In the News

Mention

Morning Money – What higher for longer means

Rakeen Mabud, chief economist of the left-leaning Groundwork Collaborative, argues that the Fed needs to cut soon. She said gasoline and housing are helping drive rising prices and aren’t something the central bank can tamp down on with higher rates. “It’s really important for the Fed to recognize they are playing chicken with our economy, and they are playing chicken with the lives of millions of people,” she said.

April 11, 2024 Politico

Mention

Groundwork’s Rakeen Mabud Reacts to March CPI Report

“While today's numbers are disappointing, they should not deter the Fed from their planned interest rate cuts. High interest rates won’t bring down the high housing and energy costs that are driving the affordability crisis for millions around the country.”

April 10, 2024 Groundwork Collaborative

Mention

Inflation Stays Stubborn: What the latest numbers mean for you

“While today’s numbers are disappointing they should not deter the Fed from their planned interest rate cuts," Rakeen Mabud, chief economist at Groundwork Collaborative, said in a statement. "High interest rates won't bring down the high housing and energy costs that are driving the affordability crisis for millions around the country."

April 10, 2024 Star Tribune

Mention

House Conservatives Deal a New Blow to Johnson

Some economists questioned the idea that sticky inflation should spur the Fed to delay interest rate cuts. Lindsay Owens of the Groundwork Collaborative, a liberal think tank, said that some of the leading sources of inflation are largely immune to the Fed’s influence, since interest rates have little effect on the cost of car insurance or auto repair, for example. "None of these things are remotely in the realm of things that are impacted through demand destruction," Owens told The Washington Post. "I think if anything, this was not good news for those of us who want to see rate cuts sooner, but I think that’s unfortunate and misguided."

April 10, 2024 The Fiscal Times

Mention

When Will Mortgage Rates Come Down? New Timeline for Drop Revealed

"While today's numbers are disappointing, they should not deter the Fed from their planned interest-rate cuts," Groundwork Collaborative chief economist Dr. Rakeen Mabud told Newsweek. "High interest rates won't bring down the high housing and energy costs that are driving the affordability crisis for millions around the country."

April 10, 2024 Newsweek

Mention

Inflation keeps coming in hot, likely delaying interest rate cuts

Still, Lindsay Owens, executive director of the Groundwork Collaborative, a left-leaning think tank, said there’s a disconnect between the parts of the economy that are driving inflation and the parts the Fed is trying to tame through high rates. For example, car insurance claims don’t go down if the Fed keeps rates high, Owens said. Energy costs are often tied to events around the world.

April 10, 2024 The Washington Post

Mention

Parents are struggling with high prices this year. It may shape how they vote

Many Americans say economic pressures — particularly inflation — are key to how they are thinking about this year's election. Consumer prices have remained high in the U.S., even though the job market has been quite stable. For groceries, for example, families are paying 25% more than they were before the pandemic.

April 6, 2024 NPR

Mention

Balance of Power – Another Hot Jobs Report

On this edition, Joe and Kailey speak with: Groundwork Collaborative Executive Director Lindsay Owens following Friday's US Jobs report. United Nations World Food Programme Executive Director Cindy McCain about the program's work to deliver aid into Gaza.

April 5, 2024 Bloomberg

Mention

Corporate profit bonanza

According to an analysis from the Groundwork Collaborative, "corporate profits drove 53 percent of inflation during the second and third quarters of 2023 and more than one-third since the start of the pandemic." In the four decades prior to the pandemic, corporate profits contributed to just 11% of price increases.

April 2, 2024 Popular Information

Mention

‘Let Them Eat GDP Reports’: 44 Million Americans Are Food Insecure

"It's one thing for corporations to pass reasonable increased costs to consumers. It's another for them to line their coffers by exploiting Americans who are just trying to get by," the Groundwork Collaborative's Liz Pancotti said in January, as the group released a related report. "It's time to rein in corporate price gouging—or families will continue to pay the price."

April 1, 2024 Common Dreams