Its record profit ***MARGINS*** causing majority of inflation !!!

[uponit7771]

Last edited Wed Apr 13, 2022, 12:25 PM - Edit history (1)

Caught ANOTHER talking heads discussion about inflation and again no discussion of record profit **margins**

EDIT: Inflation is GLOBALE and its the OTHER factor M$M isn't mentioning in their anti Biden screeds is the

EDIT: Consumer buy is ***JUST NOW*** starting to fall when inflation started in Oct 2020 so there goes the "supply chain" BS when it comes to products. This is just naked corp greed ... chart here -

If the inflation was organic there would be NO 70 year high of record profit **margins**.

https://www.npr.org/2022/02/13/1080494838/economist-explains-record-corporate-profits-despite-rising-inflation

But here's another reality. While families are dealing with sticker shock, profits for companies that put these goods on shelves - well, those are skyrocketing. Data from the U.S. Commerce Department shows that corporate profit ***margins*** are the largest they've been in 70 years, and that's caused progressive leaders like Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren to cry foul, saying some companies are using the pandemic as a cover to raise prices far more than is warranted.

Again, democrats need to get AHEAD of these discussions and not let this shit sit in the air.

Too many times the M$M thought stream stupidity and when its unanswered people believe it (yes, just like the Russians but worse) and have no facts to counter it.

We can no more blame the Biden administration for record inflation than for warm water coming out of the cold water side of a faucet.

More

But this does not mean that the actual amount of price increase is justified by the increase in costs. And as a matter of fact, what we have seen is that profits are skyrocketing, which means that ***companies have increased prices by more than cost**. In the earnings reports, companies have bragged about how they have managed to be ahead of the inflation curve, **how they have managed to jack up prices more than their costs and as a result have delivered these record profits**.

The consequence? Consumer SENTIMENT is at a record low even though the labor for participation rate and unemployment are at record lows !!!



Americans have jobs money and are going to stop spending it after a while because we see the price hikes as BS unless wages in the lower end income earners go up too.

We HAVE to get ahead of M$M and MAGA thought streams that are out in the ether!!!

[sop]

1. Excellent information.

[Scrivener7]

2. This should be being trumpeted everywhere. I don't watch MSM much. Are you seeing this

being reported there?

[rainy]

9. No they are still putting most of the blame

on Biden because polled people say it’s his fault🙄

[Walleye]

3. TV news loves to show those pictures of prices

Telling us over and over again how expensive things are. Never bothering to go into depth about why. Half of our problem in this country is journalistic laziness.

[Strelnikov_]

12. Yep . . . actual reporting lowers the profit margin n/t

[Walleye]

14. They don't want to confuse their viewers with any pertinent facts

[uponit7771]

13. THIS !!!! ☝🏾☝🏾☝🏾 Stenography is way easier than deep dives

[FoxNewsSucks]

29. Well, media profit margins are also higher than ever

and news is now a profit center just like entertainment.

[Walleye]

37. That is a very good point. So they put in less effort and get more money. The American dream

[Strelnikov_]

48. America . . Fuck Yeah!!! n/t

[Scrivener7]

4. And PS, this is not showing up in corporate stock prices. The stock market is still down on the

year.

So it seems they are moving the ratchet up a rung. The investor class is being cut out of the wealth now, as well as those without the ability to save.

[uponit7771]

8. +1, Oh no ... they're getting theirs **DIVIDEND** distribution is at a record high too (link)

Equity investers know there's no more room for upward moves relative to PE ... people know that would be a setup for a huge fall so what do corporation do ?!

Increase dividend payouts !!!

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/04/dividend-payouts-are-at-record-highs-but-yields-are-down.html

Nearly 300 companies in the S&P 500 have raised their dividend this year.

Overall, dividends in the second quarter were up 4% from a year ago, and 6.5% higher than the pandemic low set in the third quarter of 2020, according to BMO Capital Markets.

These bastards are fleecing the American money stream without a peep from M$M to point to them

[Scrivener7]

10. But that article goes on to say that the higher dividends are a product of the higher cash flows

coming from the gouging (that's my word.) But that dividends as a share of the profits has gone down.

They're keeping it for themselves.

