Paul Krugman writing today in the New York Times makes a case that supports Robert Reich's. Here is my take:
Why do major corporations raise prices? Because they can. I noted several dog whistles recently in the financial press from CEOs of major corporations to their shareholders about taking advantage of supply chain disruptions to raise prices. Corporate America is now as consolidated and uncompetitive as it has ever been. More efficient IT makes that possible, and so does a doting regulatory environment. Corporations are using supply disruptions that they themselves caused by their own ill advised offshoring, to excuse price increases and make windfall profits.
And the Fed's proposed cure for this? Punish wage earners whose incomes are not even going up fast enough to keep up with corporate price increases? Yes, a wage-price spiral IS theoretically possible. But we don't have unions anymore except in the public sector. Workers don't have the bargaining power they did back in the 1970s Wage-push inflation isn't the cause of current inflation, and stomping on workers is the wrong cure. Why does the Fed always do this?
I like one thing I just heard Biden calling back to from yesterday's briefing: "Capitalism without competition is not capitalism. It's exploitation." Just sayin'.
I sure do wish some of the politicians who are making all of these idiot changes would read your daily reports. I know, they are too stupid to get the message. But it would be nice if JUST ONCE, the people who make all of these foolish financial decisions would have to personally suffer themselves from their own decision making that affects the rest of the population.
The point is not to help the average citizen, it's to impoverish people, make them ill, so that they'll take any job, however repugnant, for any paltry sum, just to make ends meet. The worker's revolution is what's spurring this. Big companies see their previously grateful workforce getting some backbone - solution is to raise prices and to blame inflation.
My first thought was it appears that profit hungry corporations have initiated yet another scam on the public, perpetrated through members of Congress, Commerce and the Feds.
Workers and families finally have a little more money to demand higher wages, make career changes, refuse to settle for low wages/benefit and unionize. These choices are something profit driven capitalist detest.
What better way to make people grovel over low paying jobs again than to raise interest rates and increase costs under the guise of “inflation.” I don’t buy it, no one should. There are too many people who’ve run out of UI benefits, can’t afford childcare costs, skyrocketing food/housing costs etc. We must continue to support them by passing the “Build Back Better” legislation now.
Our economy ignores people who can not work. Welfare is gone and millions are homeless. children and families are unprotected. We have overloaded the jobs of police and fire to help Americans in emergencies. Mental health and addictions are not being addressed and that leaves trained social workers with no employment; and communities without help.
Minimum wages at a livable rate must rank high in our policy goals. The Fed (like the CDC) refuses to admit that they are in the prison-house of large corporations, so they muddle, confuse, contradict and harm all but the powerful. Inflation--as rare trustworthy economists like Paul Krugman underscore--is largely a false issue (shall we say "false flag" :) ) We certainly can't compare either un/employment, jobs, or inflation over time.
I do not put any stock in employment reports: they are mostly based on people very indirectly indicating that they are searching for work--and tied to unemployment benefit claims. Most jobless persons long ago maxed out on their niggardly "benefits." They also compare from state agencies whose data gathering and reporting are very suspect.
As in so much, the US fails its public and suffers ever more dramatically in comparison with so many in other nations.
Exactly correct! And, the only way to change their minds is to pass campaign finance reform and undue Citizens United. Oh, wait! THEY have to pass this -- won't happen. This country is screwed! That is the direct result of greed and corruption. Only a National Work Strike will ever change what is happening.
Ah, c'mon, Congress and the Fed know exactly what they are doing. These policies perpetuate, even with the Democrats in power, shock doctrine schemes. Classic disaster capitalism. Weaken the citizenry, keep them impoverished and, here's the bonus, keep a pandemic going, and you can take over a country NO ONE thought could be taken.
Two things, Janet Yellen definitely could matter here. Secondly, I admit that I am pinning my hopes on the Dr. Rev. William Barber who said a couple of days ago he is planning a series of protests. Americans really have to protest on a very large scale. I hope it can happen. Watching the totally useless Schumer stand behind a lectern and threaten a vote is enough to make my brain explode. The aging Democrats live in an era that is as far away as the planets. Give me a Cory Booker ALWAYS. He was brilliant yesterday, he'd be great leader of the Senate. Every day gets tougher, keep the optimism coming Robert!
You are right on! Prices ARE reducing wages -not the other way around. It is so infuriating that the Fed’s actions blame the very people whom the price increases hurt the most. It’s capitalism’s encouragement of greed that is jacking up prices, not the measly $15 per hour wage gain.
Whether it is just greed or ignorance, (or both), the corporations in tandem with the Fed are delivering a one-two punch to the workers which will kill 'the goose that lays the golden eggs'. How can consumers consume if their pay is inadequate and the safety net is gone?
