NEW POLL: Strong Majority of Voters Blame Corporations for Inflation

NEW POLL: Strong Majority of Voters Blame Corporations for Inflation, “Taking Advantage of the Pandemic” to Raise Prices

Amid a fierce debate in Washington around inflation, Groundwork Collaborative has released a new poll with Data for Progress showing voters overwhelmingly believe corporations are raising prices unfairly to earn record profits.

The results, as featured in Bloomberg News today, are backed by growing data and research showing the role of corporate profiteering in recent price hikes.

“Over and over, corporations are telling us about their corporate profiteering strategies – and the public is taking notice,” said Groundwork’s Executive Director Lindsay Owens. “By wide margins, voters say corporations are raising prices simply because they can – and they want lawmakers to put a stop to it.”

The poll, which tested voters’ attitudes toward inflation, includes the following key findings:

• By a 60-32 point margin, voters agree that corporations are taking advantage of the pandemic to raise prices and grow profits — and reject the premise that corporations have “no choice but to raise prices.”
• When asked whom they blame more for inflation – corporations or rising wages of workers – voters overwhelmingly blame corporations for increasing prices to profit more – by a 55-point margin.
• Strong majorities of voters support a number of measures to rein in rising prices, including:
  • Bringing new manufacturing jobs to the U.S.;
  • Cracking down on corporations raising prices unfairly;
  • Investing in clean energy, health care, child care, and long-term care; and
  • Increasing taxes on large corporations and the ultrawealthy.

“This polling makes clear that Americans hold corporations responsible for taking advantage of the pandemic to grow their profits and drive up inflation,” said Ethan Winter, senior analyst at Data for Progress. “Voters want Congress to act to combat rising prices and crackdown on corporations — and it’s time they do so.”

From May 5 to 9, 2022, Data for Progress conducted a survey of 1,146 likely voters nationally. The sample was weighted to be representative of likely voters by age, gender, education, race, and voting history. You can view the full poll results here.