[uponit7771]

11. Ah, good catch ... the dividends didn't rise with relative to margins. Some greedy bastards

[spooky3]

22. Not true. In ordinary times, high profits and dividends make stocks

Valuable, so investors would want to buy the stock and prices would increase.

And many companies pay small, or zero, dividends.

We need a full investigation of this.

[uponit7771]

34. +1,

[Amishman]

5. I really like the idea of mandatory profit sharing

Require something like 25% of all corporate profits to be paid out as profit sharing to all non-executive employees.

Also require that a special bonus be paid out each year to all non-executive employees equal to the dollar value of all stock buyback, stock option, and executive bonuses for the year.

[KS Toronado]

20. Like your idea

but 25% of all corporate profits to be paid out as profit sharing to all non-executive employees,
would probably double their hourly wages, big business would fight that tooth & nail.

[mjvpi]

27. Bingo. And require labor has seats on corporate boards.

As Senator Warren often points out, Capitalism needs some tweaking.

[newdayneeded]

6. Thinking people

Would know and understand this.....but, have you seen the voters in the country?

[Scrivener7]

7. The stupid should be easily led to this. We are just not leading them.

[Tactical Peek]

15. Gross margins can be gross ...

Gross margins can be gross ... depending on which side of them you're on.

[Chainfire]

16. It is a double win for big money

They get to take home record profits while driving a nail into Democratic politics. What could be better?

[Hotler]

17. We can't do shit without manchin and what's her name being team players. nt

[progree]

18. Another point to keep in mind -- the inflation problem is GLOBAL -- a response to a rightie blaming

U.S. inflation on President Biden. Even a hyper-imaginative rightie can't come up with an argument that Biden is causing prices to rise rapidly everywhere. And inflation overseas and consequently higher import prices affects our prices.

[uponit7771]

35. +1, I will edit OP. This is no doubt an issue world wide and corporations in US are gouging

[progree]

36. 👍 /nt

[Progressive dog]

19. Excerpt from the article you linked

WEBER: Yeah. I mean, first of all, we have to realize that the supply chain issues are very real, right? So in normal times, companies, also very large companies, mainly compete over being able to deliver their products quickly, attracting customers through advertisement and so on. So if demand goes up, they basically react by delivering more of the stuff that they are producing. But what's happening now is that suddenly, because this gigantic conveyor belt system, if you want so, is not working properly, stuff gets stuck. And suddenly, companies, even very large companies, have difficulties delivering.

We may not like it but price will go up when supply sinks unless demand goes down. The alternative is first come first served leaving some people unable to buy at any price.
We've seen what happens with gasoline numerous times. Waiting hours to buy a few gallons of overpriced gas in the 70's and then seeing prices climb of everything that needed to be shipped.
-----------------------------------

And that trend has continued into this year, with recent inflation data showing consumer prices up 7.9% year over year in February, the biggest gain since 1982.

The average American’s wages have increased 11% to offset some of those price increases, but real wage growth—a measure of wages adjusted for price increases—has been under pressure recently.

https://fortune.com/2022/03/31/us-companies-record-profits-2021-price-hikes-inflation/
11 is bigger than 7.9 This won't be easy to solve.

[Zeitghost]

24. Nice try

Using logic and reading deeper than the headlines. This thread is for misplaced panic and blame only.

[oldsoftie]

25. Lololol.

[uponit7771]

38. This is false, I placed astrics are ***MARGINS*** for a reason. People here aren't livs and if it

... was just first come first serve then consumer buying would be down from the start, it wasn't.

Consumer buying is ***JUST NOW*** going down ... it wasn't during the start of inflation under TFGs regiem

[IronLionZion]

21. Those companies know fully well that people will blame Biden/Dems

since idiots keep associating high prices with socialism. As if Biden is raising the prices.

[Zeitghost]

23. So...

Inflation has nothing to do with more money chasing fewer goods in a global pandemic. It's just corporations have finally, after centuries of following supply and demand trends, found out they can just up their prices at a whim with no consequence as to where they fall on a demand curve.


I must have missed that part in all the econ classes I took getting that silly degree.


These threads are the economic equivalent of "Vaccines will kill you, magnetize you and control your mind through 5g".

