Corporate Greed Is Causing Inflation | The Problem With Jon Stewart Podcast | Apple TV+
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- čas přidán 16. 02. 2022
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Guess what? Inflation doesn’t just happen by itself. Companies decide to raise prices, and they tell you what they’re doing right in their earnings calls. Jon talks with economist Lindsay Owens about how companies are driving inflation behind the scenes - and it involves the meatpacking mafia, but you didn’t hear it from us.
Featuring Henrik Blix and Kasaun Wilson
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This is EXACTLY what I have been telling everyone. Nobody says the obvious because God forbid we say anything against big business.
Go to a country , or dustbowl rather , where there is no trade.
It's clear as night and day - all people have to look at is the profitability curve of all these corporations.. its obvious but to the blind and deaf.
The basic thing of just the cost of a pop. Before covid. The price is exactly the same per fountain drink. Maybe 1 cent more from before, and after covid. The price of a pop is not $1 or $1.50. It's $3 at resteraunts. What? Why? This is why I order water a ton more then I used to.
The cost for meals is going exponential.
There is/was no shortage on meat, or eggs, etc. That was a result of people panick buying. I personally was delivering meat products during covid. There were no supply issues.
My family barely goes out to eat anymore due to these price hikes for no reason.
It's sad how my town has a 10% (3% extra entertainment tax) that applies to all food purchases at resteraunts. So it hits harder.
There pushing the race, gender, gay war on the news so we don't see the Supreme Class Warfare that the politicians are making a profit on, Dems and Republicans.
It's not that nobody says the obvious, it's that nobody who matters listens.
Inflation, bank collapse, severe drought in the agricultural belt, recession, food shortages, diesel fuel and heating oil shortages, baby formula shortages, available automobile shortages and prices, the price of living place.
It has never been simpler to grasp how to expand your wealth than it is right now, thanks to the availability of competent portfolio advisors that can help you experience and learn about a market with a wide range of assets. I think it's impossible to predict how changing dollar values will affect assets.
Yes, I have been in touch with a CFP ever since the outbreak. Today, investing in hot stocks is quite easy; the difficult part is deciding when to buy and sell. With an initial starting reserve of $80k, my adviser chooses the entry and exit commands for my portfolio, which has grown to approximately $550k.
My partner’s been considering going the same route, could you share more info please on the advisor that guides you?
Sonya Lee Mitchell maintains an online presence that can be easily found through a simple search of her name on the internet.
I looked up her full name online and found her page. I emailed and made an appointment to talk with her; hopefully, she gets back to me.
I told my best friend from childhood back in 2018 (who is now a Methodist pastor): "Do you know what I think the worst sin of them all is? Greed! Greed is the worst sin you can commit because with greed, you will commit all other sins. You will lie, cheat, steal, and even kill over it!"
You will also get up in the morning, work really hard to make money, and produce goods and services because of it! Without greed we would all starve. No successful economy in the history of the world has ever been run based on altruism.
You and I think alike. A world full of cures and no prevention by not addressing the greed motive in humanity. We are born to this distraction, propaganda and consuming. Don't feel bad. At least you will not live a life in a lie, like the vast many do. Better the devil you know...
I used to think everybody went broke during the Great Depression and other major crashes but they didn’t… Some made millions, I also thought everybody went out of business during these times but they didn’t, some went into business, there's always depression/recession for some people and there's always a good time for others, it's all about perspective.
@Antonio Alejandro
most of these strategies and loopholes are better managed by experts and pros, the average investors on the other hand are exposed to market sham which can lead to portfolio blunder
Yes, any recession of depression is time for rich to get rich. But history is told in terms of the poor getting poor to repress expectations among people to be grateful for what they have instead of seeing and seeking Justice for what’s been taken away.
They say a man’s trash is another’s treasure. There is no ultimate disaster in life nor ultimate fortune. It is only dynamics that allows some to profit at the expense of others. When things are more fair and square, it seems that things fall in the middle: profit and loss are not too extreme. That somehow doesn’t appeal much to hardcore capitalists who love speculation and risking. When the vast majority of the people (middle class) become productive and earn their money lawfully and ethically without scams or dealings and wheeling, society and economy seem much more stable and less dramatic. Money doesn’t grow on trees, but usually moves around from one hand to another. It is the way and the degree it moves around that characterizes the kind of economy we have. In times of war for instance, the military industrial complex and bankers make most of the money while governments borrowing and debt increases; this also means more taxation and more austerity on the people. Financial institutions and money creators are generally behind the major economical collapses. When governments are public planning make the people its priority rather than the few ruling elite, the nation grows healthier and becomes more stable.
I assure you. You did not just live through a real depression/recession.
Perspective isn't the right word.. because it's real people experiencing those situations. It's not a frame of mind... it's reality.
I keep hearing how people got money in their pockets to spend. Who are these people? The company I work for keeps raising prices but I haven't seen a penny increase in my wage. No cost of living increase. Nothing.
I assume they mean people who received Covid cheques?
You should ask for a raise, or find a new job.
I can't figure this part out for anything. Everything has increased substantially, wages have barely budgeted if at all, and the stimulus checks have stopped for the most part.
I'm broke af and I work 50ish hours per week, have a 20 year old car and a 50 year old house. Been at the same company 25 years and I earn more than the average American.
Companies raise prices because they can. Our pocketbooks get squeezed tighter and our monthly margins get smaller but we still need to eat, live, drive to work, wear clothes. So we'll spend less on things like entertainment and travel. Then eventually discretionary spending will mainly become the purview of the upper 2%'rs and America will start looking like Brazil.
Unless, of course, we all get busy calling this whole business out and pushing for antitrust legislation.
Politicians and Big Corporations know 1 thing very well: “Never let a crisis go to waste.”
And when there isn’t a crisis manufacturing one.
It has been well understood for decades that OPEC manipulates the market to increase their profits & political power.
Thank God, no U.S. corporations would ever consider doing such a thing ...
democrats too
@@bryanjacobs9680 no one said it wasn't. It is both sides - clearly it is - as it has been going on for decades and both parties have been in power.
Case in point with Justin Trudeau.
Hard with the poor, weak with the rich.
It's no longer about health (if it ever was), it's about teaching peasants their place.
Inflation is our “punishment” for workers getting an extra few bucks so we start blaming each other instead of seeing who is really pulling the strings economically. Higher prices = our loss …. They never lose or push though… they always win.
so who is this sinister group pulling the strings as you allude to?
@@mikefuller363 Currently, it is an international market determining the pricing. When the United States was the dominant manufacturer, wage increases incremented consumer pricing. We also stabilized currency valuations at the end of World War 2 with our solid currency and low-cost manufacturing base..
