Democrats are vowing to crack down on corporate greed and price gouging on the campaign trail as the party aims to quell voters’ concerns over decades-high inflation.
Economists widely view supply and demand as the driving force behind the cost of goods and services, not arbitrary price hikes. But Democrats point to the fact that big companies are profiting from surging inflation.
U.S. nonfinancial corporate profits soared to $2 trillion for the first time in the second quarter of 2022, while corporate profit margins as a share of the economy rose to the highest level in over seven decades, according to Bureau of Economic Analysis data released Thursday.
Following President Biden’s lead, Democrats are taking aim at energy giants and meatpacking companies that recently notched record-shattering earnings on the back of higher prices.
“As families struggle, oil companies are earning record profits. When corporations take advantage of a crisis, that’s price gouging, and it’s wrong,” Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), whose race could decide control of the Senate, told viewers in a campaign ad this month.
Shortly before pulling off an upset win in a New York special House election Tuesday, Democrat Pat Ryan ran ads touting his efforts as county executive to take on the region’s top utility, which he accused of ripping off consumers.
“I approve this message because big corporations have too much power. It’s time our families had more,” he told viewers.
Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman (D), another key Senate hopeful, took things further by unveiling a plan to prosecute corporate executives who are found to artificially inflate prices.
“It’s gross, and deeply unpatriotic, for the big corporations to be rolling around in cash while charging us record high prices for gas and groceries,” Fetterman wrote in...