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Corporate Profiteering Schemes That Drive Inflation Detailed at Senate Hearing

Bilal Baydoun, director of policy and research at the Groundwork Collaborative, testified that "in America today, a fair price, let alone a sweet deal, is harder and harder to come by. In the age of corporate concentration and high-powered algorithms, pricing is in the midst of a troubling transformation, and the price tag as we know it may become a relic of the past."

May 2, 2024 Common Dreams

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Editorial: President Biden – struggling families need $$ relief too

As The Hill reported, the cost of buying a home has hit an all-time high, thanks in part to high mortgage rates. “The Fed’s high interest rates are exacerbating our housing crisis while doing nothing to tackle the high prices that remain. Meanwhile, sky-high borrowing costs have pushed household debt to an all-time high and delinquencies are rising,” said Rakeen Mabud, chief economist at the progressive Groundwork Collaborative and a former Treasury Department staffer.

May 2, 2024 Boston Herald

Press Release

Tomorrow: Groundwork’s Bilal Baydoun to Testify Before Senate Banking Committee on Pricing

Tomorrow at 10 a.m. ET, Groundwork Collaborative Director of Policy and Research Bilal Baydoun will testify before the Senate Banking Committee at a hearing titled, “Higher Prices: How Shrinkflation and Technology Impact Consumers’ Finances,” where he will outline the rampant corporate power behind price hikes facing consumers.

May 1, 2024 Groundwork Collaborative

Press Release

Groundwork’s Dr. Rakeen Mabud on FOMC: “The Fed is failing families struggling to get by and failing to bring down inflation”

Ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy announcement this afternoon, Groundwork Collaborative Chief Economist Dr. Rakeen Mabud warned against keeping interest rates at 23-year highs: “The Fed is failing families struggling to get by and failing to bring down inflation. Chair Powell should move to cut rates.”

May 1, 2024 Groundwork Collaborative

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Fed holds off on rate cuts after ‘lack of further progress’ on inflation

“The Fed’s high interest rates are exacerbating our housing crisis while doing nothing to tackle the high prices that remain. Meanwhile, sky-high borrowing costs have pushed household debt to an all-time high and delinquencies are rising,” said Rakeen Mabud, chief economist at the progressive Groundwork Collaborative and a former Treasury Department staffer.

May 1, 2024 The Hill

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Balance of Power: May 1, 2024

Groundwork Collaborative Executive Director Lindsay Owens ahead of Tuesday's rate decision from the Federal Reserve.

May 1, 2024 Bloomberg

Press Release

New Video: Groundwork’s Rakeen Mabud Explains How the Federal Reserve May be Worsening the Housing Crisis

Groundwork Collaborative released a new video featuring Chief Economist Dr. Rakeen Mabud, who explains how the Federal Reserve’s refusal to lower interest rates is keeping housing costs high and making it more costly and more difficult for people to buy or even rent a home. The video comes ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting on April 30 and May 1, where the Fed will announce the path forward on interest rates in the coming months.

April 29, 2024 Groundwork Collaborative

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Where Shopping Is a Bummer? Florida Shoppers Are Reeling From Grocery Price Hikes

Groundwork Collaborative, a progressive economic research group that released a February report on grocery inflation, attributes the phenomenon not just to grocer greed but to food-supplier profiteering.

April 26, 2024 Miami New Times

Mention

High Borrowing Costs Have Some Democrats Urging Biden to Pressure the Fed

Lindsay Owens, executive director of the liberal Groundwork Collaborative in Washington, has been calling on the Fed to cut rates for months. But in an interview, she said she did not think Fed officials would bow to pressure from Mr. Biden or anyone else — and that Groundwork’s own private polling was not conclusive on whether voters would reward Mr. Biden for trying. “I have seen nothing in the last few years that suggests that any advocacy, from organizations like mine or from the president, will change Powell’s calculus,” Ms. Owens said.

April 24, 2024 New York Times

Mention

Junk Fees & Algorithmic Pricing… Who Needs Them?

You would think such blatant acts of corruption would be nipped in the bud once it became common knowledge, but unfortunately, it’s going to be a push from all of us to roll back several of these unfair practices. Bilal Baydoun is the Director of Policy and Research with the Groundwork Collaborative and he joined me to break down how these practices work, and what we can do to try and prevent these kinds of things from continuing to happen in the future.

April 23, 2024 WHBY