Groundwork exposed “greedflation” as a key driver of higher prices beginning in 2021; Corporate greedflation continues to keep costs artificially high according to new Groundwork report
This week, Dictionary.com added 1,700 new or updated definitions that included “mid,” “girl dinner,” and an important new word: “Greedflation.” The addition comes as new polling from Navigator Research shows that four in five people identify corporations raising prices as a cause of inflation, with three in five people deeming it a “major” cause. Dictionary.com added this latest definition for “greedflation”:
“Greedflation (noun): ‘A rise in prices, rents, or the like, that is not due to market pressure or any other factor organic to the economy, but is caused by corporate executives or boards of directors, property owners, etc., solely to increase profits that are already healthy or excessive.’”
The greedflation problem has persisted throughout our inflation crisis. A January report from Groundwork indicates that corporations have driven more than half of the inflation we’ve seen since input costs have come down. Groundwork Executive Director Lindsay Owens released the following statement:
“So many people recognize that corporations are keeping prices artificially high that ‘greedflation’ is now a word on dictionary.com. Greedflation rightly identifies who is responsible for this inflation crisis and opens up the range of policy solutions we have at our disposal to fight high prices and deliver relief for families.”
Email press@groundworkcollaborative.org to speak with one of Groundwork’s experts about “greedflation” and what it has meant for our economy.
Groundwork was one of the first to expose the link between corporate greed and inflation. Starting in the summer of 2021, Groundwork began digging through recent corporate earnings call transcripts across multiple industries experiencing record-high prices. This research revealed CEOs openly bragging to their shareholders about their ability to raise prices beyond their rising costs to increase profits.
Groundwork’s experts shared their findings with Congress several times in 2022, with Executive Director Dr. Lindsay Owens telling the Senate Budget Committee: “Big corporations are getting away with pushing up prices to fatten their profit margins, and consumers are quite literally paying the price. It’s time to rein them in.” In March 2023, Dr. Owens joined “The Problem with Jon Stewart,” and continued to raise the alarm bells around greedflation.
This month, Groundwork released a new report diving into grocery inflation, which is often identified as the heaviest burden of inflation in polling. The report identifies the underlying causes of recent grocery price inflation, including corporate profiteering, supply chain shocks, and climate change, and offers policy recommendations to address the high cost of groceries and reduce the risk of future price spikes.