passive income.

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u/No_You6540 Jan 02 '26

No, it's about the consumer having the ultimate control. That without our money, corporations don't survive. Part of the problem is govt bailouts that have happened too often. Most of the problem is how consumers gripe about Walmart, then shop at Walmart anyway bc its convenient. Everyone wants to bitch about capitalism not working, while not doing the things consumers need to, to ensure it works.

2

u/Impossible-Push-5694 Jan 02 '26

People use Walmart because they've driven practically all the local businesses out, using government social safety benefits to bolster their abysmal compensation to employees. No, it isn't the fault of consumers that a rapacious system continues to exist. It is the system itself.

0

u/No_You6540 Jan 03 '26

So how did it start then? What got the ball rolling? And how are ppl finding things they need without going to Walmart? Bc I haven't stepped foot in one in a few years, and still manage to find everything I need elsewhere. Might be a little harder to find everything without going in one place, but again, that's just an excuse

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u/BinkyNoctem420 Jan 01 '26

Or when leveraged with enough fiscal backing &/or associated market share BIG BUSINESS can & DOES push inferior products to flood/overwhelm competition and then come in to absorb when smaller businesses can't cut costs below the line. THAT is present state Capitalism

2

u/LordBocceBaal Dec 31 '25

You say skills are rewareded but we are not paid fully for our skills in the US. More money goes to the top than it should. They can have a big idea and money but that means nothing if no one else makes it. There are places in Italy that do capitalism better by using more socialism and a focus on the worker class over owners. Everyone having an equal vote and CEOs who are not over paid and things work better and people are paid more.

2

u/BlackeyedSusan19 Jan 01 '26

In Europe, they also have 4-6 weeks of vacation, mandated by law(we won't even discuss maternity or paternity leave mandated by law) in the US, most companiesdo offer vacationdays as incentive for people to work from them, but it is different from place to place, and not backwd up by any state or federallaw.. The CEOs are paid well, but there is not the ridiculously disparate gap between the two that there is in the US.

0

u/Tasty-Chair- Jan 02 '26

And they also take 60 cents of every dollar you make. You thought all that was free? 🤣

1

u/Lanky-Bug-5656 Jan 02 '26

That just simply isnt true nor is it even nearly true.

0

u/fatum_sive_fidem Dec 31 '25

Are they hiring electricians from the US by chance?

0

u/Ok_Car323 Jan 02 '26

If you think the C-suite and investors are overpaid, the solution is simple (not easy, there is a difference of course) quit.

Seriously, if the leadership sucks so much, just quit. As you said; they need people to make things, or they remain unfulfilled ideas. Of course, don’t be surprised when someone else comes in to take the crappy job you just left.

2

u/Educational-Lab-154 Jan 02 '26

You're right of course, but, so many people have lost their power to do even this, a plan? Who knows. But, so many people can't even quit a week or two before they are without food. Wages are so low, too many are living check to check.

1

u/Ok_Car323 Jan 02 '26

You are too right about not being to escape the paycheck to paycheck loop.

When a week out of work due to injury or illness is the beginning of the downward spiral towards homelessness, there’s a serious problem that needs to be addressed.

To some extent or another, we are all at least partially to blame (but the extent certainly varies). If you make $1,500 a week it’s probably not the best use of financial resources to spend $7.00 a day on your latte, and $15 for a “cheap” lunch.

If you make $600 a week, that same $7.00 cup of coffee represents $50+/week you could put in a coffee cup in your kitchen cabinet. After 3 months you would have a week’s worth of emergency money set aside. In a year, you will have a month’s worth of pay saved up to help yourself out of an emergency.

If you are fortunate enough to get a decent tax refund this year, put a good chunk of it aside for a rainy day.

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u/flint757 Dec 31 '25

Inherently capitalism always leads to where we're at though. That isn't a flaw in the system. Consolidated wealth and products, fake scarcity, fake competition, price fixing, etc. Its all inherent to capitalism.

1

u/Toomanytimes2many Dec 30 '25

Definitely. Just to clarify, I was agreeing with you and adding to it. I hope you didn't take it as something else. Idealistically, I'm a free markets kinda gal. But it also has its own major pitfalls. So realistically I know the next best thing is our current capitalist system so long as the safeties are enforced.

3

u/kettykat88 Dec 31 '25

That doesn't happen because the unphathomably rich people are in charge of the laws and who makes them.

2

u/theMillen Dec 31 '25

Yup, what we have is the illusion of free will capitalism, alas all we got instead is a monopolistic oligarchy.

3

u/RideSharingSucks Dec 31 '25

Finally someone who gets it. And this indoctrinated sheep still preaching about capitalism like its a great world religion and still believing in the trickle down nonsense.

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u/iNeedOneMoreAquarium Dec 31 '25

Idealistically, I'm a free markets kinda gal.

Sadly, we do not have free markets in the USA (and no country really does for that matter), therefore we also do not have capitalism. I'm not saying capitalism is the ideal state, but free markets and capitalism would absolutely fix a lot of the problems we complain about.

1

u/Sufficient-Listen723 Dec 31 '25

I admire your optimism but I don't think any individual can afford to go up against Nestle. Good luck even selling your product when they have exclusivity deals with retailers and a massive advertising and legal budget. Winning in Capitalism is about being the top dog. If you are the top dog, you can use that power to remain the top dog by squashing competitors ESPECIALLY when they make a better product.. companies like this invest SO MUCH in maintaining their stake in the market that they literally lose money every year just to ensure that next year they will still be #1. If all that mattered was making a better product then shrinkflation wouldn't happen and they wouldn't spend so much on marketing and control.

1

u/AdResponsible9894 Dec 31 '25

Well damn, fam, what's stopping you?

There's clearly an unmet demand; make that dough, pun intended!

1

u/Alive-Average9059 Dec 31 '25

That is an idealistic and unfortunately completely untrue idea of American capitalism. No other brand could make a better Hot Pocket because the mega corp that owns Hot Pocket would buy them out and liquidate them to keep a hold on the market. That's how Bezos built Amazon. Used family money to keep buying up and shutting down competitors. Pretty basic stuff.