--I think that "a1465" denotes punishment on the wage earners being caused by independent companies. The power of the democratic vote does not only determined the level of incompetence of our politicians, and their greed, it created monumentally incompetent political decisions. Long-term, damaging decisions, such as policy in regard to global warming, and unchecked population control globally are just two of many. The other powerful, and misused "vote" was U.S. consumers voting with their money for foreign products. It erased many jobs here and made us dependent on those foreign manufacturers. It became a "name your price" and international investors now are buying out the land and assets under our own feet. Another was the dismantling of NASA by Nixon eliminating 247,000 NASA jobs when we led the industry of space sciences. NASA was the advancement of science without using war as the implementation. The world stopped when we walked on the moon and we were hated for our involvement in Vietnam. Had we backed the Vietnamese in regaining control of their own country, things would be quite different today.
The comment by a1465, ( and Jon Stewart) doesn't seem to be taking into consideration, that the Russian attack on Ukraine has artificially inflated our supply and demand. 20% of the world's oil is now being boycotted by most United Nations countries. High energy costs have historically contributed to inflation. This means that we, United Nations countries, as a unified opposing force against Russia and China, have to share reduced supplies of energy, costlier consumer goods, and food. China continues to buy Russian oil and China is flippant in regard to Taiwan with its US interference. It is a situation very similar to Ukraine and Russia. Russia and China both want to re-establish their former territories. The world's populations are now tied together by humans devouring our global resources and creating devastation of the world's assets.- That the true source of our inflation is China and Russia. Both are sinister in many ways but nothing we haven't done ourselves. Global Dominance and asset acquisition led us into Vietnam so the French could control the Vietnamese and keep their businesses as one example. Now we, like the Vietnamese who became 2nd class citizens in their own country, are becoming 2nd class citizens within our country with international financiers calling the shots.
@@mikefuller363 the 1% 🤷🏽♀️
@@mikefuller363 most likely multinational corporations. Money corrupts at every level, so look who has the most influence. There is more than enough tax money if everyone paid their fair share to give everyone healthcare and access to affordable education… but the ultra wealthy .01% hide their money from Uncle Sam … when the average person is paying close to 30% … they pay almost almost nothing or get a refund somehow…. Then they use the money to buy our politicians and make sure the IRS has absolute no resources to go after these tax cheats…. If everyone paid their fair share …. it would negate inflation and increase quality of life … but the propaganda spit out by the politicians bought by the .01% convince millions of people that they are going to be the next multi billionaire …. So we can’t change the system one bit …. This preys on everyone by taking advantage of humans innate selfishness. If everyone paid their fair share to live in a society…. We would have no poverty … hunger…. Quality Education would eventually be so widely available that in generations people might question religious dogma and therefore and end to most war like conflicts …. But we can’t have any of that… because Joe the Plummer is going to strike it rich and wants a Rolls Royce.
@@Laviolette101 well said, and well thought out.
This general ballpark is where my mind went initially when everything started to rise mid to late height of the pandemic. I thought maybe businesses are looking at an opportunity to completely smash profit records and blame someone else. Good to see it layed out in more specific terms. Good job Jon! Fight for the cause, not party or the system.
Fight for the cause, not the party or the system. I like that.
The cost of government is how much it spends, not how much it taxes. It’s true both parties bribe their constituents by deficit spending.
Don't leave out the part where the products are also smaller. They're raising prices and less product.
That's what profit margin is. They did talk about it
I think Kathy Jones brings up a good point. Some products are the same price, but now you get 10 ounces not twelve. One guy bought and froze Cadbury eggs every year. The last one he bought he felt it was smaller and when he checked the ones in the freezer, sure enough they had gotten smaller.
Some products you can't even buy to own. You are forced to buy into a subscription-based model. All these services are going to a subscription-based pricing model and its like they don't even realize we have other shit we are paying for every month as well.
Shrinkflation - lower the grams of a food product but raise the price of it 👍
Shrink-flation
Metal for my roofing business has almost doubled. On the other end there is an acrylic product I use that is very expensive which hasn’t changed its price at all in the five years I’ve been using them. ABC the company I order my metal from is huge. It’s very interesting how profit records are being broken during a pandemic. I said from day one it’s not because they have to it’s because they can.
They have to break records every year, so setting the bar super high for the next year doesn't seem very bright
Absolutely, they know they can get away with it. ZERO morals.
Truly. After 2 years, when individual people are hurting, struggling to make-do, the only ones not complaining are the big dogs at the top of every industry chain. Profits are still up. The pandemic has been good for business. In Canada here, the government claws back overpayments from little old ladies, while big businesses who received support for the pandemic are posting profits. Yet the government says "oh, we're going to look into that" and never does.
Price of bananas hasn't changed near me in over 3 yrs. Go figure.
@@SeanWickett it's good for big business, but small mom and pops shops got killed during covid. Why were all the small stores told to remain shuttered but Amazon, wall art, etc all stayed open. Also there is lack of products. I tried to get a trek mountain bike, 1.5 year wait, metal not in. Tried to get xcoubtry skis not in stock. Tried to get consoles and gpu. Not in stock. Needed lumber, prices up the wazoo. Need a car, all new and used skyrocketed in price yet my 40k a year hasn't budged.
With a rate decision coming off fresh inflation data that showed an uptick in prices for the second month in a row. As well, the automakers strike, yet my portfolio of $400K keeps dwindling. How do I take advantage of the market to save my declining portfolio
Hire a financial advisor is the first step. But in my opinion if you're a long term investor, you can just go with the s an p 500 since the stock market increases on average of 10% year on year. The video mentions that too.
That’s true, Speaking with a consultant helped me stay afloat in the market and grow my portfolio to about 65% since January, , and in just a few months, I was able to earn over $950K in net profit from high dividend yielding stocks
Pls who is this Advisor that guides you? I’m in dire need of one
Having a good FA is essential for portf0lio diversification. My advis0r is *Sharon Louise Count* who is easily searchable and has extensive knowledge of the financial markets.
Thank you for this tip. it was easy to find your investment advisor. Did my due diligence on her before scheduling a phone call with her. She seems proficient considering her résumé.
"Inflation has always been something that just HAPPENS to companies." - LMAO i'm dying
Thing is, when they gouge: 1. It takes years for the regulators to do anything about it and by then the damage has already been one. 2. The fines that they might be forced to pay is a small fraction of what they made. 3. They will continue doing it no matter what.
They won't continue doing it if the companies cease to exist.
@@johnsuplicki People are willing to pay the higher prices.
@@mikeldehart8001 omg the whole point of the vid was they aren't willing, but have to and/or they don't have expendable cash. Have you perhaps looked into any of the historical precursors and markers of revolution? Arbitrary inflation is definitely one of them.
@@johnsuplicki Companies can't charge what people are unwilling to pay. Basic price and demand curve stuff.
