Think corporate greed is the leading cause of inflation? Think again
CNN
President Joe Biden has frequently blamed corporate greed for fueling the high cost of living that Americans are fed up with.
Some progressives have frequently blamed corporate greed for fueling the high cost of living that Americans are fed up with. Yet new research from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco casts doubt on the greedflation theory. Economists at the SF Fed found that corporate price gouging was not a primary catalyst for the inflation surge of 2021 to 2022. The Fed researchers did find that some companies exercised pricing power by raising prices above their production costs – a gap known as markups. For instance, markups spiked for gasoline, cars and other goods in 2021. Likewise, there were increased markups for repair, general merchandise, laundry, personal care and other services, according to the Fed. Of course, the inflation crisis was not limited to just a few key sectors. It was economy-wide.
Millions of Americans have taken to the skies, hit the road, fired up the barbecue grill and jumped into the pool this weekend to celebrate the start of summer 2024. Analysts are expecting the Memorial Day weekend to usher in yet another summer of strong consumer spending on travel and other leisure activities.