Groundwork’s Rakeen Mabud: “Policymakers must take on the extractive corporate actors that are getting rich off of people’s pain”
November 23, 2021
Yesterday, President Biden announced he will reappoint Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Rakeen Mabud, chief economist at Groundwork Collaborative, explained to Politico Nightly:
“We need federal policies that will help tackle the root causes of inflation: shortages that are the direct result of decades of disinvestment in our supply chains and the corporate extraction that has weakened our economy’s responsiveness to crises.
“Policymakers must take on the extractive corporate actors that are getting rich off of people’s pain. This means cracking down on pandemic profiteers and price gouging, and taxing corporations and the wealthy.”
Email press@groundworkcollaborative.org to speak to an expert on one of the driving factors of rising prices: mega-corporations with massive market power. Below is a sampling of reporting on recent price hikes that got it right:
- Real Clear Politics: Elizabeth Warren On Gas Prices: This Isn’t About Inflation. This Is About Price Gouging. On ‘The ReidOut’ Senator Elizabeth Warren talks about the increase in gas prices as well as the increase in oil companies profits saying “we know exactly what the oil companies pay attention to, what is their number one priority–profits… This isn’t about inflation. This is about price gouging.” [11/19/21]
- Washington Post: As Biden agenda advances in Congress, White House weighs new offensive on inflation. Even as Biden secures long-awaited progress on his legislative agenda, the White House is weighing action to confront other problems. They are considering whether to escalate an attack on parts of corporate America over rising consumer prices, according to an administration official and three people with knowledge of the discussions who spoke on the condition of anonymity to reflect private meetings. [11/20/21]
- The New Republic: The Real Inflation Problem Is Corporate Profiteering. The power is entirely in the hands of large corporations, and they’re going for the gold. This story of corporate greed is being missed in the national inflation conversation. [11/22/21]
###
Groundwork Collaborative: The Groundwork Collaborative’s mission is to advance an economic vision for strong, broadly shared prosperity and true opportunity for all. Visit our website and follow us on Twitter @Groundwork.