@@mikeldehart8001 you and your basic
demand curve cliched conventional slavishness. Hear of essentials, food, what they were talking about for most of the vid? You act as if people are informed enough to know what they should pay for literally any and every product. Find me literally one product in America that isn't marked up 200% and then you can get back to me on how price is a product of demand and not conditioning, manipulation, uneducatedness, egotistical individualism that precludes united, concerted revolution, and/or cowardice towards capitalist enforcement forces.
Breaking Points covered this rather well. They found that high-end investors were actually seeking companies with monopoly pricing power to invest to profit off the ability of such companies to jack up prices and people would have to pay anyway.
The Majority Report with Sam Seder already covered this.
Breaking points, joe rogan, Jimmy dore, and Russell brand are all great outlets. Pay no mind to JayCNN below. He’s a paid correspondent that says we should believe corporate propaganda. Notice his high like counts and low correspondence in the comments and the empty ad Homs that were made in a democrat think tank with zero evidence to backup their claims… and then they up-sell names like Sam Seder, who’s views are dwarfed in comparison by Jimmy Dore. Mainly because Jimmy is a progressive that holds dems accountable and Sam believes in things like the false, Clinton funded Russiagate. Dead giveaway.
They don’t want you going outside their realm of control. So they make fake accounts with fake likes… pathetic really.
Joe R, Jimmy D, and Russle B. Make their money in misinformation and will say about anything to make money.
Also Joe Rogan's planet of the apes discription of a black neighborhood from years ago still rub me the wrong way. F Rogan.
@@handlethis405 misinformation is simply not the party narrative, when did we all of a sudden have a ministry of truth?
Reduce consumption and live thrifty. Save Save Save and buy appreciable assets. Let their merchandise rot on the shelves and eventually go on clearance! People must fight back corporate greed.
Agreed
The problem is essential items are being jacked up the most.
@@kt798 true, but with organized boycott, many local merchants/retailers may drop their prices on essential items. It worked in the past in some places like London as some friend told. Kids from the neighborhood were knocking on doors and asking residents to join the boycott until local shops were forced to drop back rise in prices. In our case, government intervention might be necessary and well justified in controlling prices on necessary items.
Been a nonconsumer for thirty years, only buying absolute essentials..no car..but bought r home. No debt cept the mortgage note, and don't go without...
But it astounds me how people just spend..spend..spend...blows my mind...how ppl can injest those things, well alone afford them.
I don't think this would work for food.
The values of these large corporations is so lacking in ethics or morals it’s so depressing. Record profits for the gas companies and they’re charging whatever they want for gas, groceries, basic goods. It’s such a racket, and nobody can stop them when they own the politicians in their election cycle.
I can promise you they're definitely not "charging whatever they want" for these things. If they were, why isn't Kroger charging $4k for a gallon of milk? Or $40k?
It's almost like prices are determined by markets, not companies.
Simple.
If any company is convicted of price-fixing, they are broken up. No more fines.
Except they own the politicians...
Here in Belgium we have an index that tracks a basket of common goods, including energy, and whenever the price of that basket goes up by a certain percentage, the wages follow. This way inflation does not eat away the buying power of common people, in particular of the most vulnerable in society. It is also a good way to discourage companies to raise prices when wages rise, since it won't change the bigger picture if they do. The US could also use a similar law: however, it's not socialism for the rich and thus the republicans will most definitely kill it.
This is an excellent idea. Which is why it won't work in the US. In the US, we're only allowed to implement the worst possible systems..except NASA. NASA was grandfathered in.
Hey don't pick on Republicans like that! The Dems will help kill any bills like that, too, or at least stand idly by complaining about their hands being tied.
Are we comparing the Belgium economy to the U.S. economy? And a government under constitutional monarchy compared to a Federal presidential Republic? And a minimum wage to a living wage? Interesting idea, though, even when considering the vast differences in countries. Is the wage increase limited to companies whose price increases have contributed to the basket of goods or is that enforced to the economy as a whole? Is it weighted based on impact? I could see energy companies contributing much more than a consumer discretionary company for example. Would seem unfair for a company that has little to no impact on your equivalent to a consumer price index or personal consumption expenditure to have to increase it's wages disproportionately higher to it's contribution to inflation. I am curious how that works
@@roycekimmel minimum wage is supposed to be a living wage, that's why it is the minimum aka MINIMUM LIVING WAGE. Read up on New Deal values of FDR. Reagan killed the minimum wage from adjusting automatically which is why it hasnt adjusted for 30+ years.
@@XrayTheMyth23 I appreciate the post. And I am familiar with how he intended it. However, his definition of a minimum wage served largely the purpose of what welfare does today. And a "living wage" is pretty arbitrary today. It seems that the minimum wage was only intended to serve as the bare minimum for what society would deem an acceptable wage to avoid the exploitation of vulnerable workers and to ensure that no working person would starve in the United States. I doubt everyone would agree that to be a "living wage". And not to mention FDR was unable to provide a true living wage at the Federal level at that time. And when we talk about minimum wage, it should be viewed differently at the Federal level and state levels. Federal minimum wage should not be considered a living wage but both should increase so as to maintain it's proportionate purchasing power. www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=publicpolicy.pepperdine.edu/blog/posts/what-did-fdr-mean-by-a-living-wage.htm&ved=2ahUKEwi4o6DCnbz2AhUWWs0KHYG0CIEQx7wDegQIOhAB&usg=AOvVaw3osnxm68aSiG_GBWGuKq73
Just a little while ago, I was talking with someone about inflation mostly being a euphemism for price-gouging. Then I opened YT and this clip that I listened to a few months ago was sitting there, asking to be listened to again. Ms. Owens really provided an excellent overview of the inflation issue, uniquely laying the blame where it belongs. I'm going to save this for any future inflation discussions.
Reminds me of what I learned in school about the Trusts (monopolies) which the Sherman Antitrust Act was supposed to stop, along with many other laws that were passed banning this practice. Of course, Congress has been chipping away at those laws for a very long time now so they're almost worthless - and you see the result. Greedy corporations run amok.
Well no doubt socialism was advocated to you . The problem is socialist industries produce poor quality products. That is why most of the population is completely ignorant of the fact that one man’s profit is another man’s profit.
When life gives you lemons
charge extra and blame inflation.
Well played!
Best point by Jon: when companies raise exec bonuses and pay, and increase shareholder dividends, they don't raise prices. When they have to raise worker wages, then they raise prices.
Executive compensation and shareholder dividends don't affect marginal cost. Worker wages affect marginal costs. Price is determined by marginal revenue and marginal cost.
@@pauldorasil5114 A proper accounting would amortize executive compensation and shareholder dividends into marginal cost as well. Any marginal cost calculation not including these (and ALL other company expense) factors is shady accounting.
@@willrodgers7974 That's not what the term "marginal cost" means. Marginal cost refers to the cost of producing an additional unit.
