Inflation here? gas/grocery prices just continue to climb

No idea what you're talking about.

The prices do change themselves. I mean it used to take a manager to direct a clerk to get turn a different knob on the price gun and now it's programmed into a computer, but component prices and purchase prices and consumer demand all contribute to the invisible hand raising or lowering the prices of goods and services in response to market conditions.

I guess it people stopped wanting things a little more than they used to then maybe what you're saying is true, but otherwise I don't get what you're saying.
There aren't many other ways for me to say it: we designed the system. We made the rules. We can change the rules.