Expensive President Biden and Democrats, right here’s your financial message • The Berkeley Weblog

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Memo to President Biden and the Democrats

From: Robert Reich

Re: Inflation and the economic system

Cartoon of wealthy man buying democracy.As America slouches towards the midterm elections, you want an financial message that celebrates your accomplishments so far – job creation and better wages – but additionally takes purpose on the main abuses of financial energy which are fueling inflation and widening inequality.

It is best to put these ten indeniable details centerstage:

1. Company earnings are at a 70-year excessive. But companies are elevating their costs.

2. They aren’t elevating costs due to the growing prices of provides and parts and of labor — that are actual however anticipated when an economic system goes abruptly from a pandemically-induced deep freeze to assembly the hovering calls for of customers who’re rising from the pandemic. Firms having fun with file earnings in a wholesome aggressive economic system would take up these prices.

3. As a substitute, they’re passing these prices on to customers within the type of greater costs. In lots of circumstances they’re elevating costs greater than these value will increase, utilizing the quilt of inflation to extend their revenue margins much more.

4. They’re doing so as a result of they face little or no competitors. If markets had been aggressive, corporations would hold their costs down to stop opponents from grabbing away prospects. Because the White Home Nationwide Financial Council put it in a December report: “Companies that face significant competitors can’t [maintain high profit margins and pass on higher costs to consumers], as a result of they might lose enterprise to a competitor that didn’t hike its margins.”

5. For the reason that Eighties, two-thirds of all American industries have turn into extra concentrated. This focus offers companies the facility to boost costs as a result of it makes it simple for them to informally coordinate value will increase with the handful of different corporations of their identical business — with out risking the potential of shedding prospects, who haven’t any different alternative.

6. Firms are utilizing these near-record earnings to spice up share costs by shopping for again a file quantity of their very own shares of inventory. (Buybacks cut back an organization’s shares excellent, pushing its profit-per-share determine greater.) Inventory buybacks hit a brand new file final yr. Thus far this yr they’re on observe to exceed that file. Within the first two months of 2022, S&P 500 corporations have disclosed authorizations to purchase again $238 billion in inventory — a file tempo, in accordance with Goldman Sachs, which expects $1 trillion of buybacks this yr – an all-time excessive.

Chevron engaged in $1.4 billion in inventory buybacks and spent $500 million extra on shareholder dividends than it did in 2020. This yr, the oil giants are planning to purchase again no less than $22 billion extra.

7. Most American staff have barely had a wage enhance in 40 years (adjusted for inflation). Though companies have not too long ago given out wage will increase in response to the post-pandemic surge in demand, these wage will increase have been virtually fully eroded by value will increase.

Firms are handing out wage will increase to draw or hold staff with one hand, after which eliminating these wage will increase by elevating costs with the opposite. When companies are having fun with near-record earnings, we might anticipate companies to pay the upper wages out of their earnings fairly than to go them on to customers in greater costs. However they aren’t. The labor market is just not “unhealthily” tight, as Fed Chair Jerome Powell asserts; companies are unhealthily fats. Staff would not have an excessive amount of energy; companies do.

8. Because of all this, earnings and wealth are being redistributed upward from common working individuals (lots of whom dwell from paycheck to paycheck) to CEOs and shareholders, together with the wealthiest individuals in America. Billionaires have turn into $1.7 trillion richer throughout the pandemic. CEO pay (primarily based largely on inventory values) is now at a file 350 to 1 ratio relative to median pay.

9. Rich Americas are actually paying a decrease tax price than the working class. Some are paying no taxes in any respect.

10. Massive companies have amassed a considerable quantity of political energy, with which they’ve overwhelmed again decrease drug costs, prevented greater company taxes, and amassed unprecedented company welfare.

In brief, though the American economic system is rebounding properly from recession, the rising imbalance of financial energy is unhealthy for many Individuals and for the economic system as an entire.

This should be addressed by (1) harder antitrust enforcement, (2) a brief windfall earnings tax, (3) greater taxes on the rich and on companies, (4) a ban on company buybacks, (5) stronger unions, and (6) marketing campaign finance reform to get huge cash out of politics.

You might have a important alternative to reframe the nationwide dialog appropriately framed — round these worsening abuses of financial energy by massive companies and the super-rich. Republicans have left themselves weak as a result of they haven’t any response to this. They consider their “tradition wars” will distract the general public from what’s occurring.

This isn’t and shouldn’t be a partisan problem. Common working Individuals – lots of whom voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020 – are being shafted.

Sincerely yours,

RR



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