So let's say I own a candy bar factory. I have lots of costs. But not all of those costs are included in the marginal cost. The marginal cost would include the cost of the ingredients, the electricity for running the machines, the wages I pay the workers who carry the boxes, the drivers of the trucks who ship the candy bars, etc. But marginal cost doesn't include the cost of the building, the cost of the machinery, the wage I pay to the accountant, the wages I pay to the security guards or the front desk secretary, the property taxes, or lots of other costs. Those are all fixed costs. If I only produced one candy bar, I would still have to pay all of those costs. Those costs have no effect on price. Only marginal costs affect price.
There are lots of businesses where the marginal cost is near zero. Movie theaters and airlines have very low marginal costs. That means prices are almost entirely determined by demand, which determines marginal revenue.
@@pauldorasil5114 I understand how the term is traditionally defined. That skewed definition is also part of how we can end up in this mess of an economy where every company can make record profits every year while the middle class collapses. The lack of factoring in the fixed capital costs into pricing calculations is part of the problem, albeit a tiny one of thousands contributing to the larger problem. Thanks for the reply though. Hope your weekend goes well.
@@willrodgers7974
It's not a skewed definition. It's just math. And everyone, including the middle class, would be worse off if companies priced above the profit-maximizing price because they factor in fixed costs.
I started noticing years ago, that Kroger (grocery stores) were stocking their shelves and freezers with products that bear their name. Little by little, what we used to call brand name goods, are disappearing in Kroger stores. They still stock some brand names, and during my last visit there, I noticed Kroger products cost more than Brand Name products do. For example, Libby and Del Montey canned vegetables cost Less than the same with the Kroger name.
I'm going to start grocery shopping somewhere else.
I hope you actually did since it has since come out that Kroger did not pay employees the paycheck for right before Thanksgiving until nearly Christmas.
Corporations are definitely taking advantage of this inflationary situation and gouging the consumer.
I've been puzzled by inflation and how everything gets "corrected" for inflation... except wages.
They make it all up
A recession corrects inflation, no other way around it. It is also a way for companies to reduce head count and when growth comes back they will offer far less in wages.
But they do.🙄
The Federal Reserve should have raised interest rates that they are loaning to big corporations. From what I understand that is another reason for inflation. Then when these large too big to fail investment banks screw up, and the bubble bursts, they will make the taxpayers bail them out again, then right after that they will give themselves huge bonuses again. It seems to be a cycle of screwing the average taxpayer.
Every market is supply and demand. If the demand for a job stays the same, but the number of available workers goes up, the pay goes down. If the number of available workers goes down, the pay goes up. If the number of jobs goes up while the number of workers stays the same, the pay goes up. If the number of jobs goes down while the workers stay the same, the. The pay goes down.
Americans are economically and financially uneducated, including Jon. So much so, that most Americans aren't even comfortable having conversations about their own money. It's a travesty.
Lindsey Owens is a great truth teller too. Great job. 👍👍
Oh yeah and she’s not some crazy nut job like the other Owens lady that we see in the headlines lately!!
Before I begin, I have a masters degree in economics from UB (University at Buffalo).
One of the biggest issues currently is that the government is not regulating the cost of fuel in this country. There is zero reason for gas prices to be what they are. We have more than enough supply in this country alone to sustain us for decades.
The unregulated cost being charged by fuel companies is driving the costs by everything up. Meanwhile, these fuel companies, who are also subsidized by the way, are seeing huge profits.
It’s a simple solution, BUT the men and women in congress are also being paid by these same fuel companies not to do anything, just as they are paid by pharma not to regulate drug prices.
Those of us with a degree in economics will tell u that an unregulated “free market” economy will fail (and has failed)
I have some bad news. You...might want to get a refund for that masters degree because apparently not much was learned. The market is the best regulator of price. The higher the price, the more incentive companies have to produce fuel. Gas prices have dropped some 40% since the summer of 2022.
"There is zero reason for gas prices to be what they are." Except that....prices are determined what people are willing and able to pay. Drive by any gas station today and you will see plenty of customers filling up their cars and paying the average $3.30 per gallon. So obviously there is total reason for gas prices to be what they are, otherwise people wouldn't be paying those prices.
This podcast&channel is the best thing John could do right now. Thank you so much, John.
Here's an idea for fighting inflation: enforce the damn antitrust laws! If there were more competition throughout the economy, firms would be hard-pressed to so freely raise prices.
There's a huge barrier that prevents any change from happening with this, and that barrier is lobbying. These companies will definitely lobby the government to prevent any legislation that hurts their profits. Lobbying is rampant in the US, and we desperately need to address it. One way is by implementing a Public Election Fund. Election campaigns are stupidly expensive in the US, and it's currently unviable to fund one without accepting donations from wealthy special interests. If politicians don't bend to their will, they risk losing elections. A Public Election Fund allows candidates to fund their campaigns without having to take money from such entities. Not only that, but if you make it so that candidates can only access the fund if they swear off taking donations from anyone other than who they'll be representing, then that makes it extra effective against corruption. Also, if you make it a voucher-based, donation-multiplying fund, then they'll be forced to get involved in their community and learn exactly what everyday people need. It's critical that we implement measures like these, because currently, politicians are heavily incentivized to help wealthy special interests and no one else.
A lot of those laws were gutted and both sides of the isle are in the same companies pockets. There has been progress for congress people who aren't corporate shills, but it seems like the only way we could have anything in the immediate future would be to elect a progressive president who uses executive actions as much as possible
How about enforcing the constitution first? Fiat money is unconstitutional. There’s a reason. You simple minded fools all have simple solutions for everything. How about having the government pay for things by taxation? No inflation in the money supply means no increase in prices.
That will do NOTHING to fight inflation.
@@tktimber418 The plot twist here comes after calling OTHERS simple minded fools with fantasy land solutions 😂😂😂 is this a Bill Oreilly bot?
As soon as "Inflation" passed the lips of some pundit on TV, CEOs went "We have a blank check! Jack up the prices!"
Fiduciary responsibility to shareholders needs to be replaced with moral responsibility to stakeholders: Employees, Customers, Community (local & up-to-and-including Global), and Country (taxes)
100% when the 2.50 price of a Nabisco box of crackers jumps 62 cents, you know it's just flat greed of all these CORPS. Why not just accelerate further the plunder of anyone making less than 50k a year. Even those with health insurance at any wage are basically f*%ed anyway, it being a varitable legalized scam and all.
