Jacob Steeves Reporter
Discussions over inflation have been at the forefront of political discourse in the years since the COVID-19 Pandemic. The cost of a gallon of milk, a dozen eggs, a tank of gas, and even a place to live has made it essentially impossible for the average American to live as comfortably as they did pre-COVID. However, corporations continue to report record profits year after year. So, is inflation as big of a deal as it has been made out to be, or are corporate profits and greed driving prices up and people out of their homes?
According to a report by the Groundwork Collaborative, a non-profit think-tank and advocacy group, prices for consumers in the United States have risen by 3.4% in the last year, while input costs for producers have only increased by 1%. Additionally, corporate profits have skyrocketed by nearly 30% since the pandemic, while the average worker’s share of corporate income has not recovered in the slightest. This is an interesting divide, as the narrative of inflation being the country’s single biggest issue has been shoved down the throats of the average American. This corporate greed is not only demonstrated in numbers and statistics; it can also be easily seen by the average consumer. For example, in 2018, the price of a McChicken sandwich at the popular fast food chain McDonald’s was $1. In 2024, the price of a McChicken nationwide is anywhere from $1.99 to $3.49. However, when inputted into a simple inflation calculator provided by the Department of Commerce, it has been revealed that the price of a McChicken, when adjusted to natural inflation rates, should be equal to about $1.30. There is no realistic explanation for this over 200% price increase other than simple greed.
Corporations have also rallied against the proposed raising of a national minimum wage by citing the potential “raising of prices”. However, this is also a blatant lie, as many of these companies have raised their minimum hourly rate for starting to $10-$15 on average, yet still report record profits. The fault of these insane price hikes has been repeatedly pushed on the worker; however, it is all to save the reputation of the corporations while they continue to harass the average employee and make it harder to live. Even those working these perceived “higher paying” jobs are unable to live comfortably. This leads into arguably the most important example of corporate greed in contemporary American society: grocery prices.
The Groundwork Collective reported a nearly 12% hike in grocery prices in 2022 alone. This report also shows that the bottom 40% of American consumers spend nearly 10% of their income on groceries. The cost of feeding a family has been growing at nearly 2.5% more than the rate of inflation in the years since COVID. Meat and poultry giants such as Tyson and Perdue have seen a large hike in profits as Americans everywhere continue to starve. This systemic greed is present in the pleasures and vices we consume, such as fast food, alcohol, etc. It is the most present in necessities. No matter what side of the political aisle one stands on, it is undeniably despicable that corporations continue to report staggering profits while hard working Americans starve and bankrupt themselves over basic human needs.
The economic state of affairs in this country is in dire need of a rehaul. As of September 2024, the official economic platform of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz vows to end corporate price gouging in the grocery industry. Whether this will go through, or even happen for that matter, remains to be seen. As citizens, we cannot allow our neighbors to starve as the powers that be deprive Americans of the supplies they need to live.