ICYMI: Groundwork’s Rakeen Mabud – “Prices Are Going Up… Because of Corporate Greed”

Following last week’s Consumer Price Index showing a 7% year-over-year increase in inflation, Groundwork’s Chief Economist Rakeen Mabud joined the Black News Channel’s Amplified with Aisha Mills to highlight the issue:

“Essentially prices are going up … because of corporate greed. [Companies] are using inflation as a cover to raise prices and pocket the profits…We have handed our economy over to these mega-corporations for decades.”

Email press@groundworkcollaborative.org to be connected to Dr. Mabud. 

Below is a sampling of recent reporting on price hikes that got it right: 

• Data for Progress: Messaging on Inflation Should Stress Policy Solutions, Record Corporate Profits. These findings offer a messaging framework for lawmakers and activists to acknowledge the stress that rising prices are having on families while tackling the root causes of inflation: corporate power and decades of underinvestment. [1/6/22]
• The Washington Post: White House allies split over inflation plan as Biden trains attacks on corporate greed. “The truth is the link between price hikes and profiteering is hiding in plain sight. It’s clear as day in earnings calls where CEOs can’t stop crowing about their ‘pricing strategies,’” said Lindsay Owens, an economist at the Groundwork Collaborative, a left-leaning group that has encouraged the administration to take a tougher position. [1/10/22]
• Bloomberg: Inflation Risks Getting Sticky as Big Firms Flex Pricing Power. “The longer inflation lasts and the more widespread it is, the more air cover it gives companies to raise prices,” Meli said. “It feeds on itself.” [1/18/22]
• CNBC: Profits for S&P 500 companies rose 22% in the fourth quarter and nearly 50% in 2021, estimates show. Fourth-quarter earnings for the S&P 500 are expected to be up 22.4%, according to Refinitiv, capping off a remarkable 2021 where overall earnings will be up approximately 49%. [1/13/22]

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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.