Robert Reich: 'Corporate price-gouging' can be a strong issue for Democrats in 2024

12 May 2023

The U.S. Federal Reserve, under Chairman Jerome Powell, has been gradually raising interest rates in the hope of taming inflation. And more rate hikes are on the way.

In an opinion column published by The Guardian on May 12, liberal economist Robert Reich cites corporate greed as a major cause of inflation. And he argues that price-gouging by large corporations could be a strong issue for Democrats in 2024 if they play their cards right.

"So, what's causing inflation? Corporations with enough monopoly power to raise their prices and fatten their profits, which the Fed's rate hikes barely affect," argues Reich, who served as secretary of labor under President Bill Clinton during the 1990s. "Even the Wall Street Journal, in a lead article last week headlined 'Why Is Inflation So Sticky? It Could Be Corporate Profits,' spotlights corporations boosting profit margins…. Prices remain sky-high because corporations got hooked on price-gouging and won't give it up."

Reich adds, "Corporate economists argue that businesses couldn’t possibly be padding their profits; if they could, they would have done it before the inflation of the last two years. Baloney. Businesses have been using the cover of inflation to justify price increases, so consumers accept them."

This "price-gouging," according to Reich, gives Democrats "a clear opportunity" in the 2024 elections.

"Make this a major campaign theme for 2024," Reich recommends. "Ask the public: do you want more jobs and higher wages, or do you want large corporations making fatter profits by raising prices?"

Read Robert Reich's entire Guardian column at this link.

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