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A shopper looks at a meat display June 20, 2022 at the Market 32 Supermarket in South Burlington, Vermont. (Photo: Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images)
A report released Friday by a panel of the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform highlighted how "certain corporations are using the cover of inflation to raise prices excessively, resulting in record profits and profit margins" at the expense of consumers.
"Americans understand this is happening, and they want it to stop."
The analysis--Power and Profiteering: How Certain Industries Hiked Prices and Drove Inflation--was produced by the House Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, which held a related hearing featuring testimony from economists in September.
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), the subcommittee chair, said in a statement that "today's analysis reaffirms what an overwhelming 80% majority of Americans already recognize according to a recent poll: Under the guise of inflation, certain corporations excessively hiked prices far beyond what their costs necessitated, further driving inflation."
"As American corporations report their highest profit margins the United States has seen in over 70 years, executives of leading companies are admitting on earnings calls that they're taking advantage of inflation," the congressman continued. "One executive argued that 'a little bit of inflation is always good in our business' while another admitted that his company's prices wouldn't fall with decreasing costs, stating, 'We don't reduce prices on the back end of these increases.'"
"It is unacceptable that certain companies and industries are engaged in extreme price hikes under the cover of inflation," he declared. "Americans understand this is happening, and they want it to stop. We have an obligation in Congress to shine light on this practice, which is exactly what today's analysis does."
\u201cNEW: Subcom Chair @CongressmanRaja released an analysis detailing how certain industries\u2014shipping, rental cars, meat processing, and oil and gas\u2014have engaged in excessive price hikes, raking in record profits helping fuel inflation.\n\nhttps://t.co/NXO80nadrZ\u201d— Oversight Committee (@Oversight Committee) 1667577423
The document states that an "analysis of financial information from a sampling of the largest corporations in several industries shows massive increases in profits between 2019 and 2021."
According to the subcommittee:
"Over the same period, profit margins increased by 201% among the companies analyzed in the shipping industry, by 262% among the companies analyzed in the rental car industry, and by 53% among the companies analyzed in the meat processing industry," the document notes.
The report also points out that "recent economic studies make clear that record corporate markups, profits, and profit margins contributed to--and continue to contribute to--ongoing Inflation."
Specifically, the document says that "studies by the Economic Policy Institute and Roosevelt Institute demonstrate that profits contributed more to price growth in the United States from mid-2020 through the end of 2021 than at any other point from 1979 to the present--and continue to contribute markedly today. This is especially true in highly concentrated industries."
The document concludes with the assertion that "the federal government can and should play an important role in addressing inflation, including by passing legislation to address excessive price hikes," and highlights the Inflation Reduction Act, which Democrats finally passed this summer after months of party infighting and opposition from the GOP.
Some progressive lawmakers and policy experts continue to advocate for a windfall profits tax bill to target companies like the fossil fuel giants that have recently raked in massive profits, which they've used to benefit shareholders.
The new analysis comes just days before the U.S. midterm elections--which will determine whether Democrats retain control of Congress for the second half of President Joe Biden's first term--and on the heels of the Federal Reserve announcing yet another interest rate hike.
The sixth rate hike of the year came despite warnings from economists, progressive lawmakers, and other critics that the approach could have "catastrophic outcomes" for working-class people while not actually impacting inflation, due to corporate profiteering.
Notably, as Common Dreams reported, while Fed Chair Jerome Powell took questions about the rate hike from reporters for about 40 minutes on Wednesday, not one of them asked about the impact of corporate profits.
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A report released Friday by a panel of the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform highlighted how "certain corporations are using the cover of inflation to raise prices excessively, resulting in record profits and profit margins" at the expense of consumers.
"Americans understand this is happening, and they want it to stop."
The analysis--Power and Profiteering: How Certain Industries Hiked Prices and Drove Inflation--was produced by the House Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, which held a related hearing featuring testimony from economists in September.
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), the subcommittee chair, said in a statement that "today's analysis reaffirms what an overwhelming 80% majority of Americans already recognize according to a recent poll: Under the guise of inflation, certain corporations excessively hiked prices far beyond what their costs necessitated, further driving inflation."
"As American corporations report their highest profit margins the United States has seen in over 70 years, executives of leading companies are admitting on earnings calls that they're taking advantage of inflation," the congressman continued. "One executive argued that 'a little bit of inflation is always good in our business' while another admitted that his company's prices wouldn't fall with decreasing costs, stating, 'We don't reduce prices on the back end of these increases.'"
