Inflation or "corporate greed"? Meat prices increased by double digits during pandemic

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

The cost of putting food on the table is the highest it's been in 40 years. The biggest food price hikes are in meats, with pork and beef up 14% to 20% compared with a year ago.

Food companies and some economists say pandemic disruptions, inflation and high demand are to blame. But others question whether there's more at play.

"You're seeing just orders of magnitude greater profit that are not justified by the actual rate of inflation or their increased costs," Ricardo Salvador, a scientist with the Union of Concerned Scientists, a nonprofit advocacy group, told CBS News.

According to quarterly reports for Tyson, the nation's largest meat processor, the company posted $3 billion in profit in 2021. It made over $1 billion in profit just last quarter, the reports showed.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/news/inflation-or-corporate-greed-meat-prices-increased-by-double-digits-during-pandemic/ar-AAUREtA

[llashram]

1. the latter

for a thousand please... get real...predatory capitalism is going to take advantage of every crisis and be damned the consumer.

[BlueJac]

2. Lots of greed and profiteering going on, not all inflation!

Just my opinion.

[Claire Oh Nette]

3. G.R.E.E.D.

Oil companies, meat packing plants.
It's not the farmers, ranchers, or gas station attendants making all this bank.
Corporate stock buybacks and shareholder value.

Labor costs rise 20%? Raise prices 40%.

[unblock]

4. Relentless greed is a constant. It's just more on display in times of demand-pull inflation

Ceos are *always* greedy and *always* looking for ways to maximize profit. It's just that most of the time, raising prices doesn't accomplish that, or at least, raising prices by a lot doesn't accomplish that.

That's because most of the time, people will buy less or switch to a competitor or a substitute product.

But right now, the economy is booming as people are finding more jobs, getting better pay, and spending on their pent-up demand as the pandemic seems to be more or less ending (well sort of anyway).

Demand is through the roof. Enough so that companies can raise prices without people switching because they can sell everything they can produce even at the higher prices. So of course they raise prices.

This is totally normal during demand-pull inflationary times.


That's not to justify the greed. Just putting it in context. Note that this undercuts to typical corporate argument that they "earn" all their profits. Yes, companies earn a fair profit when they deliver valuable goods and services to customers. But many companies are now getting a windfall profit from circumstances, and getting an unearned profit from supply chain issues and barriers to entry. Basically, a chunk of their profit is leveraging their position as an established player in a market that is, for the time being, inefficient.

[onecaliberal]

5. Greed.

Record corporate profits. This isn’t inflation. This is a purposeful attempt to make POTUS look bad and to rip off Americans.

[Bettie]

6. Greed

corporations have decided that the free market means they get to charge whatever they please.

Once a price goes up, it never goes down. Maybe an occasional sale will give you a few pennies of savings, but from my experience, a sale means next week the prices go up.

And there is little competition to be found.