President Biden has the disadvantage of being in office at a time when big corporate America has banded together to rip off the public. That is the tale the White House and its supporters want to portray, most notably Democrat Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
Why are They Targeting the Meat Industry?
Over the last few days, the White House attacked meatpackers. Its experts published a report, criticizing meat processing corporations for excessive exploitation.
White House communications director Jen Psaki blamed rising costs on “the greed of meat multinationals.” The oil and gas business has taken a similar beating; even Dollar Tree has been chastised for putting the average guy last.
The cycle of growing prices and company earnings, according to Warren, isn’t “just some inescapable economic natural force; it’s selfishness. In some circumstances, it’s downright illegal.”
In a similar spirit, Robert Reich recently identified “corporate titans with the potential to raise prices” as “the true cause of inflation in the United States.”
The conspiracy theorists who warned you of:
– Vaccine mandates
– Vaccine passports
– Perpetual Lockdowns
– Rampant InflationAre now warning you of:
– Digital ID / Social credit scores
– Central Bank Digital Currencies
– Climate lockdowns
– Energy rationingPay attention.
— Kaz (@btcKaz) December 15, 2021
No one from the left seems to reject that supply chain disruptions play an important role in rising prices; however, their focus on supposed predatory capitalism is a silly reductive characterization of the US economy.
They’re acting as if a wide-ranging, multicausal economic phenomenon is being principally, or at least substantially, driven by a handful of business scoundrels wielding nearly unfettered power over the price index.
It’s a fairy tale story designed to deflect political blame for the financial unrest that’s stymieing Biden’s presidency.
They Don’t Make Any Sense
The focus on corporate America’s alleged monopolistic power to set prices at will makes absolutely no sense from a broad perspective.
Did the American economy suddenly become more concentrated earlier this year, after 30 years of remarkably low inflation, allowing companies to raise prices at will?
Also, why did this economic clout emerge just as supply chain disruptions began to take effect? Why did it happen after the Democrats’ enormous COVID relief bill increased demand in an already booming economy?
I don't like to scare people, but I still think the average person underestimates how bad inflation could get and how much pain it could cause if you are unprepared. https://t.co/fTdYWqdpGE
— ZUBY: (@ZubyMusic) December 16, 2021
If greedy firms are to blame, they may be found everywhere.
Food prices rose 6.1 percent in November, compared to the previous year, with beef, poultry, fish, and eggs up 12.8 percent; cereal and pastry items rose 4.6 percent, and nonalcoholic beverages rose by 5.3 percent.
The amount of energy consumed rose by 33 percent. Aside from food and energy, all other goods increased by 9.4 percent. The price of used trucks and automobiles increased by 31.4 percent.
True, most major corporations have boosted their profit margins. According to a Wall Street Journal analysis published last month, quarterly earnings as a percentage of GDP are some of the tallest they’ve been since 1960.
However, demand in many areas of the economy is higher than it was before the epidemic, providing a strong basis for profitability. Furthermore, one of the hallmarks of an inflationary climate is corporations testing how far they can raise prices before reaching a wall of consumer resistance.
