Groundwork Responds to New Inflation Report

Groundwork Responds to New Inflation Report

Today’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) shows year-over-year inflation at 8.6%, with prices up for gas, food, and housing. Groundwork’s Chief Economist Dr. Rakeen Mabud reacted with the following statement:

“While families are feeling the sting of soaring energy costs, oil and gas companies are cheering the nearly $100 billion in profits they’ve already made this year off families’ pain at the pump. It’s past time for Congress to pass an excess profits tax to stop the outrageous war profiteering by Big Oil.”

Email press@groundworkcollaborative.org to speak with Dr. Mabud about today’s CPI report and visit endcorporateprofiteering.org to see our latest research. 

Corporate profiteering and inflation in the news:

• The New York Times: Is ‘Greedflation’ Rewriting Economics, or Do Old Rules Still Apply? In a time of extraordinary disruption, they contend, increasingly dominant corporations are taking the opportunity to jack up prices more than they otherwise could, which is squeezing consumers and supercharging inflation. [6/3/22]
• Vox: Why meat is so expensive right now. “It’s really creating an environment in which ranchers get squeezed,” [Groundwork’s Mike] Mitchell said. “Because demand for meat is still relatively strong … the meatpackers can make a very, very healthy profit and the ranchers don’t see that.” [6/7/22]
• Between The Lines: Corporate Price Gouging Exploits, Worsens Inflation. “You can go into earnings calls at any given time over the course of the year. And on these earnings calls, CEOs, CFOs, they have to be honest. They can’t lie to their investors. And they are actively boasting about how they’re able to raise prices well above costs, increase costs they’re seeing and consumers are footing the bill.” [5/25/22]
• Ralph Nader Radio Hour: What’s Really Driving Inflation/War Without Death? Ralph is joined by Lindsay Owens, executive director of the progressive economics think tank, the Groundwork Collaborative, who listened in on the earnings calls for some major corporations to hear management brag about using the current inflationary climate as cover for “plain old corporate profiteering.” [5/21/22]
• The Beat with Ari Melber. Lindsay Owens: “What [PPG’s CEO’s] telling, you know, shareholders and market analysts is that the music is not going to stop, we’re not going to pass the savings back along to consumers.” [5/18/22]