Corporate greed increasingly seen as ‘major cause’ of inflation: Poll

Three out of five Americans say corporate greed is the “main cause” of inflation, according to a new poll.

It has increased by 15% from 44% in January 2022 to 59%. Go to new vote From Navigator Research. The Left Opinion Research Group conducted a survey of 1,000 registered voters from January 25th to 29th.

“After more than two years of companies making record profits while Americans struggle to balance their checkbooks, people are becoming more and more excited about corporate greed,” said Marian Cousins, associate polling and analysis at Navigator Research. It’s no wonder that people are starting to see this as a problem.”

Inflation, as measured by the Labor Department’s Consumer Price Index (CPI), reached 7.5% year-on-year in January 2022 and peaked at 9.1% six months later. Prices have fallen sharply, with annual inflation at 3.1% in January, still above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.

The Fed raised interest rates from near zero in March 2022 to a range of 5.25% to 5.5% in July 2023, raising borrowing costs to rein in demand and inflation. Rising interest rates are eroding savings that were once rich from pandemic-era stimulus checks and causing delinquencies on credit cards, mortgages and auto loans to creep up.

In contrast, companies are making huge profits even in the face of inflation. According to data, corporate profits peaked in the third quarter of 2022, when inflation was at its worst. st louis federal reservewhich also shows that profits are still above pre-pandemic levels.

This phenomenon is gaining mainstream attention, even though economists remain divided. dictionary.com It added that the announcement was made on Tuesday. The term “greedflation” is defined as “a phenomenon that occurs not due to market pressures or other factors inherent in the economy, but simply to increase already healthy or excessive profits of corporate executives, boards of directors, and property owners.” ”

The share of respondents who say they believe corporate greed is the cause of inflation is now similar to the share who blame government spending for inflation. The latter position tends to be favored by Republicans, but a growing number of Americans across party lines are blaming corporate greed for price increases.

The share of Democrats and independents who say corporate greed is the “main cause” of inflation increased by 17 percentage points, and the share of Republicans who agree increased by 13 percentage points.

According to the poll, a whopping 84% of all respondents believed that “the greed of companies raising prices in order to achieve record profits” is the cause of inflation.

Overall, Democrats are still more likely to say corporate greed is the “main cause” of inflation, at 72% compared to 62% of independents and 45% of Republicans, according to the new poll. It becomes.

“This is the latest indication that an economic foundation that prioritizes workers over CEOs and corporations remains a popular, bipartisan way to address what Americans are most concerned about: the cost of living and inflation.” It’s just evidence of that,” Cousins ​​said.

Americans have become more optimistic about their financial situation since the pandemic began in 2020, according to data released Monday by the New York Fed’s Microeconomic Data Center. I’m not confident in my ability to respond. Enter the election.

Biden’s approval rating has languished at 41.2 percent, according to an average of polls analyzed by Decision Desk HQ/The Hill. In a hypothetical general election showdown with former President Trump, the leading candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, Trump has a 2.2% lead.

A recent Financial Times poll showed Mr. Trump leading Mr. Biden by 11 points when asked who would run the economy better.