We need to stop calling corporate profit gouging "inflation"

[Baltimike]

because it's not.

Now they seem to have downgraded into "cost of living crisis"

It's not that either.

It's corporate price gouging

[Think. Again.]

1. THIS...

+1000.

[ck4829]

2. K&R

[Effete Snob]

3. Do you believe the Fed is lying?

Please explain how "corporate profit gouging" did this to the money supply:



One either believes in reality or one does not.

An alternative, I guess, is that reality is lying to you.

But how does the money supply expand via "corporate profit gouging"? I was obviously asleep in class that day.

[ck4829]

6. So I guess the "wage earners getting an extra peanut causes inflation" is also a lie

[House of Roberts]

8. Are you trying to claim the expanded money supply

went to rank and file consumers, who spent our way into inflation?

Because if it went to the filthy rich, it only went into Wall Street, where THEY think inflation is wonderful, if it happens in their stock portfolios.

[IbogaProject]

10. So what, Trump gave the rich tons of money

Most people I know didn't end up with that much more cash. That all went to the 1% and they are manipulating prices and reaping Record Corporate Profits.

[KPN]

12. Inflation has many causes, one of which is adjusting prices in order to maintain or

expand profit margins. When the moderate term historic record is worker wage stagnation over 4 plus decades, price gouging describes the dominant dynamic better than the antiseptic descriptor “inflation” don’t you think?

[Bear Creek]

32. Inflation and price gouging are the same

Grocery prices are stabilizing and, in some cases, falling. That makes for challenging year-over-year comps for grocers like Kroger that saw sales soar over the past year due, in part, to rising prices. There’s no relief in sight as Gary Millerchip, Kroger’s CFO, expects inflation

[KPN]

40. Boiled down, yes. It's always about squeezing money out of

consumers/end users.

[Bear Creek]

19. Well

It is on record republicans purposely create inflation to help businesses get maximum profits. So it is indeed price gouging and throw in price fixing on top.

[Progressive dog]

37. Corporations try to get ahead of inflation by raising prices

which does cause more inflation.

[Torchlight]

42. Oddly self-limiting inference you make.

[brooklynite]

4. Unless you're aware of a capitalist country where prices and profits are regulated...

...increased demand for a fixed amount of product results in increased prices (and consequently profits). At least it did when I took econ 1.

[AZCat]

9. We've done it before in the US

There are a couple of cases where the US put price controls in place. This article from last year that I found interesting and informative has some history, along with a discussion of how they might be implemented today:
[link:https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/13/business/economy/inflation-price-controls.html]

[brooklynite]

17. Price controls were considered a severe step for essential supplies.

The current inflation (which is an international issue) is largely driven by pent up demand from the post-COVID period.

[Bear Creek]

31. Yes

And had savings and didn't need credit cards to buy groceries

[Progressive dog]

38. If you lived through Nixon's price controls

you wouldn't even consider them. Without rationing, price controls make shortages worse by hoarding and by manufacturers refusing to sell at a loss.

[Bear Creek]

20. In America

There was a thing used by past presidents as price freezing

[brooklynite]

24. Again, for essential goods and a limited time

The Soviet block tried fixed prices. How’d that work out?

[Bear Creek]

29. Not the same

But just keep ripping off Americans. The economy is rigged and there is no free trade.

[Bear Creek]

30. Inflation is fixed

And so is the prices. Need more advanced economics class.

[edhopper]

36. So an increase in wholesale prices for raw materials

usually results in 100% price increases, where there is no real increase in demand?

From what I see, milk had a short 30% increase at the first half of 2022 and has since come down to 2021 levels. Yet Ice Cream is still double what it was before the 8% inflation we had. Heavy Cream is 3X what it was a few years ago.
Did potatoes triple in price when I wasn't looking to make $3 bags of potato chips now cost $7.

No gouging going on at all. Sure.

[AllaN01Bear]

5. thank you very much. code word for gouging. we need a 4% millianres

and corperate tax,

[roamer65]

7. The Fed needs to temporarily increase the inflation target to 3 percent.

Getting to the 2 percent target is going to cause a lot of economic damage.

As we are seeing currently.

[Mr.Bee]

11. ctrl z to undo

The only way to fix this;
Repeal Trump Tax Cuts
Repeal Bush Tax Cuts
Repeal Reagan Tax Cuts
Raise the Top Tax Rate Back to 91%.

[iluvtennis]

13. It's GREED

[NoMoreRepugs]

14. The FED 2% inflation is an arbitrary target - NOT something set in stone. If corp profits are at

levels not seen in 7 decades I don't think one needs to have gone thru Wharton to figure out their might be some price gouging going on.

