Inflation or Corporate Greed?

The cost of many goods across America continues to rise, crippling the working class and hurting the middle class. These price hikes can be seen through many different consumer goods that are mass-produced by corporations including toilet paper, soda, but most important of all gas and fossil fuels. Many conservatives will claim that these are the costs that come with inflation, allowing for corporations to have a justification for the raised prices of their goods. But in truth, inflation, or the rate of the increase in prices over time, is not the main culprit of the expensive price points that are seen on your receipts, but rather it is the corporate greed that motivates the price hikes. 

As the rise in the cost of gasoline is notable to most Americans, many Americans blame President Joe Biden. These criticisms are unfair as the president cannot dictate the gas prices, but rather the gas companies and corporations set these prices in the context of world events. For example, during the Covid-19 pandemic, gas prices dropped tremendously as many people did not use their vehicles or go out of their homes. The demand was very low, causing the price to decrease. The same gas companies that lost profit during the strong stages of the pandemic have more than made up for the losses as companies such as Chevron and Exxon have doubled their profits. This cannot be mentioned while ignoring the government's endless subsidies and tax breaks given to fossil fuel companies. In fact, in 2020 an $8.2 billion tax bailout was given to fossil fuel firms after they had just fired over 60,000 employees, not to mention the increase in federal fossil fuel reserves in order to help the companies survive. Now to thank the taxpayer for saving them during the pandemic, the fossil fuel companies now screw over the taxpayers and claim that it is the fault of inflation. The massive increases in gas cost lead to price hikes of all other goods as gas is necessary for transporting any consumer goods. The rise in transportation costs for consumer goods has also been used as another excuse for corporate greed. For example, the American corporation Nike, raised its prices by 10.5%, leading to a 125% profit margin. These expensive sneakers were made off the backs of Vietnamese workers who earn less than a dollar an hour, while the chairman of Nike becomes over $26 billion richer during the pandemic. This is a pattern within many consumer goods including diapers, toilet paper, and even soda, as large corporations control the market and its prices. PepsiCo and Coca-Cola raised prices due to claims of the high cost of ingredients and the increased cost in transportation. Coca-Cola then received a raise of 16% in revenue, and Pepsi had $9 billion in profit. These price increases are accepted by the public as there are no other competitors large enough to offset these prices. Due to these monopolies and the greed of the corporations, the American people suffer and struggle to purchase simple consumer goods. Do not allow major corporations to justify their greed with inflation. The true culprit of your expensive gas prices or overpriced toiletries is not the president or inflation, but rather corporate greed.