Also, geez, why didn't Biden replace Jerome Powell? He was encouraged to for good reasons stated by Elizabeth Warren and other Democrats, why? Keeping the donor class happy?
Here's my take. They are not stupid. They are betting against the odds that there are enough people out there making $50,000. or better to keep things afloat. We have enough people in the country to continue on. They just don't care about the others.
Greetings - I don't know if this email will reach you - I hope so because I'm trying to plan my 2022 political contributions and I'm very confused. I continuously receive emails, Facebook posts, requests in the mail, etc., etc., etc. from all of the organizations and individuals who have anything to do with helping a candidate get elected. Some of the requested are from groups/persons that I don't even know or recognize.
I definitely want my hard-earned money to go to organizations and people who have a good chance of winning and will make a huge difference. BUT WHO!!!??? I live in Idaho so giving to Democrats in Idaho is worthless although I am volunteering for "Reclaim Idaho" for the "Education for All" petition to get enough signatures to get the bill on the ballot in Nov 2022. Plus, I'm a member of "Idaho Women for Biden and Harris" that has a pretty good following for Idaho.
Last year I gave to Emily's List to specific women in key states. Also contribute to National Democrat Party, NOW, Sierra Club, ACLU, Common Cause, NPR, Biden/Harris Campaign, Planned Parenthood. I don't usually give over $50.00 at a time to any one group and spread my contributions out - some are on a monthly basis.
I read and listen to all of your posts and emails. If you could, would you please help me and many of your other followers make wise decisions on who to support and why. I'm already on your paid mailing list and I've been following you for a couple of years now and I trust your opinion. I want to do all that I can, so our democracy remains for many more years. Cheers, Brenda in Boise
Look, not everyone can be a corporate executive. There are millions of people that work hard every day and just barely get by. They are NOT "lazy". I think a sociologist would agree that we tend to mostly live our lives where we started. Sure, there is opportunity, but human nature gears people to gravitate to where they started. That is just a fact of being human. These folks do work. Why can they not at least expect a living wage? There is no reason except greed. Those that have do not want to share. That also is human nature at least for those who started out with much more than most. It is easy to look down on others. Much harder to understand with compassion and love for all. Until we actually care about each other rather than judge, this will never end. Put welfare on the back burner for a second, I am talking about the working poor which are far too many in our country. They choose to be poor? Come on, there has to be more to it than that.
Paul Krugman writing today in the New York Times makes a case that supports Robert Reich's. Here is my take:
Why do major corporations raise prices? Because they can. I noted several dog whistles recently in the financial press from CEOs of major corporations to their shareholders about taking advantage of supply chain disruptions to raise prices. Corporate America is now as consolidated and uncompetitive as it has ever been. More efficient IT makes that possible, and so does a doting regulatory environment. Corporations are using supply disruptions that they themselves caused by their own ill advised offshoring, to excuse price increases and make windfall profits.
And the Fed's proposed cure for this? Punish wage earners whose incomes are not even going up fast enough to keep up with corporate price increases? Yes, a wage-price spiral IS theoretically possible. But we don't have unions anymore except in the public sector. Workers don't have the bargaining power they did back in the 1970s Wage-push inflation isn't the cause of current inflation, and stomping on workers is the wrong cure. Why does the Fed always do this?
I like one thing I just heard Biden calling back to from yesterday's briefing: "Capitalism without competition is not capitalism. It's exploitation." Just sayin'.
I sure do wish some of the politicians who are making all of these idiot changes would read your daily reports. I know, they are too stupid to get the message. But it would be nice if JUST ONCE, the people who make all of these foolish financial decisions would have to personally suffer themselves from their own decision making that affects the rest of the population.
The point is not to help the average citizen, it's to impoverish people, make them ill, so that they'll take any job, however repugnant, for any paltry sum, just to make ends meet. The worker's revolution is what's spurring this. Big companies see their previously grateful workforce getting some backbone - solution is to raise prices and to blame inflation.
My first thought was it appears that profit hungry corporations have initiated yet another scam on the public, perpetrated through members of Congress, Commerce and the Feds.
Workers and families finally have a little more money to demand higher wages, make career changes, refuse to settle for low wages/benefit and unionize. These choices are something profit driven capitalist detest.
What better way to make people grovel over low paying jobs again than to raise interest rates and increase costs under the guise of “inflation.” I don’t buy it, no one should. There are too many people who’ve run out of UI benefits, can’t afford childcare costs, skyrocketing food/housing costs etc. We must continue to support them by passing the “Build Back Better” legislation now.
I wish you were still in the Cabinet, Robert, can Janet Y sound your alarm?
Our economy ignores people who can not work. Welfare is gone and millions are homeless. children and families are unprotected. We have overloaded the jobs of police and fire to help Americans in emergencies. Mental health and addictions are not being addressed and that leaves trained social workers with no employment; and communities without help.