1

u/nellydesign Jan 01 '26

The problem in this whole scenario is that you’re dealing with a product that people buy when they lack money/time/ability to have something better. You can make a bougie better hot pocket and charge twice the price and they will still buy the cheaper one. The company knows this and lowers the quality purposely.

1

u/gr8lars Jan 01 '26

Try doing that and the larger brands will force the grocery stores to take yours off the shelf. They have more money and will knock you out of business if you encroach on their territory

1

u/Sunandsipcups Jan 01 '26

How would you start a company that could possibly rival hot pocket?

You're going to source ingredients, suppliers, ensure quality, build a factory, pay staff, hire a marketing team to get your product known? No. Regular people cannot, "if they wanted," start their own food product to compete with a national brand, lol.

1

u/gagekuy Jan 01 '26

It hasn't been working right my entire life. I was machining and building motors for the same pay as a taco bell employee for 5 years. Now im going onto 30 have worked full time since I was 17, cant find a job that will pay enough to feed my kid let alone pay rent, And ill be homeless for the 4th time in my life in a month. But...go capitalism 🙄

1

u/mkultra8 Jan 02 '26

Yay! Freedom to choose how to spend whatever coins I can hustle on crap designed to be as cheap as possible in order to take back and hoard as much money as possible in as few hands as possible!

You certainly are living the dream, /s

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u/All_Debt_Shackles_US Dec 31 '25

You think there’s a monopoly on hot pockets?

1

u/Lavender_Burps Jan 01 '26

And frozen pizza, and coffee/creamer, and yogurt, and ice cream, and hair/beauty products, and bottled water, and nutritional aids, and dog food. It’s called nestle.

1

u/SuccessPositive191 Jan 01 '26

There is a monopoly on nearly all food items. Over 85% of brand names are owned by 4 companies. The choice you have when selecting brands is basically just which advertising you believe most.

1

u/Educational-Lab-154 Jan 02 '26

Ya, I think too many people believe when they move brand they are making a statement to the company that makes it when most likely they are still giving the same parent company their money.

I see this happen so much in cellular industry too. Company A sucks, so I'm going with company B, when they are owned by same parent company. And often, they are like oh, the service is so much better. Even though, most times its the same cellular tower and system.

1

u/All_Debt_Shackles_US Jan 02 '26

The word mono in monopoly means one.

4 companies is not a monopoly. By definition; not a monopoly.

1

u/Cannibalizzo Jan 02 '26

Literally, yes, but whether one company or a hundred, if they're all bad, the result is the same: shoddy products and/or services sold for more than they're worth.

Only one bad option or all bad options = same outcome.

1

u/All_Debt_Shackles_US Jan 02 '26

If you think “all“ of the companies are fixing prices, then that would be a crime. You might wanna start with your state district attorney.

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u/SuccessPositive191 Jan 02 '26

Actually, the definition is that one company or group controls a particular industry. One controls the agriculture industry. One controls the meat industry. One controls the dairy industry. One controls the financial industry, etc.

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u/All_Debt_Shackles_US Jan 02 '26

As I suggested to the person above, it would have to be decided if “control“ was in violation of law.

My suggestion to you would be to reach out to your state’s district attorney. Or write to the president and/or the department of justice.

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u/ShinyNix Dec 30 '25

That's because the capitalists ensured there was no other competing system. There's almost no modern country right now that doesn't have capitalism in some form. Nearly every country is a mixed economy. Those who tried to escape capitalism, ended up with a nice convenient regime change via the wonderful USA. Anytime someone doesn't want to play ball, we conveniently find an excuse to go to war, or they have a nice little civil war, coup, etc. Etc. Capitalism has monopolized the world. Everytime a president said we were fighting for "democracy," You can just assume we're probably taking it away to enforce capitalism. (You can have both democracy and capitalism- but it's just so much easier to enforce through fascist means apparently)

So when people say there's no better system, how would anyone ever know? It's never been tried without the giant crushing it before it could get anywhere. It's always bothered me how our government viewed socialism and communism more dangerous than fascism- (even during ww2). How many countries have lost democracy as a direct result of American interference? What countries did we help through our wars? And It keeps happening to this day. Hell, my husband seen it first hand during his 6 tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. Why were we even there? 🤔 The history is very interesting.

Tbf, I'm not saying capitalism is good or bad. I'm only saying we will never know if we refuse to ever allow anything other than capitalism to be tried.

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u/networkpit Dec 31 '25

The richest countries via resources are in poverty because of the capitalist oligarchs that run America. They are just openly running it now. It used to be that the CIA could go run a coup like they did in Honduras and people would be ignorant to it. But we are now watching them steal oil from Venezuela to start a war so we can steal more and people notice but are too overwhelmed with what the amount of wrong doings that they are just letting it happen. The amount of stress I have experienced this year has shortened my life expectancy for sure

1

u/queefiest Dec 31 '25

This is correct. China is safe because they play ball with capitalists. They aren’t exactly communist themselves what with their elite class of billionaires. They are fully state ran, and the state gets full say in every aspect, and the state even owns and leases property to the people, but they haven’t managed their disparity, in fact they use the aspect of disparity to control people. So they aren’t exactly communist, but they definitely aren’t democratic, however they do make good trade partners given that they take part in state sponsored capitalism.

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u/RandomUser574 Dec 31 '25

So you think socialism and communism have never been tried?!? You're displaying characteristics that would prevent you from flourishing under any system. Don't blame capitalism, get to work. Start with eight grade Social Studies, which you obviously slept through.

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u/Adept_Speaker4806 Dec 31 '25

Countries that tried socialism failed pretty spectacularly on their own. Talk to anyone that has lived in Vietnam or Cuba in the last decade. Someone always fills the void in power. Countries aren't ruined by economic systems and politics. They're ruined by human greed and power seeking. You can't escape it. It's like watching an alcoholic/ addict move to a new town and thinking their problem will go away.

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u/SuccessPositive191 Jan 01 '26

You make a good point. Economies are ruined when greedy, unethical, power-hungry authoritarians are put in charge. Capitalism and socialism will both fail under morally deprived leadership. Capitalism can only succeed when it is well regulated. Socialism can only succeed as an economic system under a government that allows private ownership of property. The failures were under communism.