You nailed it. Way too many use fiduciary responsibility as a cop out to the point where normal people making like $80k and have like $1k in stocks fall back on that. Focusing solely on increasing profit (which is exploitation) only leads to negative outcomes in the long run
Convincing the public that inflation is due to flawed policies of Biden & Dems means more GOP are elected in the Fall. This in turn gives them the power to reduce taxes, pollution regulations, etc AGAIN getting even more powerful.
you have no idea about economics. 25% of all US currency was spent by the US government in the last 1-2yrs.... you flood the market with extra currency, the existing currency buys less.... it's REAL BASIC
@@BoltRM Who's saying specifically that? The sitting administration always bears some blame, but the causes are of course far more systemic than that. like all presidents in the last 40 years, Biden by default guilty of standing by while the country plunges deeper into the chasm of unchecked oligarchy, corporate welfare corruption, and middle income poverty.
We expect business to compete on price, but if they conspire to inflate prices they should be prosecuted for it. So lock them up and fine them for billions of dollars.
Not only are prices going up, shrinkflation is also taking place. Less quantity sometimes replaces price increase. We are being screwed both ways.
The bad part is knowing what needs to happen and realizing that our government doesn’t care enough about people to do the right thing 😔
No matter blue or red 😑😑😑
@@amalianurlatifah8703 Yep. BOTH sides are bought and paid for by the same people.
Our government's policies are set primarily by corporate desire. If a corporation wants a certain policy set, or a regulation repealed, they 'donate' to a various red and blue congress people. Then those 'people' (I prefer the term 'parasite', but that's just me) do the bidding of these corporations.
Back in the old days before, and during World War Two, corporations running the government (and corporations are most definitely holding sway over our government) was the very definition of fascism. Our nation has been a fascist one since the early 1960s, if not before then. It just didn't clamp down on the authoritarian aspect as much until recently.
@@amalianurlatifah8703 And most of the people bitching on this channel probably hate the few politicians who are actually throwing a wrench in the whole system.
What is the right thing? Your statement is a cliff hanger.
This inflation is so hard on people who rely on food stamps, disability, welfare, and SSI because the amount of money that is allotted to each person does not change with inflation. The amounts typically only change with whatever the state's minimum wage is.
Get a job!
Excellent point.
@@williamnichols8506 So us disabled folks should get a job? Know of any openings for one handed programmers with serious health issues?
that's something else we really need to change. those checks should be indexed to a localized cost of living.
@@jennifer7685 I think part of the problem is that the amounts for benefits and the minimum wages are often set by people who have no idea what it is like to live with that income.
Thanks for stating the truth about the corporation’s greed during a time of hardship for the consumers.
The news is always ignoring the truth.
Wait so corporations weren't greedy prior to COVID? And they're less greedy now that inflation is running at only 3% instead of 9%? Logic fail.
Corporations are always greedy. So are people. Greed is what incentivizes the production of goods and services and is a good thing. Inflation is caused by money-printing, not greed. Zimbabwe presently has a 230% annual inflation rate. Are you saying that Zimbabwe businesses are 77 times greedier than American businesses?
Anytime the investor class see ANYONE else getting more money, they immediately start figuring out how to transfer that cash into their pockets. And since the government hasn't objected to a merger in DECADES, there's only a handful companies that control the majority of the economy and it's REALLY easy for them to use "pricing power" to transfer more cash from people who get a paycheck to the people who are in the investor class.
The love of money is the root of all evil. Issues with health care, property and rents rising, education… common denominator? A few people at the top getting too greedy
Agree 100%. Give me all your money before it’s too late!
The cause of all evil is laziness, not money. Capitalism in a perfect scenario is meant to stimulate ideas, if it was to easy to make a living there would be little or no innovation, no need to do more or think more. Stagnated societies like socialism and communism are examples. Yes China has billionaires to, men and women who over came their society's restraint's.
@@rev.brotherjohn2191 Wanna buy some magic beans?
God, you Capital Cultists are just as bad as religious fundamentalists. Maybe worse.
If capitalism is so perfect, it wouldn't keep resulting in depressions, recessions, and ultimately developing into full-blown fascism whenever the Haves start to feel the Have-Nots get a little restless. The self-regulating market is a myth. As is "enlightened self-interest" among the ruling class. Capitalism incentivizes greed and callousness, so the biggest crooks always seem to make it to the top. That's not a sustainable system.
@@rev.brotherjohn2191 remember China is now a capitalist country
They learned and they learned fast. Their only problem is you can’t question the government
capitalism is the thing you really talk about.
Jon Stewart is a great truth teller. The voice of reason. Great job. Keep the truth alive for humanity and the planet and all life. 👍 👍
Yeah unfortunately he made all his money from these greedy corporations
This is the dumbest podcast I have ever listened to. They have no idea what they are talking about, and the absolutely don't understand inflation.
@@user-nc9pc3gr4c Go listen to brainless Ben Shapiro
Jon is a Left wing mouthpiece, fact. inflation is not a corporate product. this whole podcast is a lie. if corporations drive inflation, they would have done it far sooner.
@@mml1426 At least Ben understands inflation and capitalism
Always interesting, thank you.
John is so good at getting to the heart of an issue and staying on it.
Really, these “faceless companies” are people, who we should be calling out.
They are not though.. companies used to have owners that were on the hook for what their company did and would be held accountable if they effed up or at least they would loose all their money.. sadly in late stage capitalism they are just a board and steak holders that have no liability to the company. They are too big to fail so no matter what they do they know taxpayers will bail them out. They take no real risk so at this point in late stage capitalism they hold all the cards and we sustain them with our lives work and are all sharing the risk to prop them up. Capitalism as out lived its usefulness and is killing the planet.
@@terrystevens3998 and the board is comprised of? You guessed it, people. They should all be liable. Parasites.
@Mike Dalby maybe add something constructive instead of hurling insults like a child
@Mike Dalby Believe it or not, we CAN hold people accountable for being greedy, but we choose not to. Somehow you choose to find greed acceptable as long as it's someone's job?
@@dancingsocrates9491 just following orders, right?
The corporation must always grow and turn profit, no matter the state of the world. They do it at expense of their workers looking for a decent wage. Profits up wages stay the same. If there is a hurricane in the gulf and refineries are shut down, the consumer pays at the pump to maintain the profit margin .One more example of how the SCOTUS gave corporations more rights than any citizen with Citizens United.
They're considered *people* in legal terms as well. Any actual person that acted in the way they do would be considered a psychopath.
@@Napalmdog The truly bizarre thing is they are only considered people when it comes to assigning rights and privileges, but suddenly they aren't when it comes to holding them accountable for their actions. I would love it if the only punishment I could receive for crimes was an insignificant fine accompanied by a lot of pearl-clutching about how fining me enough to actually change my behavior is going too far.
without profits, there is no business.
@@Dan16673 Since his is obviously not true (cooperatives do business just fine without profits, for instance), could you elaborate on the point that you were actually trying to make?!
@@Dan16673 They can weather the storm through a hurricane and take a short term loss without jacking up the price 20%. What about all of the quarters of profits that preceded our hypothetical hurricane? Did they blow it all in Vegas? Just like an individual... you have rainy day cash for when shit goes wrong. Corporations don't believe in that for themselves.