Minimum wages at a livable rate must rank high in our policy goals. The Fed (like the CDC) refuses to admit that they are in the prison-house of large corporations, so they muddle, confuse, contradict and harm all but the powerful. Inflation--as rare trustworthy economists like Paul Krugman underscore--is largely a false issue (shall we say "false flag" :) ) We certainly can't compare either un/employment, jobs, or inflation over time.
I do not put any stock in employment reports: they are mostly based on people very indirectly indicating that they are searching for work--and tied to unemployment benefit claims. Most jobless persons long ago maxed out on their niggardly "benefits." They also compare from state agencies whose data gathering and reporting are very suspect.
As in so much, the US fails its public and suffers ever more dramatically in comparison with so many in other nations.
Exactly correct! And, the only way to change their minds is to pass campaign finance reform and undue Citizens United. Oh, wait! THEY have to pass this -- won't happen. This country is screwed! That is the direct result of greed and corruption. Only a National Work Strike will ever change what is happening.
Ah, c'mon, Congress and the Fed know exactly what they are doing. These policies perpetuate, even with the Democrats in power, shock doctrine schemes. Classic disaster capitalism. Weaken the citizenry, keep them impoverished and, here's the bonus, keep a pandemic going, and you can take over a country NO ONE thought could be taken.
Two things, Janet Yellen definitely could matter here. Secondly, I admit that I am pinning my hopes on the Dr. Rev. William Barber who said a couple of days ago he is planning a series of protests. Americans really have to protest on a very large scale. I hope it can happen. Watching the totally useless Schumer stand behind a lectern and threaten a vote is enough to make my brain explode. The aging Democrats live in an era that is as far away as the planets. Give me a Cory Booker ALWAYS. He was brilliant yesterday, he'd be great leader of the Senate. Every day gets tougher, keep the optimism coming Robert!
You are right on! Prices ARE reducing wages -not the other way around. It is so infuriating that the Fed’s actions blame the very people whom the price increases hurt the most. It’s capitalism’s encouragement of greed that is jacking up prices, not the measly $15 per hour wage gain.
Whether it is just greed or ignorance, (or both), the corporations in tandem with the Fed are delivering a one-two punch to the workers which will kill 'the goose that lays the golden eggs'. How can consumers consume if their pay is inadequate and the safety net is gone?
Also, geez, why didn't Biden replace Jerome Powell? He was encouraged to for good reasons stated by Elizabeth Warren and other Democrats, why? Keeping the donor class happy?
Here's my take. They are not stupid. They are betting against the odds that there are enough people out there making $50,000. or better to keep things afloat. We have enough people in the country to continue on. They just don't care about the others.
Greetings - I don't know if this email will reach you - I hope so because I'm trying to plan my 2022 political contributions and I'm very confused. I continuously receive emails, Facebook posts, requests in the mail, etc., etc., etc. from all of the organizations and individuals who have anything to do with helping a candidate get elected. Some of the requested are from groups/persons that I don't even know or recognize.
I definitely want my hard-earned money to go to organizations and people who have a good chance of winning and will make a huge difference. BUT WHO!!!??? I live in Idaho so giving to Democrats in Idaho is worthless although I am volunteering for "Reclaim Idaho" for the "Education for All" petition to get enough signatures to get the bill on the ballot in Nov 2022. Plus, I'm a member of "Idaho Women for Biden and Harris" that has a pretty good following for Idaho.
Last year I gave to Emily's List to specific women in key states. Also contribute to National Democrat Party, NOW, Sierra Club, ACLU, Common Cause, NPR, Biden/Harris Campaign, Planned Parenthood. I don't usually give over $50.00 at a time to any one group and spread my contributions out - some are on a monthly basis.
I read and listen to all of your posts and emails. If you could, would you please help me and many of your other followers make wise decisions on who to support and why. I'm already on your paid mailing list and I've been following you for a couple of years now and I trust your opinion. I want to do all that I can, so our democracy remains for many more years. Cheers, Brenda in Boise
Look, not everyone can be a corporate executive. There are millions of people that work hard every day and just barely get by. They are NOT "lazy". I think a sociologist would agree that we tend to mostly live our lives where we started. Sure, there is opportunity, but human nature gears people to gravitate to where they started. That is just a fact of being human. These folks do work. Why can they not at least expect a living wage? There is no reason except greed. Those that have do not want to share. That also is human nature at least for those who started out with much more than most. It is easy to look down on others. Much harder to understand with compassion and love for all. Until we actually care about each other rather than judge, this will never end. Put welfare on the back burner for a second, I am talking about the working poor which are far too many in our country. They choose to be poor? Come on, there has to be more to it than that.