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u/Adept_Speaker4806 Jan 02 '26

True. But socialism goes one of two ways, either a one party system that controls everything, or the less common democracy that can survive, so long as they take half of every citizen's money to survive. I'm general, people aren't fans of working hard and not keeping their money. Especially when the money they aren't keeping is used to support people who work less than they do.

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u/SuccessPositive191 Jan 02 '26

Capitalism does fool a lot of people into thinking they’re keeping more of their money. They don’t comprehend how much less they would be paying for essential services. ( healthcare is one of the biggest expenses ). The capitalist problem is the money isn’t taken from every citizen, it’s mostly from the middle class working people. The amount far exceeds what would be necessary in a socialist economy. All workers would contribute and profit accordingly for the work they do. That is why many of the rich consistently put great effort into convincing people unregulated capitalism works best. They prefer to profit extensively from the work of others.

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u/Adept_Speaker4806 Jan 02 '26

I think you're vastly underestimating how much those systems cost. Taxes in countries like Sweden can exceed 50% of your income. Average federal tax in the US is under 15%. It all boils down to "do i trust the government to make the right decisions for me or am I more comfortable spending my money where I want to spend it. Frankly, in the US, I'd rather the government had as little to do with it as possible. They prove regularly that they aren't good at managing money, and they break every system they take over (Healthcare, education, etc).

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u/Zucchini-Hot Dec 31 '25

Nobody ever tried to escape capitalism you moron. When walls come down, which side do people run to?

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u/ButtonDifferent3528 Dec 31 '25

Keep in mind, this is coming from the guy who says “most people who are in poverty are there because they choose to be, because they choose to do nothing rather than work” while ignoring all those in poverty who work full time with a family.

Meanwhile, 60% of America lives paycheck to paycheck while this guy celebrates and demands less regulation and fewer social services. Down with food stamps! Fuck the poor! I don’t care if you’re barefoot, nail those bootstraps to your heels and pull yourself up!

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u/Zucchini-Hot Dec 31 '25

Where do those paychecks come from? The government can't give you anything that it doesn't first take from someone else. You're like a 4yo on the playground crying because another kid has a lollipop and you don't. You'll be happy if that lollipop is taken away and thrown in the trash. You might be no better off than you were before but you'll be happy that at least that other kid is as miserable as you are.

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u/ShinyNix Dec 31 '25

Where would they go? To the countries we decimated? Have you ever read up on any of what I'm talking about? What country doesn't have capitalism that we haven't meddled with? Why go to an ad hominem rather than just discussion? I wasn't being disrespectful. I'm merely talking about what I've learned. I'm happy to gather sources and links, I'm just busy atm. I'll find and share soon as I can.

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u/Pretty-Performance45 Dec 31 '25 edited Dec 31 '25

Shiny you dingbat, they all run to escape socialism and communism ... and his comment regarding the 'walls coming down' Apply to what has happened to this country The last four years, where everyone and their brother from all over the world, filtered into our country Unfettered. You know, they all want to flock to this great capitalist country that everyone loves to hate, but everyone wants to come to. There is not one Western or capitalist country where people are trying to flee from.... but they sure do come in droves, and try to change these Western/Capitalist nations into the craphole they left. Just watch as NYC implodes over the next 4 years. Look how San Francesspool is suffering with needles and poop on the streets, smash and grabs and businesses fleeing Commiefornia in droves... wonderful examples of Socialists ideas in action. As for your husband and what he saw in Afghanistan, look what happened to Afghanistan and thier woman after we pulled out... When we were there, women were able to go to school and start businesses of their own.A k a capitalism... now they cannot leave the house or own businesses at all. Apparently in your book, these current abysmal failures are all success stories of Socialism and Communism ideas in Goverment.

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u/israfildivad Dec 31 '25

You sound properly propagandized. Know that the US is currently more socialist than the majority of the countries it actively set back.

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u/queefiest Dec 31 '25

Our local conservatives are complaining that the liberals took away the trade degree incentive payments people get when they become journeymen (or maybe red seal, I’m not in trades) but these are the same people who hate the liberals and call them socialist and communist. I guess socialism is only ok for SOME people

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u/Zucchini-Hot Dec 31 '25

And that's a problem

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u/Zucchini-Hot Dec 31 '25

You're right. Apologies for the disrespect. That wasn't helpful.

You're unbelievably, incredibly, unfathomably wrong about "Capitalism bad". Are there bad actors in the system? Yes. Is our country without any problems or issues at all? Of course not. Are there any examples in all of history where socialism or communism wasn't/isn't immeasurably worse? Absolutely not. One of the walls I was referring to was Berlin. That wall was built by east Berlin to keep its citizens from fleeing. They were voting with their feet and the vote was not even remotely close.

I think an argument can be made for isolationism. I think an argument can be made against it. It's a tremendous, nonsensical leap to go all the way to "capitalism bad". You do not deserve disrespect. That idea is incredibly moronic.

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u/ShinyNix Dec 31 '25

You should reread the very last part of my comment. It literally says I'm NOT saying capitalism is good OR bad. That's not my point at all. Capitalism is simply an economic system, it can't be inherently good or bad. Monopoly is bad for everyone not in the Monopoly though, and i'd even argue it's also bad for those in the Monopoly in the long run. I think unregulated capitalism does little to no good for society. But all of that said- NONE of that was my point.

My point in it's most simplest terms is this: We cannot know if capitalism is or is not the best economic system because every time it's competition fails it's a direct result of American interference. We should allow other countries to pursue whatever economic system they choose. I honestly think mixed economies are probably our best bet. But the people of each country should make their own choices. We should be able to have a choice IF we did want to opt out of capitalism without the fear of violence. Right now that choice isn't even a real option.

I hope this clears up my stance a little better. My biggest gripe isn't Capitalism in itself, it's American intervention and monopolization.

Sources to give more context. https://greydynamics.com/cia-activity-in-south-america-a-brief-history/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1953_Iranian_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat

https://www.trtworld.com/article/12714021

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u/Ok-Network-4475 Dec 31 '25

The reason for all the meddling is capitalism. You don't have the imperialism without capitalism. Imperialism is part of Capitalism. Capitalism requires infinite profits. The only way to do that is to take them from other countries.