[uponit7771]

40. Fewer goods is a factor of course but not across every sector and NOT the majority of the issue ...

... at hand with core and non core inflation

Consumer buying is JUST NOW starting to fall 1Q 22 ... that's not because of less supply that's consumers refusing to buy because we see the corp BS

[oldsoftie]

26. We can't ignore the 2 trillion that people have and are able to spend.

Far too much money was pumped into the system during the pandemic and certainly AFTER its worst days. Too many people chasing too few goods will get you higher prices. Profit margins are only PART of the story

[uponit7771]

41. True, more money in working class hands buys more goods but that doesn't mean corps raise prices

... to the point where it people stop buying like now.

Corporations are hurting themselves, if it was supply at the center of inflation consumer buying would slow down because they can't purchase ... not the case here.

[jaxexpat]

28. I like graphs but without definition they can be construed and misunderstood.

Your points seem pretty well substantiated verbally but the show part of the show-and-tell is distractingly mysterious.

1)What does the 0-140 column define?
2)"Current conditions" of what exactly?
3)What is the purpose of pinpointing the peak point of oil prices? If it provides a baseline, well good. Is that it?

One of the problems with disseminating information is that it must be legible to be understood.

[uponit7771]

47. Bottom line the margins wouldn't be so fat if there was true organic inflation.

[jaxexpat]

49. That is unassailably true. My question is why do you show a graph if it doesn't mean anything?

Just a reminder. Reagan used an undefined graph in February 1981 to explain how his economic plans would work. No definition, no reasoning, just a graph with 2 lines, one going up over time, the other down. He told the TeeVee audience the line going up was his plan and the other was the democratic congress' plan. "Those Democrats just don't understand math" he said. When asked to support his statement with facts he said, "just look at the graph".

[Joinfortmill]

30. No surprise to me. Capitalism needs strong guard rails.

[uponit7771]

42. +1, fettered capitalism that favors the working class lifts EVERYONE better than top heavy GZP crap

[gulliver]

31. The Republicans are causing inflation

Corporations just see an opportunity, and that's their duty to their shareholders. But Republicans created the problem to begin with. Republicans ruin Capitalism with trade wars and the like

[cstanleytech]

32. Record total or record mega percentage increase? If it's percentage

then yes it’s completely disgusting.

[uponit7771]

43. +1, I read percentage increase because of the amount of the top dollar relative to EBITA ...

... has been off the charts.

I agree if it was just more bottom line cost that cause the inflation then we're in a space that few changes can get past but this is looking like naked corp greed

[yaesu]

33. When there is such a serious income inequality gap it throws everything out of kilter

Too much massive wealth in too few hands.

[uponit7771]

44. +1, most of the 5.6% YoY wage increase went to top earners I have yet to read a chart of the

... MEDIAN wage increase that would show a better reading of what everyone is getting

[Marthe48]

39. Examples of money grabbing

I read that Dollar Tree's profits (payment to shareholders) had dropped from 35% profit to about 30% toward the end of 2021, because of increased costs to suppliers and shippers, so the ceo decided to change the prices in the store to get those profits back up to 35%. So people who shop at Dollar Tree, who don't get to pad their paychecks, are paying more for the same products, so shareholders can get a fatter check in the mail. 30% profit means that all of Dollar Tree's expenses, from supplies, to shipping to to store upkeep to wages was covered by 70% of their gross, but they still felt the need to jack up costs because 30% pure profit wasn't enough.

And here is a post from Robert Reich about Tyson chicken profits:
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[uponit7771]

45. +1, Dollar Tree is a great anecdotal example of corp naked greed. Do you have another link to story?

[Marthe48]

46. This is similar to the story I read

https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/08/business/dollar-tree-1-dollar-price-dollar-stores/index.html#:~:text=Dollar%20Tree%20said%20that%20the,merchandise%20%E2%80%94%20including%20by%20shrinking%20sizes.


I read a link about 3 weeks ago, and I'm not sure this is the same one, but it does mention the profit margin.

I'm not going into any store much, but I would go into Dollar Tree every few months. Last time was Dec. 21 and I'm not planning to go back any time soon.