"It is unacceptable that certain companies and industries are engaged in extreme price hikes under the cover of inflation," he declared. "Americans understand this is happening, and they want it to stop. We have an obligation in Congress to shine light on this practice, which is exactly what today's analysis does."
\u201cNEW: Subcom Chair @CongressmanRaja released an analysis detailing how certain industries\u2014shipping, rental cars, meat processing, and oil and gas\u2014have engaged in excessive price hikes, raking in record profits helping fuel inflation.\n\nhttps://t.co/NXO80nadrZ\u201d— Oversight Committee (@Oversight Committee) 1667577423
The document states that an "analysis of financial information from a sampling of the largest corporations in several industries shows massive increases in profits between 2019 and 2021."
According to the subcommittee:
"Over the same period, profit margins increased by 201% among the companies analyzed in the shipping industry, by 262% among the companies analyzed in the rental car industry, and by 53% among the companies analyzed in the meat processing industry," the document notes.
The report also points out that "recent economic studies make clear that record corporate markups, profits, and profit margins contributed to--and continue to contribute to--ongoing Inflation."
Specifically, the document says that "studies by the Economic Policy Institute and Roosevelt Institute demonstrate that profits contributed more to price growth in the United States from mid-2020 through the end of 2021 than at any other point from 1979 to the present--and continue to contribute markedly today. This is especially true in highly concentrated industries."
The document concludes with the assertion that "the federal government can and should play an important role in addressing inflation, including by passing legislation to address excessive price hikes," and highlights the Inflation Reduction Act, which Democrats finally passed this summer after months of party infighting and opposition from the GOP.
Some progressive lawmakers and policy experts continue to advocate for a windfall profits tax bill to target companies like the fossil fuel giants that have recently raked in massive profits, which they've used to benefit shareholders.
The new analysis comes just days before the U.S. midterm elections--which will determine whether Democrats retain control of Congress for the second half of President Joe Biden's first term--and on the heels of the Federal Reserve announcing yet another interest rate hike.
The sixth rate hike of the year came despite warnings from economists, progressive lawmakers, and other critics that the approach could have "catastrophic outcomes" for working-class people while not actually impacting inflation, due to corporate profiteering.
Notably, as Common Dreams reported, while Fed Chair Jerome Powell took questions about the rate hike from reporters for about 40 minutes on Wednesday, not one of them asked about the impact of corporate profits.
A report released Friday by a panel of the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform highlighted how "certain corporations are using the cover of inflation to raise prices excessively, resulting in record profits and profit margins" at the expense of consumers.
"Americans understand this is happening, and they want it to stop."
The analysis--Power and Profiteering: How Certain Industries Hiked Prices and Drove Inflation--was produced by the House Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, which held a related hearing featuring testimony from economists in September.
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), the subcommittee chair, said in a statement that "today's analysis reaffirms what an overwhelming 80% majority of Americans already recognize according to a recent poll: Under the guise of inflation, certain corporations excessively hiked prices far beyond what their costs necessitated, further driving inflation."
"As American corporations report their highest profit margins the United States has seen in over 70 years, executives of leading companies are admitting on earnings calls that they're taking advantage of inflation," the congressman continued. "One executive argued that 'a little bit of inflation is always good in our business' while another admitted that his company's prices wouldn't fall with decreasing costs, stating, 'We don't reduce prices on the back end of these increases.'"
"It is unacceptable that certain companies and industries are engaged in extreme price hikes under the cover of inflation," he declared. "Americans understand this is happening, and they want it to stop. We have an obligation in Congress to shine light on this practice, which is exactly what today's analysis does."
\u201cNEW: Subcom Chair @CongressmanRaja released an analysis detailing how certain industries\u2014shipping, rental cars, meat processing, and oil and gas\u2014have engaged in excessive price hikes, raking in record profits helping fuel inflation.\n\nhttps://t.co/NXO80nadrZ\u201d— Oversight Committee (@Oversight Committee) 1667577423
The document states that an "analysis of financial information from a sampling of the largest corporations in several industries shows massive increases in profits between 2019 and 2021."
According to the subcommittee:
"Over the same period, profit margins increased by 201% among the companies analyzed in the shipping industry, by 262% among the companies analyzed in the rental car industry, and by 53% among the companies analyzed in the meat processing industry," the document notes.
The report also points out that "recent economic studies make clear that record corporate markups, profits, and profit margins contributed to--and continue to contribute to--ongoing Inflation."