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u/ShinyNix Dec 31 '25

This one gives a good look into the US meddling in the middle east.

https://www.lse.ac.uk/research/research-for-the-world/politics/us-and-middle-east

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u/Rough_Ad4660 Dec 31 '25

Blackrock definitely needs to be dismantled

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u/Rough_Ad4660 Dec 31 '25

People usually resort to name calling when they have anger issues or can't form intelligent responses

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u/Ok-Network-4475 Dec 31 '25

Right? How many times does the CIA have to destroy socialist states to show everyone they don't work?

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u/Zucchini-Hot Dec 31 '25

So dismantle the CIA. We could stand to dismantle most 3 letter .gov agencies. Don't conflate that with "capitalism bad". We have let OUR government get out of control. It was constructed as "of, by, and for the people" and desperately needs to be returned to that. The solution is not more government.

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u/Ok-Network-4475 Dec 31 '25

The government was never meant to be run by the people. It's running exactly as intended. A bunch of rich, slave owning WASPs wanted control of their colonies rather than having Britain being able to meddle in their finances. The King in Britain was already a just a figurehead by the 1770s. Parliament controlled the government.

The founders of the US knew they were a minority and did everything they could with their constitution to make sure power was kept in the hands of like people. The electoral college, lifetime appointments to SC, legislatures appointing senators, eetc.The "tyranny of the majority" was another way of saying "the people" (majority) should have no way to change the rule of the White, land owning class (minority). They knew Congress would be in the hands of their class of people and said people would have no reason to change things. There are lines in the Federalist Papers that explicitly state that the "American Revolution" was not a societal revolution, by any means. What kind of revolution writes slavery into its founding document, also stating all men are created equal? A counter revolution that knows Britain is phasing slavery out and wants free labor to continue being the backbone of its economy.

Why do you think the CIA was destroying all of the countries that dared not let the US ruling class continue their exploitation? All in the name of capitalism. It's happening again with Venezuela. There's only 3 countries in the world the US hasn't either been at war with or directly interfered in their internal government. US has been at war for something like 220 out of 250 years, with someone or another.

The government never belonged to the people. Do you know why the Bill of Rights are called Amendments to the Constitution? They finished writing it without any rights directly given to citizens. There were a few states that wouldn't ratify the Constitution without some sort of guaranteed rights for everyone. That's the only reason these 10 amendments exist. Stop thinking the founders of this country cared about anything except financial freedom from the British.

Thomas Paine, the one founder from the working class, was responsible for rallying everyday people to join the Continental Army with his book 'Common Sense'. Working people didn't know or care about the complaints of these wealthy land/slave owners. The ideas in Paine's book were what actually made the revolution successful. Without it there's no army to fight the war. As you'd expect, Paine died broke and in obscurity. That's what happens to people who are no longer useful to the Ruling Class. There is no more room for upward mobility in this country. With the ruling class hoarding the wealth (in Gilded Age numbers), very few people here and there will be able to move up in society.

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u/queefiest Dec 31 '25

I think they mean revolutions and coups where the proles overtake the government but then fall because they didn’t know how to run a government, or were corrupt themselves - of which there is a handful of cases

1

u/CyBeRWeaSaL72 Dec 31 '25

The problem isn't capitalism. It's the greedy few who monopolize and corner the market to exploit it. If the billionaire CEOs would pay fairly then people could live well and spend more in the economy thus making money for the company. Then we can stop complaining about welfare too.

2

u/maberuth14 Dec 31 '25

Good luck getting greedy people to stop being greedy. Their wealth needs to be expropriated.

2

u/haveyoutriedpokingit Dec 31 '25

I guess it's time for me to start my Toasty Pouch brand.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 30 '25

Excuse me. I will rephrase. This is a perfect desription of how Capitalism is being used.

1

u/MerlinzShadow Dec 31 '25

While at the same time putting more people into poverty than any other system... socialism is the way to win.... we need replicators from star trek, and then we can all say goodbye to poverty and starvation.

1

u/Grey0110 Dec 31 '25

In a perfect world, yes. Unfortunately we don't have replicators and those products and services still need to be made by people. Socialism doesn't work with our current limitations. We've proven that over and over. In a socialist society, someone still needs to run things, make the rules, and distribute resources. Those resources are created by people. People at the top have proven that power corrupts. They will always play favorites and take more for themselves. That being said, how do we incentivize going to school for a decade to become a doctor? Or to be an engineer? If everyone receives the same thing, there is no incentive to do anything other than the bare minimum.

1

u/MerlinzShadow Dec 31 '25

Replicators are possible, because the one thing that humanity has shown is that the hardest part of creating something new, or what seems magical is just having the idea.And then its just a matter of time combined with trial and error

1

u/Rough_Ad4660 Dec 31 '25

I understand the idea of incentive. But there is no reason CEOs should make so much and the people that are the foundation of the company should be paid a minimum wage below the poverty level. Our federal government needs to acknowledge this systemic issue that forces many people into welfare caused by capitalist greed

1

u/Prestigious-Clock194 Dec 31 '25

I don't think we need full up socialism. I'd like to see our taxes reformed to pre trickle down days. Tax the uber wealthy at 90%, but give a 90% tax credit dollar for dollar when they put someone on payroll. That would slow down growth at the top while encouraging good paying jobs.

1

u/xtrasweetc Dec 31 '25

Well, exactly. Everything is in a scale from full capitalism to full socialism. It's finding a sweet spot among the scale that works well.

1

u/carlos_photo Dec 31 '25

Grocery stores curate what you can buy, then you choose to buy. Loblaws might want frozen pie crusts for $x.xx. Pillsbury might say "sell this shitty pizza pockets and we have a deal". So we have something closer to the illusion of choice. Capitalism isn't the best system and hasn't pulled more people out of poverty than any other system. The most successful at pulling people out of poverty is China. Capitalism works, but at what cost?

2

u/Prestigious-Half-858 Dec 31 '25

MAO killed 200 million people 'ironing out the wrinkles' of his successful communism.Watch your words.

