You make a very good point.I'd throw in the mix that we've had enough corporate mergers over the last decade that we're really getting into oligopolistic behavior. They raise their rates then ask, who else are you going to buy from?
I'm doing my absolute best to lay low and buy as little as possible. I don't like rewarding bad behavior.
Thinking of certain industries, consolidation has led to concentration and reduced or eliminated competition.
Tacit collusion is much more likely when there are fewer players in any given market.
Constraining supply leads to higher market prices on goods that have a significant level of price in-elasticity because they are needed and not readily replaced with substitute goods, fuel being a good example. While we might reduce our egg consumption, we do need to heat our homes in winter and drive ourselves to work.