Specifically, the document says that "studies by the Economic Policy Institute and Roosevelt Institute demonstrate that profits contributed more to price growth in the United States from mid-2020 through the end of 2021 than at any other point from 1979 to the present--and continue to contribute markedly today. This is especially true in highly concentrated industries."
The document concludes with the assertion that "the federal government can and should play an important role in addressing inflation, including by passing legislation to address excessive price hikes," and highlights the Inflation Reduction Act, which Democrats finally passed this summer after months of party infighting and opposition from the GOP.
Some progressive lawmakers and policy experts continue to advocate for a windfall profits tax bill to target companies like the fossil fuel giants that have recently raked in massive profits, which they've used to benefit shareholders.
The new analysis comes just days before the U.S. midterm elections--which will determine whether Democrats retain control of Congress for the second half of President Joe Biden's first term--and on the heels of the Federal Reserve announcing yet another interest rate hike.
The sixth rate hike of the year came despite warnings from economists, progressive lawmakers, and other critics that the approach could have "catastrophic outcomes" for working-class people while not actually impacting inflation, due to corporate profiteering.
Notably, as Common Dreams reported, while Fed Chair Jerome Powell took questions about the rate hike from reporters for about 40 minutes on Wednesday, not one of them asked about the impact of corporate profits.
While acknowledging that "hunger is a real issue in Gaza," the US ambassador to the UN repeated a debunked claim that the world's leading authority on starvation lowered its standards to declare a famine.
Every member nation of the United Nations Security Council except the United States on Wednesday affirmed that Israel's engineered famine in Gaza is "man-made" as 10 more Palestinians died of starvation amid what UN experts warned is a worsening crisis.
Fourteen of the 15 Security Council members issued a joint statement calling for an immediate Gaza ceasefire, release of all remaining hostages held by Hamas, and lifting of all Israeli restrictions on aid delivery into the embattled strip, where hundreds of Palestinians have died from starvation and hundreds of thousands more are starving.
"Famine in Gaza must be stopped immediately," they said. "Time is of the essence. The humanitarian emergency must be addressed without delay and Israel must reverse course."
"We express our profound alarm and distress at the IPC data on Gaza, published last Friday. It clearly and unequivocally confirms famine," the statement said, referring to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification's declaration of Phase 5, or a famine "catastrophe," in the strip.
"We trust the IPC's work and methodology," the 14 countries declared. "This is the first time famine has been officially confirmed in the Middle East region. Every day, more persons are dying as a result of malnutrition, many of them children."
"This is a man-made crisis," the statement stresses. "The use of starvation as a weapon of war is clearly prohibited under international humanitarian law."
Israel, which is facing a genocide case at the UN's International Court of Justice, denies the existence of famine in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant are wanted by the International Court of Justice for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder and forced starvation.
The 14 countries issuing the joint statement are: Algeria, China, Denmark, France, Greece, Guyana, Pakistan, Panama, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Somalia, and the United Kingdom.
While acknowledging that "hunger is a real issue in Gaza and that there are significant humanitarian needs which must be met," US Ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea rejected the resolution and the IPC's findings.
"We can only solve problems with credibility and integrity," Shea told the Security Council. "Unfortunately, the recent report from the IPC doesn't pass the test on either."
Shea also repeated the debunked claim that the IPC's "normal standards were changed for [the IPC famine] declaration."
The Security Council's affirmation that the Gaza famine is man-made mirrors the findings of food experts who have accused Israel of orchestrating a carefully planned campaign of mass starvation in the strip.
The UN Palestinian Rights Bureau and UN humanitarian officials also warned Wednesday that the famine in Gaza is "only getting worse."
"Over half a million people currently face starvation, destitution, and death," the humanitarian experts said. "By the end of September, that number could exceed 640,000."
"Failure to act now will have irreversible consequences," they added.
Wednesday's UN actions came as Israel intensified Operation Gideon's Chariots 2, the campaign to conquer, occupy, and ethnically cleanse around 1 million Palestinians from Gaza, possibly into a reportedly proposed concentration camp that would be built over the ruins of the southern city of Rafah.
The Gaza Health Ministry (GHM) on Wednesday reported 10 more Palestinian deaths "due to famine and malnutrition" over the past 24 hours, including two children, bringing the number of famine victims to at least 313, 119 of them children.
All told, Israel's 691-day assault and siege on Gaza has left at least 230,000 Palestinians dead, maimed, or missing, according to the GHM.
"What would the reaction would be if an Arab state wrote this about synagogues and Jews?" asked one critic.