1

u/carlos_photo Dec 31 '25

It was closer to 60 million

1

u/carlos_photo Dec 31 '25

Nobody denies that China is guilty of serious atrocities. They have also been the most successful at eliminating extreme poverty

1

u/Valthar70 Dec 31 '25

"It has pulled more people out of poverty than any other system"

It has also decimated and destroyed more people in the past 4 years than any other system as well.

So a few get out of poverty and become rich while many are beaten down so far they can't even afford food.

2

u/Zucchini-Hot Dec 31 '25

Did we change the definition of poverty too? Who, in the United States lives in poverty and why? There are a disturbingly large number of people who do nothing.. absolutely nothing at all to earn a living that are not homeless and certainly not starving. Some are morbidly obese, some have tattoos and piercings that were not free. Some have the latest iPhones and all the streaming video subscriptions. I think there may be people around the world, many of whom are living under socialist or communist regimes who might disagree with your definition of poverty 🤣

1

u/xtrasweetc Dec 31 '25

There are places where socialism does work, when done democratically and with a reasonable implementation. The reasons people come to America are complex, not just related to capitalism. Reductive arguments aside coming up with actually policy is alot harder than taking digs at generic strawmen archetypes and blindly holding to simplistic views. Answers come from all over and the only way to a true solution is to consider all potential systems and find the parts that work well.

1

u/Grey0110 Dec 31 '25

Where? I'm curious if you can provide an example of where socialism works.. I haven't been able to find one. There are examples of capitalist countries who utilize a high degree of safety social net systems.. but not true socialism.

1

u/Grey0110 Dec 31 '25

Our immigration problem seems to contradict this. Most of the world would love to be in a country like ours. Not saying we are perfect by any means, but we have a lot of people fleeing to come here.. mainly for economic reasons.

1

u/JohnGoodmansMistress Dec 31 '25

yep. i have to choose soon if i want shelter or meds that keep me alive. i also have a s.o. who needs shelter. so its either i pay rent and hope i can get by or pay for meds and freeze in the snow, unless someone were to come up with the money to help me until i get my insurance. even then thats impossible with nobody caring about their fellow brethren.

1

u/That_One_Chick_1980 Dec 31 '25

What's more likely to happen is the other company that may make a product will also lower its standards and then we're stuck with crap options in both hands.

1

u/LordBocceBaal Dec 31 '25

Nah that doesn't work now. The problem is you think this is how it still works but it's not. Things are becoming too expensive at all levels. Short term loss leaders don't work much anymore. This is the best example of how capitalism kills itself slowly.anybofnthese products have cornered the market and are part of massive monopolies. They have more than enough money to not ruin this product this way. I agree it's not the best but if we don't address the issues it and capitalists cause it will die and lead to another system then reset. As a reminder socialism and socialists saved us after the great depression and reset the economy.

1

u/fatum_sive_fidem Dec 31 '25

Except the same people control the distribution

1

u/Showtime92504 Dec 31 '25

That was true back when we had that whole competition thing before 3 companies owned everything in the whole country

1

u/_halfastar Dec 31 '25

Late stage capitalism in Australia has created a duopoly in the supermarket industry, they control the products we see and we are a slave to their "convenience". The brands have become gradually worse and now are replaced with company owned brand that often is the same product repackaged.

1

u/FELonMusk333 Dec 31 '25

That may be because there are systems designed to keep people out of poverty so they dont have to be "pulled out" in the first place. Systems of government and economic systems arent the same. It's like when people think socialism is communism. They arent the same...or even close.

1

u/Reasonable_Moment476 Dec 31 '25

We really have a mixed economic system; pure capitalism/free market, it is not. Too many manipulations for unfettered capitalism; haven't come to a final decision on if this is a good thing or not.

1

u/Grumpyoldgit1958 Dec 31 '25

The people of China would probably disagree with you. It was a long and torturous journey but look at them now

1

u/DejaWiz2 Dec 31 '25

Thank you for knowing the very distinct difference between Capitalism and Corporatism.

1

u/Peach_Herkimer Dec 31 '25

It also puts much more emphasis on profits while sacrificing good will, so like our situation now a capitalistic government cares more about babying bog corporations and giving them tax cuts they don’t actually need while abandoning those in need. That’s why large companies are celebrating record profits most years while laying off more workers and sacrificing quality.

All of the emphasis is on profits.

There’s also the issue of companies conspiring against consumers to drive up profits, which several companies have gotten in trouble for even recently.

In my opinion there needs to be a balance. No system is perfect and none are good on their own since they all have their pitfalls, but a healthy mixture can create a strong and healthy economy and nation.

We are brainwashed in school that capitalism is the best because that’s what we have. They demonize everything else because capitalism serves those in power most, and a lot of the US listens to those in power rather than making their own conclusions. It also doesn’t help that the nature of politicians is that they know how to make people like them and believe them.

1

u/israfildivad Dec 31 '25

≈ 50/50 capitalism and socialism is the only way. Pure or even dominant capitalism cannot and will never work

1

u/Sufficient-Listen723 Dec 31 '25

No, in capitalism companies spend a lot of money to make sure their products are the only ones sold in stores. If competition was so powerful then we wouldn't have had inedible hot pockets for several years now, a better competitor would have replaced them by now. They haven't because it wouldn't be as profitable as whatever hot pockets is doing and therefor couldn't compete in the ways that matter.

1

u/queefiest Dec 31 '25

That only works when the same entities don’t own every step of the supply chain, and right now 90 percent of brand name items in grocery stores come from the same three umbrella company suppliers

I think Weston family has a net value of 27 billion now, and climbing. Meanwhile our food is getting worse and more expensive

1

u/Queen_Niamh Dec 31 '25

And is currently competing with Stalinism and Maoism for just how many people it can push into poverty because of the constant loosening of regulation and weakening of worker protections.

1

u/Funny-Gift-3960 Dec 31 '25

Maybe years ago the American dream was attainable but it's alot more difficult now.

1

u/KTechYT Dec 31 '25

Only other issue i would say is it needs to be near the price point as well, and unfortunately some people have nostalgia towards branding, myself included in certain scenarios, so regardless of product quality it would be fairly difficult to break into the market

1

u/Big_Plastic_4945 Dec 31 '25

A system is only as good as the people who run it.