As a small business owner, I have to raise my prices in my shop because all of the companies I buy wholesale from have raised all of their prices. In order to continue to be open, I have to go along with raising prices. I don't want to but I'm struggling as it is.
The greed is disgusting
It's so depressing that this kind of information and intellectual dissection thereof isn't being broadcast by mainstream media. The fact that it's easy to see why only makes it more infuriating.
the "mainstream" media is nothing more than the propaganda arm for the globalist billionaires. There is no news there. They are all bought and paid for... most by pharma and billy boy gates
I totally agree. Jon Stewart is one of the best debators I’ve seen and while watching this, I was thinking about the fact that you’d never see this kind of civil discourse on fox or cnn or any of the news stations really. I definitely think we see it a little more on the left leaning news agencies but they’re all trying to sell headlines and up their viewership.
On inflation, it’s clear that the Republican Party has no interest in addressing it as they can just point a finger at Biden and say it’s his fault. This country sucks
Personally I can appreciate much of MSNBC. There is some good reporting that goes on there, compared to fox propaganda ministry… But I don’t watch them live or exclusively either. Yes they should go much farther to change the course of our faltering nation but they’re a far cry from the blatant Lie that is conservative entertainment. Unfortunately it seems it’s the Con that is winning.
The MSM is substantially in on the grift, is why.
PBS and its affiliates discuss these issues for decades. Don't listen to cable news.
I'd like to see a deep dive on why monopolies in corporations are allowed even though it's constitutionally illegal!
I'm sure this has been investigated multiple times and many books have been written about it. The book The Corporation explains some of the anti competitive and anti trust laws that Reagan removed in the eighties that started the corruption of capitalism.
What part of the constitution applies to stopping monopolies?
because corporations fund the politicians that make the laws
Can you point to the article and section of the Constitution that makes monopolies illegal? I must have a different copy than you do.
one of my friends tried to justify corporate profits by saying they aren't making as much as they lost during the pandemic. Corporations have been sitting on record amounts of cash for years. Their "losses" are all accounting shell games.
Hey, if we raise prices 30% on a 4% cost increase, not only do we 'dip our balls in gold,' but we can blame it on the dems. Win/win.
Biden admin printed trillions of dollars. He's a dem. Inflation is caused by excess money circulating
Profit margin is not expanding simply from passing price increases along to the consumer. Many industries are so concentrated that corporations are able to squeeze the suppliers of their raw products, too. Monopsony on the supply side, then monopolistic power on the consumer side price. All of the while they use higher prices to justify keeping wages low.
For example the meat packing industry.
AFAIK, there are basically two ways to make "Profit": Undercut the supplier/worker or overcharge for the product/service...Just like the situation where an employer will NEVER pay a worker "What you are worth" workers must always produce more than they are paid or there can be no profit. (Unless, as above, other workers, suppliers, or customers are undercut/overcharged to pay your "Worth" out of the profit pot if you have a highly sought skill)
@@42Mrgreenman They undercut supplier workers,they overcharge for the product, they buy smaller companies out either to gut the resources and layoff workers or to kill competition. They lobby for subsidies and loopholes for taxes. They convince everyone they can be the next Musk, Zuckerberg or Bezos so do not change the system but in reality this is farcical. Exploitive capitalism is not free and never was free. It does not benefit societies.
@@jgaffney567 Harsh commentary, but sadly, accurate, my friend.
Can capitalism ever be non-exploitive?
I was hoping some sort of equilibrium might be achievable.
@@mjl9002 Good question. The answer lies in people. Can people overcome self immediate interest of instinct. There are many forms of capitalism. Exploitive is just one. It is built on Pavlovian instinct. One must recognize it and overcome it.
The retailer I work for has been doing record sales since the start of the pandemic, operating at half of industry standard payroll because of a labor shortage in my area. During this they have both raised prices and refused to give workers raises claiming that they can't afford it. The bosses are getting fat bonuses though. Capitalism.
That's not capitalism, it's cronyism. Capitalism is what has virtually eliminated starvation and extreme poverty. It's the manipulation of government and the moving further from free markets is the problem.
Free market capitalism is a truly great thing, especially for those on the lower end of society. We have just wandered away from it.
Wrong. That’s straight up capitalism. Maximum profits with minimum expenses. The end result of unregulated free market capitalism is straight monopoly.
@@daniell1869 yup they have no competition in town.
@@daniell1869 No, it's not. Completely unregulated free market capitalism of the type you speak could only exist in complete anarchy because copywrite/trademark/patent laws, consumer & environmental protections and even laws preventing violence against competitors constitute meddling in the free market. Pure capitalism in it's full fledged theoretical sense also requires perfectly informed buyers and sellers, which is physically impossible. It's an abstract idea to build a practical system around.
Profits and expenses have nothing to do with capitalism, a company only needs to break even to continue to exist, and in a highly competitive market they often will only break even due to heavy R&D and competitive pricing. It's our regulatory system that creates the perverted incentives that cause many public corporations to become so short-sighted.
In order for capitalism to function it needs healthy competition. In order for that to happen in a centrally governed society like ours today it's going to take some amount of government regulation to encourage competition. It's no easy task and I don't know what specific policies should be implemented, but I'm confident that healthy competition with minimum interference will yield the best results over time.
@@jmuench420 Capitalism = Corporatism. Same shit
I was a child in a family of 8 and we had a second generation Dairy store with eggs, pop, bread , beer, cigarettes, ice cream , groceries,and milk in the glass bottle. We made a good living. We had vacations and had a boat. Nothing fancy but comfortable. This would be impossible today with Walmart, Target, Rite-aid, Wegman’s, oh let’s not forget Amazon.
Part of the problem is they glommed the distribution chain as in they have their own. My dad would take us in the summertime, every Tuesday, to get eggs in the country. We’d drive 45 minutes from Rochester and stop first at Wilma Wonder’s and get 3 cases/30 dozen =90 dozen, then the Bodner’s, the West farm , ………whilst there we’d pick up Apples.
All of those opportunities are gone. The point is even the farms are consolidated. The small town centers are shuddered from Walmart. The good thing is that the price of eggs and milk haven’t changed much since then until recently.
Here’s a little side note; Amazon received community development grant’s in the county of Monroe whose purpose is "job creation". 😂. The Politicians were there in force to break ground. Meanwhile; at the “Mall" 2 miles away; cricket’s. (remember that place, I’m old enough to remember "Downtown ")
Amazon might be a good solution for streamlining the market but the consequences should be realized. A no-brainer for me is that they, like Tesla,and Walmart ,should be taxed.
