Well recent bouts of inflation say otherwise

They don’t, in fact.

Price fixing is rare because you gain so much by defecting from the cartel.

“Competitors choosing” is usually considered to be price fixing

No? It isn’t?

Where do you think prices come from?

Amazon et al aren’t the only US companies guilty of this or other anti-competitive behaviors

How is this anti-competitive?

“Essentially” is the load-bearing weasel word here that allows this story to blame Amazon for their competitors choosing to offer the same goods at higher prices.

You’re listing all of the reasons it’s not a monopoly - you can go almost anywhere else and buy the same good.

Therefore, I think Amazon has a literal monopoly in the tech industry right now, you’re literally forced to buy from them

You literally weren’t and literally aren’t, so they’re literally not.

They have so aggressively and dominantly taken over the supply chain market that no other tech company can currently compete with them in any aspect at all.

If nobody was in competition with them, they’d be raising their prices.

Sucks

Wegovy might be covered if you’re just fat. You might also find a doctor willing to prescribe it on the basis of pre-diabetes, although it’ll be a long argument with your insurer.

But if you respond well to the drug it’s worth it. Trust me

Get on Ozempic or Mounjaro

You needed to invite a lot more people and at least a few people who didn’t like wrestling.