ICYMI: Groundwork’s Lindsay Owens Talks Price Gouging on CNBC’s Squawk Box

ICYMI: Groundwork’s Lindsay Owens Talks Price Gouging on CNBC’s Squawk Box

Today Groundwork Collaborative’s Executive Director Lindsay Owens joined CNBC’s Squawk Box to discuss corporate price gouging and potential legislative solutions. You can watch the full segment here.

“(Nearly) 40 states have price gouging laws on the books. These are red states, these are blue states – this is Idaho, this is Texas, this is Louisiana. (Former President) Donald Trump did price gouging laws. He used the executive authority he had under the Defense Production Act to crack down on price gouging of medical supplies during the pandemic.”

“…These are really common sense consumer protections that say, ‘Look, you’re a company, you can’t rip off consumers.’ You can’t use the pandemic or a period of high inflation as an excuse to run up the score.”

Email press@groundworkcollaborative.org to speak with a Groundwork expert about price gouging in the food and grocery sector.

BACKGROUND

• Last week, Groundwork released a fact sheet highlighting the prevalence of corporate price gouging that is keeping prices high for consumers.
• Groundwork found that corporate profits drove 53% of inflation during the second and third quarters of 2023 and more than one-third since the start of the pandemic. Historically, corporate profits accounted for only 11% of price growth in the 40 years prior to the pandemic.
• Earlier this year, Groundwork released a report that found families are now paying 25% more for groceries than they were prior to the pandemic, compared to 19 percent overall inflation. The report offers policy recommendations to reduce the risk of future grocery price spikes, such as investigating the use of slotting fees that require product manufacturers to “pay to stay” on shelves and scrutinizing anti-competitive mergers throughout the food supply chain.