Their success is not on their own. Their market place seems invisible because we’re like fish in water and we don’t know we’re wet. Elon didn’t build PayPal or Tesla in South Africa because he couldn’t. Jeff Bezos couldn’t start Amazon in the Amazon obviously because he couldn’t. The infrastructure as in roads, banking, internet, police , etc., are all paid for by us. We the people.
……and ,don’t even, get me going on football stadiums. Eat dirt Bret F
Lindsay Owens possesses incredible insight into inflation and its real causes. Great find Jon, and your series of issues in your podcasts is a real gift to our civilization, and the key to any hope we have for real survival as a society.
Even Facebook when friends post memes about corporate greed being the reason for inflation it's "fact checkers"put up a message telling you that that's misleading and that it has nothing to do with corporate greed. There is a coordinated effort by the corporate overlords to keep the focus off of them as it always is.
They’re right… for once
@@GrammarQuixies How are they right?
@@rhobidderskag1121 because corporations don’t cause inflation. Don’t confuse price increases with inflation. Inflation is the expansion of the money supply. Increase it too much, as we’ve done, and those dollars are worth less. It takes more of them to make the same purchases. The prices are not going up per se, your dollars are going down. Only one entity can cause inflation. The Federal Reserve. The reason you’re hearing the corporate boogeyman man stories again is the Federal government covering their tracks. It’s their profligate spending that’s forcing the Fed to increase the money supply. Sadly, the narrative will work. As evidenced by the foolishness on these comments.
@@GrammarQuixies well I agree with you to an apart of what you're saying I think to negate corporate price gouging completely is irresponsible. The Federal reserve absolutely plays a part in it so does supply chain issues but corporations absolutely exploit these opportunities. It's the combination of things. And we the consumer are crushed in the middle.
I couldn’t be happier that Facebook is losing hundreds of billions of dollars and will possibly go bust in a some years.
Jon's content always cheers me up. I can't tell you how much of a comport it is to see who he has on his platform and be made aware of all these people who are fighting the good fight.
I
Thank you!
Well done! 👏🏽
I remember when this all started they threated laws to charge ppl that price gouged... then it got real quite... and then corporations decided gouging was the way.
People don't understand economics, you should not prevent company from price gouging.
When you do you always create problem and end up with shortage lasting far longer than it should.
@@anteeko No. it's you who does not understand Law. Value doesn't change with higher consumer income. Price gouging always was and is a problem. Demand changes value. And you can't pretend that "everyone is doing it, so it's ok". Because i could say the same about fraud, or scams. As long, as traders and Markets lay off people, their higher prices are just scams.
@@anteeko So you are okay with price gouging? There is a difference between bumping prices to maintain profits during a supply issue but gouging is just excessive.
@@derekmick1177 I am 100% ok with price gouging.
Higher price and high profit is an important economic signal to increase production and resolve shortage.
Every time politic introduce price control it lead to shortage and make the crisis last longer.
@@Gunni1972 Value changes with higher demand and lower or same amount of supply- and thats exactly what was happening when they charged people for raising price of masks etc. And now companies are able to do it without consequence.
Lindsay needs to be invited on again in the future on economic issues. She’s knowledgeable on the topic and communicates her points in a way that most of us can understand. She’s also not afraid to call it like she see’s it.
I liked her too 👍
And, least of all, but not to go unmentioned...easy on the eyes!
She'd also make a great secretary of commerce in a Sanders presidency.
But sadly, not correct in her assessment.
You just like her cause she's pretty.
Thank you!!!!
One thing I have noticed over the years is that when gas and oil prices go up, everything goes up and blames the price of oil. But when the price of oil comes back down as it always does, the prices that were blamed on the price of oil DO NOT come down at all. The new "savings" on the price of gas in absorbed somewhere in the supply chain and does NOT make it down to consumer prices.
What I noticed during the last two years, and have been very vocal about ; is that corporations are raising prices because they see people not really batting an eye and consuming like normal. When the prices o f wood went up I noticed this. People kept building and remodeling like crazy. I mean 2x4 went from $2.50 to $8 and people did not revolt...smh. We are addicted to consuming and they are our dealers, dealers know when their customers are desperate for a fix.
People kept building due to lack of housing inventory. The housing demand is so high that these builders couldn’t build homes fast enough. Lumber prices increased due to the increased housing demand
Things have changed a lot in 100 years. My dad used to sew the town baseball back together when they wore it out. Now... My roommate is addicted to Amazon. Package every 2 days.
My mother didn't work. She was too busy hitting roadside produce markets on the weekend and canning for the winter. After all foriegn produce is expensive. That and darning socks. (buy new ones when I can sew these up? are you kidding?)
I am currently wearing an Armani shirt that I bought at the Salvation Army. The one place that hasn't jacked up their prices and bexause of our consumer culture is still oversupplied.
Gas is so cheap they use it to blow leaves around. In my fathers day a lawnmower was extravagant. (Y'know they are making push mowers again.)
@@kellyfehr3719 While what you said is true, individuals have little control over the biggest expenses in their lives, things like housing and healthcare. While we can save a few dollars by not being wasteful with food, we get the prices of expensive necessities dictated to us.
@@farrahupson It's not dictated to you. The two things you mentioned, food and housing, happen to be the least monopolized items imaginable. How many food producers exist in the US? There are THOUSANDS if not millions in every US state. They mention 4 big meat packers, those 4 only control about 70% of hamburgers. How many housing companies are there? Most houses are owned by individuals, and individuals are able to set their own prices when they sell their own house. So this should be a massive clue to everyone, this inflation is NOT caused by corporate greed. It's not even a blip on the radar. The Bullshit they're talking about in this video, yes CEOs are bragging about being able to raise their prices because that's literally the only defense they have against being destroyed by the coming inflation storm that all investors know is coming.
@@gorkyd7912 Uh... in regards to monopolies on food I'll direct you to Monsanto.
I'm not into conspiracy theories but water does flow downhill. I've got a friend who for three years has been in a legal battle with a landlord who's trying to "renovict" him. Yeah there's hundreds of thousands of landlords but they all seem to be going with the flow. Average rent in Vancouver is $1000/mo. Welfare housing allowance... $400. Our homeless simply can't afford to be anything but.
It's so great how all we do is talk about all the problems and expose all the corruption 24/7 but nothing changes for the better and the rich just keep getting richer and more corrupt. #freespeech
Hey CZcams! Thanks for random shuffling all sorts of different stories… and then ten straight John Stewart videos. That's exactly what I want
Love this. My GOP dad and I were talking years ago as he bashed the min. wage for inflation. I said and what if shareholders took less home instead? Oh you silly child was the look.
If the shareholders took less home, they'd sell that stock and buy a stock where they don't take less home. The purpose of a company is to deliver the maximum amount of value for its shareholders. If it does not do this, it won't be around for very long.