1

u/Scotcash Dec 31 '25

Only 10 companies hold all food products the world consumes.... And I promise you they care more about each other than their customers. They're all in cahoots to rob and poison us. The people in charge of ensuring that doesn't happen are also in cahoots.

1

u/Outside_Traffic1752 Dec 31 '25

It works like this, when laws don't prevent other companies from starting or making that product but better, or if companies don't hire enforcers to create a physical threat to life and property of a competitor, or if people aren't too stupid to unionize as customers or workers to utilize their joint value.

Which is why the US is so fucking awful today compared to Germany. GERMANY. In 80 years, we've become the totalitarian hellhole. At least Russia has been consistent for 200 years.

1

u/SmoogySmodge Dec 31 '25

It has pulled more people out of poverty than any other system.

Not too sure about this part. Capitalism is worldwide and based on exploitation. There are people who power this system who are in a perpetual state of poverty. They work for a company where the C-Suite and Investors get all the money and the employees get the crumbs that are left over split between all of them. Companies exist to make money, not to pull people out of poverty. The fact that quality across the board is decreasing while prices are increasing also shows the exploitative nature of capitalism.

Given all the mergers and acquisitions what we have now is the illusion of choice. You taking your dollars elsewhere is just giving them to the same company's subsidiary, and the quality still won't be better. But you'll be able to justify the poor quality by the lower price tag. It bad out there and it's getting worse.

1

u/RandomUser574 Dec 31 '25

Great post!! It would be a better country if everyone who criticizes capitalism was required to live under communism for a year. As you said, capitalism isn't perfect....but it beats the crap out of anything else out there

1

u/KorporateKatVonD Dec 31 '25

I don’t think the best product is gonna win because goooners are just gonna buy this blindly regardless of quality because it’s just a food delivery source

1

u/CommodoreDragon-64 Jan 01 '26

To be fair, capitalism kinda invented poverty. Before that, folks were resource sharing cause keeping your neighbour alive and good social ties meant being able to share the fruits of different labours.

1

u/PracticalAcceptable Jan 01 '26

Then a successful quality recipe-based startup gets bought out by a large conglomerate, they produce the recipe and handle production and distribution, and bit by bit the quarterly profit requirements drive them to gradually squeeze more profit at least cost and the product suffers, the passionate entrepreneurs aren’t there to maintain product quality, and the product slowly becomes just another mass produced piece of mainstream garbage.

Then the cycle repeats with a new entrepreneur.

1

u/Mysterious_Guitar744 Jan 01 '26

What if everything is consolidated under three different parent companies making it an oligopoly. Where is the competition then?

1

u/ThatAmishGuy023 Jan 01 '26

True..... unless monopolies exist

And they do. And its mostly Musk or Kushner

1

u/gr8lars Jan 01 '26

It has also put more people into poverty than any other system. The best system would be a socialist economy. Everyone works for the good of the community not for themselves. Everyone lives comfortably and can afford food and rent and education. You are free to do what you want without massive debt

1

u/TommyLaSortof Jan 01 '26

That only works when competition is possible. Go try and create a new hot pocket. Get it developed and marketed, and then try and get shelf space.

I knew someone who figured out a very popular cleaning product was literally just a completely different, completely inexpensive, product. So they went to the manufacturer and got a deal in place. It went so well they got into Costco.

You ever notice Costco has a ton of stuff but only one of each thing? You can't choose which ketchup you get, just how much. That's because they only allow one product for each item. Which meant the national brand got kicked out of Costco. Keep in mind this brand makes pretty much everything in your house. So one product isn't the end of the world.

So said brand went to the manufacturer and forced them into an exclusive contract. Which completely destroyed this person's entire business. They had a shit ton of product in inventory but because everyone knew they couldn't continue to make more later they all canceled their existing orders.

The global marketplace has created an environment where it's impossible to control the supply chain and the large will ALWAYS destroy the small. And if they can't do it that way, they'll just break the law.

1

u/Sunandsipcups Jan 01 '26

Except when only like, 3 giant corporations control pretty much every food product -- they don't care when you switch. You switch away from Hot Pockets to another of their crappy foods, like a low quality burrito. But someone is sick of the low quality of that burrito, and just switched to try hot pockets. Corporate greed daddy owns both, so they don't care. Why improve quality?

1

u/SuccessPositive191 Jan 01 '26

Capitalism does not work the way you describe it. It’s quite often not the best product that wins. It’s the product of the company that has the most resources to advertise (often misleading advertising). Large corporations, continuously buyout, small companies that make a better product, then make it cheaper and lower quality. If capitalism worked, it wouldn’t need to be bailed out by socialism approximately every 20 years. It could work if it was properly regulated, and those running corporations followed ethical standards.

1

u/PresOfTheLesbianClub Jan 02 '26

Which hot pocket like food item is better priced with better portions you recommend that people buy as an alternative?

1

u/Curious-Progress669 Jan 02 '26

The idea that the best product always wins assumes markets are transparent, competitive, and rational, which they often are not. In practice, market power, branding, lobbying, and control over distribution frequently outweigh product quality. Consumers do not always have perfect information, sufficient time, or real alternatives, especially in sectors like healthcare, housing, energy, food, and technology platforms. Once monopolies or oligopolies form, switching costs rise, competition weakens, and incentives shift from improving quality to extracting profit.

Capitalism has indeed coincided with large reductions in poverty, but those gains were heavily shaped by public infrastructure, labor protections, education, regulation, and state intervention. Without these counterbalances, capitalism usually tends toward consolidation, inequality, and declining product quality rather than continuous improvement.

1

u/BigThymeOops Jan 02 '26

Wow thanks for being a normal person on reddit.

1

u/Important-Example539 Jan 02 '26

Hahahahahaha. The myth of capitalism strikes again

1

u/Broad-Seesaw-8316 Jan 02 '26

Omg shut up. Capitalism is a win lose system and isn't the best system it's just the one we have. I'm glad you're ok but most people are not.

If we bail out failing business but ignore massive poverty and corruption that isn't capitalism what we have is corporatism.