Israel faced backlash this week after its Arabic-language account on the social media site X published a message warning Europeans to take action against the proliferation of mosques and "remove" Muslims from their countries.
"In the year 1980, there were only fewer than a hundred mosques in Europe. As for today, there are more than 20,000 mosques. This is the true face of colonization," posted Israel, a settler-colonial state whose nearly 2 million Muslim citizens face widespread discrimination, and where Palestinians in the illegally occupied territories live under an apartheid regime.
"This is what is happening while Europe is oblivious and does not care about the danger," the post continues. "And the danger does not lie in the existence of mosques in and of themselves, for freedom of worship is one of the basic human rights, and every person has the right to believe and worship his Lord."
"The problem lies in the contents that are taught in some of these mosques, and they are not limited to piety and good deeds, but rather focus on encouraging escalating violence in the streets of Europe, and spreading hatred for the other and even for those who host them in their countries, and inciting against them instead of teaching love, harmony, and peace," Israel added. "Europe must wake up and remove this fifth column."
Referring to the far-right Alternative for Germany party, Berlin-based journalist James Jackson replied on X that "even the AfD don't tweet, 'Europe must wake up and remove this fifth column' over a map of mosques."
Other social media users called Israel's post "racist" and "Islamophobic," while some highlighted the stark contrast between the way Palestinians and Israelis treat Christian people and institutions.
Others noted that some of the map's fearmongering figures misleadingly showing a large number of mosques indicate countries whose populations are predominantly or significantly Muslim.
"Russia has 8,000 mosques? Who would've known a country with millions of Muslim Central Asians and Caucasians would need so many!" said one X user.
Israel's post came amid growing international outrage over its 691-day assault and siege on Gaza, which has left more than 230,000 Palestinians dead, maimed, or missing and hundreds of thousands more starving and facing ethnic cleansing as Operation Gideon's Chariots 2—a campaign to conquer, occupy, and "cleanse" the strip—ramps up amid a growing engineered famine that has already killed hundreds of people.
Israel is facing an ongoing genocide case at the International Court of Justice, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, his former defense minister, are fugitives form the International Criminal Court, where they are wanted for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity including murder and forced starvation.
European nations including Belgium, Ireland, and Spain are supporting the South Africa-led ICJ genocide case against Israel. Since October 2023, European countries including Belgium, France, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Norway, and Spain have either formally recognized Palestinian statehood or announced their intention to do so.
"This is unfathomable discrimination against immigrants that will cost our country lives," said Rep. Pramila Jayapal.
The Trump administration is reportedly putting new restrictions on nonprofit organizations that would bar them from helping undocumented immigrants affected by natural disasters.
The Washington Post reported on Wednesday that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is "now barring states and volunteer groups that receive government funds from helping undocumented immigrants" while also requiring these groups "to cooperate with immigration officials and enforcement operations."
Documents obtained by the paper reveal that all volunteer groups that receive government money to help in the wake of disasters must not "operate any program that benefits illegal immigrants or incentivizes illegal immigration." What's more, the groups are prohibited from "harboring, concealing, or shielding from detection illegal aliens" and must "provide access to detainees, such as when an immigration officer seeks to interview a person who might be a removable alien."
The order pertains to faith-based aid groups such as the Salvation Army and Red Cross that are normally on the front lines building shelters and providing assistance during disasters.
Scott Robinson, an emergency management expert who teaches at Arizona State University, told The Washington Post that there is no historical precedent for requiring disaster victims to prove proof of their legal status before receiving assistance.
"The notion that the federal government would use these operations for surveillance is entirely new territory," he said.
Many critics were quick to attack the administration for threatening to punish nonprofit groups that help undocumented immigrants during natural disasters.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) lashed out at the decision to bar certain people from receiving assistance during humanitarian emergencies.
"When disaster hits, we cannot only help those with certain legal status," she wrote in a social media post. "We have an obligation to help every single person in need. This is unfathomable discrimination against immigrants that will cost our country lives."
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, said that restrictions on faith-based groups such as the Salvation Army amounted to a violation of their First Amendment rights.
"Arguably the most anti-religious administration in history," he wrote. "Just nakedly hostile to those who wish to practice their faith."
Bloomberg columnist Erika Smith labeled the new DHS policy "truly cruel and crazy—even for this administration."
Author Charles Fishman also labeled the new policy "crazy" and said it looks like the Trump administration is "trying to crush even charity."
Catherine Rampell, a former columnist at The Washington Post, simply described the new DHS policy as "evil."