[FakeNoose]

15. In my Grandpa's time they were called the "robber barons"

I'm talking about people like Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Thomas Edison, Mellon, Frick, Westinghouse, etc. They were all about getting there first, building the first factories, pumping the first oil, and making millions. This was back when a million dollars set you apart from everyone else who earned only a few dollars per day.

When these greedy robber barons started up, we had no laws against such things and they exploited every bit of it. Laws had to be created to stop the exploitation of America's workers, our economy, and our resources. Well that took a long time - in some cases over 50 years until we finally felt protected from the robber barons.

So what happened? Ronald Reagan is what happened. Since Reagan was elected in 1980 there has been a slow, systematic destruction of the laws and systems that were built to protect Americans from the robber barons' greed. This is not fanciful, it's a real conspiracy and it's happening right before our eyes.

Now it's morphing in the 21st century into high-tech new wave exploitation. Once again they're winning and we're losing.

[orangecrush]

18. KICK

[aggiesal]

25. Rockefeller was once asked, ''How much money is enough money?'' His response was ...

"Just one more dollar."

[moondust]

27. "Trickle-down" and offshoring.

Since the 1980s American companies have been "offshoring" and outsourcing manufacturing to low cost countries such as India, China, Malaysia, Pakistan and Vietnam.

Both in the service of the robber barons who sure didn't like all the union strikes.

When Raygun won a 49-state landslide in 1984 it was apparent to some of us that many working Americans were going to be screwed for years to come. U.S. voters apparently didn't care that the presidency of Ronald Reagan was marked by numerous scandals, resulting in the investigation, indictment or conviction of over 138 administration officials, the largest number for any president of the United States.

K/R

[Bear Creek]

34. Absolutely

Big corporations like Amazon should have been busted up decades ago. There are a few people that control just about everything. One company owns several others but claim it’s not them. The ruling made back in the robber baron time needs to be abolished that Corporations are people needs to be abolished. There isn’t free trade because they own and control all of it. Price fixing, racketeering, collusion, conflict of interests. Companies are cheating individuals by small amounts knowing that no one will have the resources to sue them. Deceptive business practices that use to be done by thieves is now accepted practice for most companies today.

[Marthe48]

16. I've been calling it corporate gouging

for 2 years.

Too bad the bottom line includes food and housing. Not a bit of humanity in corporate greed. Tax the rich.

[Quakerfriend]

21. Yes, thank you!! Ever since Biden began

to reduce inflation, I’ve seen ridiculous price increases in certain items at the grocery store- chicken broth up 40%, goat’s milk up 20% etc.

[BobTheSubgenius]

22. Corporate profit does not equal inflation.

Let's call it what it is - theft. Not necessarily illegal, but not a good look for any entity.

[Emile]

23. It's PREDATORY CAPITALISM

[Amishman]

26. We need to stop thinking all inflation is driven by corporate price gouging

Corporate profit margins are up - but not enough to explain the majority of inflation.

S&P 500 operating profit aggregates to about 12% based on latest financials. 5 years ago it as around 10% and inflation was reasonable. Corporate greed is real, it is a contributor to inflation, but only part of the story.

The biggest driver of inflation is is reckless monetary policy by the Fed. They grew our money supply by 35% in three years. You cannot put that much additional money into circulation without significant inflationary effects. In a way, we have been lucky that it hasn't been worse given what was done.

[Zeitghost]

28. You can type until your fingers bleed

But economic theory denial around here is strong.

[Bear Creek]

33. Corporate greed

https://www.inequalitymedia.org/the-truth-about-inflation

[jaxexpat]

35. Been saying this for a couple of years now.

Too many people believe "economists" are not, for the most part, in bed with those who create and manipulate trends in consumer prices. These people believe that there are rules and some sort of logic and predictability in the machinations of the world economy.

The only rule is profit is "king". The only predictability about inflation is, "once twisted into a panic, profit uncertainty for some is a very high profit certainty for those who create and manipulate trends in consumer prices".

This applies to "supply chain disruption" as well as material scarcity. Russia, for instance, actually believed it controlled European energy. In the wake of the Covid supply chain "opportunity" they saw an opportunity to recreate their "empire". They miscalculated. They had not sought the cooperation, approval or permission of those who create and manipulate trends in consumer prices. Stupid Russian leadership. They couldn't conceive of a world where they were not in that clique.

[The Wandering Harper]

39. YES

the price for a pint of ben & jerry's has gone up 50 percent in the same time the price for a pint of bart's (the locally-produced ice cream of similar quality) has gone up 20 percent. How has "inflation" affected them so differently? b & j's is gouging is what I think

[Bear Creek]

41. Today on DU

https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/record-chicken-prices-squeeze-us-shoppers-benefit-tyson-foods-2023-10-05/

Inflation benefits the companies and the economy is geared to create inflation.

[Elessar Zappa]

43. Maybe a little bit but price gouging isn't the main cause.

[redqueen]

44. It's GREEDflation nt