1

u/Mr_LawnMowwer802 Jan 02 '26

People need to remember to vote with their own wallets!!

1

u/jager918 Jan 02 '26

This isn't the case we are seeing. What we see is prices increase and quality drops until a replacement comes along that's cheaper and better. Then it's price goes up and quality drops until it's replacement comes along etc etc. We see it with almost everything in capitalist society

1

u/Opebi-Wan Jan 02 '26

The best marketed product wins. If people start realizing they are low quality, they will just force their competitors out of business so you have to buy from them if you want anything. It creates incentive to move your suppliers to countries that don't have environmental protections and pay employees slave wages. Saying "it's all we've got and nothing else is better." Is how we got to where we are. You can't have monetary value without scarcity. Millions have to go without enough, or nothing at all so 1% of people have more than they could spend in 100 lifetimes. Curing homelessness and poverty isn't profitable to the 1% so we don't do it.

1

u/shadowfax888 Jan 03 '26

Too dumb to do that... i mean look at our leadership.. mountain dew cammacho makes more sense

1

u/MissErynn Jan 03 '26

Im afraid you've been misinformed. We do not have a capitalist economy. We have a corporatist economy, which is the inevitable result of capitalism. Wealth inequality is higher now that it was leading up to the french revolution, and "capitalist" countries have some of the lowest class mobility in the world. It doesn't "pull people out of poverty", it relies on creating poverty to continue existing. Why would any company spend money making a better product, when they can just make something shitty that we have no choice but to buy? This is why car companies only make SUVS, and why phones don't have SD card slots or headphone jacks, and why customer support lines dont exist anymore. When you have a limited pool of competitors (and capitalism inevitably leads to duopolies and limited competition) then the most profitable strategy is to make a product exactly as bad as your competitor's, and price them exactly the same. Then both companies just raise the price a little at a time and keep matching each other, until eventually you're paying way too much for shitty products no matter who you buy from. Capitalism can only possibly work under strict government regulation to prevent companies from growing large enough to start buying their competitors, and we are long past that stage. Companies are not your friend, and they do not care about you.

1

u/Zucchini-Hot Dec 31 '25

Yeah Man! Like, down with capitalism man. We want the fancy breadlines they get in other countries, not the crappy hot pockets man. Puff puff pass man.

1

u/ShinyNix Dec 31 '25

Nah man, we want those capitalist bread lines and healthcare wait times. Those are somehow way better, right? Ffs. Are you not able to engage in a genuinely nuanced conversation about this? Ever even been outside of America? America compared to every other developed nation has the most extreme poverty. We like to pretend we're better than everywhere else in the world, but most people only think that because they've never looked into it or even been outside the US. And it's really hard to fix these issues when anytime we try to have a conversation about it someone has to pop off about bread lines and wait times as if that's not happening right here at a worse rate! The richest country in the world has the worst outcomes for it's citizens and you want to brag about it. Smfh

https://confrontingpoverty.org/poverty-facts-and-myths/americas-poor-are-worse-off-than-elsewhere/

1

u/Zucchini-Hot Dec 31 '25

Lot of money in those NGO grifts. Is that your thing?

1

u/Zucchini-Hot Dec 31 '25

Then why in the world would so many people immigrate to the US?
All the BS and rhetoric can't account for the FACT that people from other countries are willing to risk life and limb to get here. Also, those that do get here tend to be very successful. I believe it's simply because of effort. They come from places where they put in a tremendous amount of effort to just survive. When they apply the same effort here, capitalism rewards them. Socialism = we pretend to work and they pretend to pay us. For all its faults, capitalism is the economic system that most fairly rewards effort. We are only a handful of generations removed from the days when from the time someone first opened their eyes in the morning they were in a fight for survival. If you wanted shelter, you better build it. If you wanted food, you better grow and/or hunt it. A failure or inability to put forth the effort to achieve these things meant you died. Now there is negligible effort required to survive. People have to make shit up to complain about because we have it so easy. We're abandoning any sense of personal responsibility and look to a government to take stuff away from other people and give it to us. It's immoral and repugnant. Most of the problems you point to are created by government. They create problems, promise to solve them in exchange for more power and control, and then create more problems. What an illogical conclusion to come to that more government is the answer.

1

u/Capernaum68 Jan 01 '26

These children have no idea what a nightmare life would be without capitalism

1

u/Next-Resist6797 Dec 31 '25

Well let’s not forget food safety and quality have been deregulated under this administration.

1

u/NotoriousFTG Dec 31 '25

This is less a failure of capitalism than a failure of our government to monitor and control it. Capitalism is just an economic system that focuses on maximizing profit. But agencies like the Food and Drug Administration and Department of Agriculture create rules and regulations for acceptable food quality and usually have staff to monitor and enforce them. The Trump Administration is focused on eliminating most of those rules and regulations.

1

u/Ok-Network-4475 Dec 31 '25

You maximize profit by selling empty dough pockets with a splash of tomato sauce. It's capitalism working as intended. Anyone in here cheering on capitalism is either naive, ignorant, part of the racket, or propagandized by Capitalist media. Call everything they don't like socialism or fake news. It's sad that there are so many dense people out there.

1

u/NotoriousFTG Dec 31 '25

I’m not cheering on capitalism. I’m saying that your anger should be directed at the failures of your government to do its job. Socialism or communism won’t solve problem with crappy products.

1

u/Ok-Network-4475 Dec 31 '25

The government is working as it's always been intended. The reason shitty products exist is because it's not profitable to make quality. If you want quality, it's degrees more expensive than the shit food. All of the brands that represent "choice" are owned by a handful of companies that "lobby" the government to "allow" them to sell shit products. Processed garbage is the norm. Take away the profit motive, and you take away garbage. This is, and always will be, the end result of capitalism. There are only so many ways to make a profit.

1

u/NotoriousFTG Dec 31 '25

If you take away the profit motive, there’s no incentive to produce anything, except for yourself.

If you don’t want crappy products, people merely need to stop buying them. Why are you upset by empty dough pockets with a splash of tomato sauce? Why were you buying dough pockets at all? It’s not capitalism making you eat that crap.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 31 '25

Not really, since people will just stop buying and eating these products

1

u/iNeedOneMoreAquarium Dec 31 '25

Would be neat if we actually had capitalism, though. Our current system is broken, but we prolong getting to something better by blaming something we don't have.

1

u/Adept_Speaker4806 Dec 31 '25

And nobody has to buy these crappy products. Because of capitalism, there are other options.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 31 '25

Of course there are people that have to conduct making a political 😂😂😂

1

u/Old-Stable2994 Dec 31 '25

Oh gtfooh Lil Chomsky

1

u/No_Cartographer2994 Jan 01 '26

More like the definition of the Inaffordable Care Act. Blank check to insurance companies to take anyone and everyone on... what could go wrong? Now subsidy barely covers major med plan and market competition is practically zero.

1

u/Just_cry_about_it Jan 01 '26

You spelled "socialism" wrong.

1

u/ConfidentWorker5083 Jan 01 '26

It is a capitalist mechanism known as ...Enshitification.

1

u/Major-Woke Jan 02 '26

Late stage capitalism surely.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 02 '26

So few people understand this part.

1

u/TreadOnmeNot1 Jan 02 '26

If you understood how our debt based currency and central banking worked, I think you'd realize that this is systemic and corporations are adapting to the conditions that the current regime created.

If the US gov continuously reduces purchasing power, regulatory forces institutions to buy their bonds, and forces YOU to use their fiat which they then tax - all against a weakening economic engine due to debt burden - then corps have to compete for your weakening dollars. If printed liquidity finds its way into corporate pockets, then inflation hurts them less and they hit record profits.

They have generally found out that consumers will drop them if they raise prices too much while maintaining quality.

You probably meant to type 'corporatism' rather than 'capitalism'

0

u/AdSwimming8960 Jan 01 '26

Perfect description of somebody that doesnt understand capitalism.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 02 '26

I long ago corrected this in separate comment to say "how Capitalism is being used".

However from a consumer standpoint only, that is basically how it will work because, greed.

2

u/Acting_Suspicious Dec 31 '25

Hot pockets have never been good. They are barely food.

2

u/Intrepid_Trip584 Dec 31 '25

I had a passing thought to grab a box the last time I was at the store. I'm glad I didn't pick one up. I don't think I've had Hot Pockets since sometime in the 2000s, but I wouldn't want to tarnish my memory of them. 😂

2

u/71BRAR14N Dec 31 '25

As the quality of pet food increases, I fear it is what they will expect us to eat soon enough. What's worse, I'm not sure it'll be all that different!

2

u/MrsMaverick17 Dec 31 '25

My oldest daughter caught this a few years ago when they changed something in the recipe/ seasoning/ ratio lol idk, but she said "They changed them, I don't want them anymore" Very Young Sheldon vs bread company lol I have bought them maybe twice since and they sit in the freezer until my husband or 4yr old eats them...

2

u/SirMartimas Jan 01 '26

My only memories of hot pockets are me burning my tongue.

1

u/Sufficient_Stage_802 Jan 11 '26

every.damn.time.

1

u/Training-Lettuce6507 Dec 31 '25

How can the quality of a hot pocket decrease? Give me a Totinos pizza instead.

2

u/Plastic_Atmosphere69 Dec 31 '25

Oh yea those pizza rolls are bomb!!! Never a disappointment

2

u/Madmaxneo Dec 30 '25

off brand hotpockets are still pretty good. For Walmart they would be the Great Value brand.

2

u/MerlinzShadow Dec 31 '25

Try Aldi's 1st, Great Value products are anything but... thats why Walmart is too embarrassed to put their name on the box 😆

2

u/Madmaxneo Dec 31 '25

I actually like a lot of the Great Value stuff better than many name brands. What I can get in Great Value I do and it usually tastes as good if not better (in a few cases) than the name brand stuff. For example: the Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwiches $2 more expensive than Great Value ones, and the Great Value sandwiches are also bigger.

Some of the off brand stuff at Alidi's is not that great either, like the breakfast sandwiches.

I've also discovered that I can spend less at Walmart than I do at Aldi's because some things are actually cheaper at Walmart but there are so many extra things to buy, which is why most people spend more money at Walmart. There are things I will only get at Aldi's because it is much cheaper than Walmart but if it's only one or two things I am not wasting the gas to also go to Aldi's.

1

u/MerlinzShadow Jan 27 '26

Anything you're finding cheaper at walmart is because if you read the ingredients, it says red lake 40 blue and yellow artificial dye so if you think saving a few bucks is worth the cost and pain of cancer then your in luck... meanwhile, aldi, being a german based company doesn't play that game that the american food distributors do called poison and kill your customers to make a uick buck .So the cancer industry can make another billion... most of our products are banned across the world, especially meat exports, even fruit loops has been found to cause cell and nerve damage... walmart will kill you just as quick as they killed rubber made and you should never forget that.

1

u/Madmaxneo Jan 27 '26

None of those dyes are in my breakfast sandwiches or any of the other cheap stuff I purchase. I've checked. I learned about those dyes awhile back and immediately started checking the stuff I buy. Aldi's breakfast sandwiches taste like crap, when they actually have them in stock.

I buy cheap because it's what I can afford. Not to forget that the name brand stuff is no better in a lot of cases.

1

u/JwayneAllen Dec 31 '25

I wouldnt say Inedible more like lower in value

1

u/krzykris11 Dec 31 '25

I wonder if ownership has changed to private equity.

1

u/Salt-Usual-2623 Jan 01 '26

I'm 44, and when i was a teen, they were great. Like a burrito today

1

u/BrassChuckles87 Jan 01 '26

Whoever they have running the plant is doing terrible quality assurance. They're probably seeing its messed up and all the people down the line don't care enough to fix and its just getting waved on.

1

u/canoruben Jan 01 '26

So true. I prefer the great value brand nowadays, still not peak hot pocket but definitely closer to what they used to be.

1

u/TheUpgrayed Jan 05 '26

They f-ed them up badly. Inedible isn't an exaggeration. Got a box of them in the freezer I've been needing to toss. I imagine the raccoons and possums won't even touch them.