All the small companies folded when Covid shut everything down...then the Cares Act gave huge handouts to the biggest corporations, who in turn used the excess cash flow to buy up all the small companies who couldn't get through the red tape to get the loans...now we have monopolies in every industry nationwide, so there is no competition in the marketplace, thus, prices can be raised arbitrarily with no negative consequences to the seller.
This is...... Holy fuck this is so true
Covid didn't shut everything down, democrat's pointless lockdown policy did.
You kid.
Learn to use the thing between your ears.
@@seeker3507 ah yes, during the trump administration because they actively chose not to unite the country to fight the virus
@@RWAsur your comment...why did you write it if it doesn't respond to my question or is a good retort. Why do you waste other people's time reading your drivel.
@@seeker3507 I think you called trump a Democrat, weirdly
Thank god im not crazy. Ive been asking this question for the last 6 years. Like why cant we just limit prices? We want everybody to get out of poverty but we just keep moving the goal post every time we give the people any edge
@HunterBidensCrackPipe it's corporate greed plain and simple. Not any overreaction to covid.
Actually, price controls cause empty shelves. How would you like the government to limit how much you can make?
Richard Nixon did price controls in the 70s and the business community went nuts. Because the business leaders control our politicians today, price controls will never be on the table
@HunterBidensCrackPipe by forcing corporations to charge more, setting record profit margins? How did government reaction to covid cause this?
@@donbianconi8446 Don't expect anyone who chose a name like that to make sense. He can only parrot talking points.
Jon you are great. Thanks for really knowing what is going on.
This was beautiful, thank you
We are constantly warned that raising the minimum wage will cause crippling inflation and yet we failed to raise the min wage less than a year ago and we STILL got crippling inflation.
We were also warned that printing trillions of new dollars would cause crippling inflation. That DID happen.
NOT taxing the Wealthy and Corporations is Revenue lost to the U.S. Econony which causes Debt!
Duuuh! The Republicans keep cutting taxes when then they cause a Crisis which causes even more debt!
This is why tbe U.S. has a 23 Trillion dollar debt since the Clinton Administration! Republicans love Debt.
President Clinton rearranged our countries Economic system and had a Surplus that Bush Jr. Came in and demolished with his Incompetent action or Non Action against Terrorist warnings before the 9/11 attack!
Republicans cause Crisis in Every Republican Administration! Tax Cuts and National Crisis drives our Debts up and makes American workers lives Worse!
WTF would anyone vote for Republicans to make their lives worse?
VOTE BLUE IN 22!
That's a conservative myth they say to keep from raising pay.
@@larrybarnhouse9989 I don't get the Left's love for corporate taxes. They're just another cost of doing business, which gets passed on to the consumer. Much like a sales tax, it's a flat-rate tax that hurts poor people the most.
If it's federal revenues you like (rather than punishing the rich), there's a good argument to made for LOWERING taxes to increase revenue. But only the Right talks about such things.
I forgot the punch line...
At the same time corporations are reporting record profits
This same situation is happening all across the markets from cars to housing, this is purposeful and the goal is destruction of what little freedom we have.
I think inflation is also an intended hit against Biden. The Rt isnt talking about breaking up monopolies, increasing corp tax rates, monitoring bank accts transactions over X amt to spot fraud, or funding more for IRS to catch tax evaders. Gas went down 15 cents for 2-3wks a month ago after Biden did something, use our oil reserves maybe, but they shot up like 40 cents a month later.
What made me realize something sinister was going on was when Russia cyber attacked the pipeline making prices go up, yet the problem was corrected in less than a week and prices never went back down. Nobody mentioned that.
The corporations are running the country.
@@msavina9129 corporations DO run the world, although presidents are puppets. Right and left are both wings of the same shit bird. Inflation is staged and a scavenging on the public's liquid assets. An economy is gamification of survival, turning people into commodities. These conversations are really on the lower level of what's actually happening though, truth is often stranger than fiction.
Can’t listen to this without the coffee commercial playing in my head.
can I help youuuuu.
Can we not talk like thiiiiiiis
This is how I tallllllk
Haha
The entire world is going through this. ITS INSANE! RATES are going up in EVERY COUNTRY!
Corporate greed is most certainly the reason. I have a family of 5. My youngest child is severely autistic. We have one income. I've been watching groceries climb every single week. If this continues, I have no clue what to do. Our representatives have abandoned us. Period.
It's all about corporate greed. Definitely has nothing to do with the money supply or anything. We need to go back to 2019 when corporate greed didn't exist and CPI was only 2%. It wasn't until last summer when these corporations started to get really evil and mean that they started forcing inflation up from 2% to 7.5%.
I have been saying this for years. We no longer have a Government, they abandoned us many years ago, and we are on our own. They stand idly by on purpose as corporations RAPE the US for profits.
@@mlh5434
Yeah, corporate greed and corruption is only a year old!!! Corporations have been making record profits since Reagan and it went on steroids after 911 under Bush. Wall St saw record profits during the height of the pandemic under Trump. Not to mention the trillion dollar bailout Wall St got under trump and the $1.5 trillion dollar tax cut billionaires got under trump. One year my @z$.
@@nnveepathlight9528 If that's your logic, and corporate greed causes inflation, then how was CPI only at 2% in 2019 yet it's now at 7.5%? According to this video, it's because corporations are 275% "greedier" today than they were 3 years ago. Lol. Logic fail.
Inflation is always caused by increases in the money supply and nothing else. No one in this video clip seems to understand this.
@@mlh5434 Because the people in this video are either hopeless ideologues or they're ignorant.
13:00 Best point in the entire segment. These large companies have bullied/now own congress to the point where they don't have any competitors in the market. To John's point, this is not a capitalist system.
By using soft heads as well.
well, most people in Congress are fully invested in the market and love their high dividends and expanding asset values.
Well ... it is a capitalist system, this is full blown unregulated capitalism, where profit is king.
Yes it is capitalist, this is exactly what capitalism does.
Jon is wrong. Nothing stops ppl from buying shares in the companies or boycotting them. That's a Free market
Amen ... automatic subscribe why did I miss this podcast !
Nice to see someone finally talking about exactly what I've been talking about involving inflation. This same argument can be seen in the housing market too
So happy to have you back Jon I listened to you all the time in high school now 10 years later as an adult it's awesome to see you on this platform you're funnier than you were before
All of this mess is a result of the most insane money-printing, 0% interest rate binge ever. These corporations are only in a position to do this in the first place because they can borrow money, practically for free, straight from the government, and then turn around and buy back shares and sit back to watch the price explode. The Federal Reserve could end inflation before Q2 '22 if they wanted; raise interest rates to 10% and watch the stock market crash, the economy sink into a recession, and the average home price cut in half. You'd actually then have deflation, but massive job losses and likely the worst recession since the great depression.
So the Federal Reserve and the big Corps would rather keep the party going. Inflation benefits them and smokes everyone below them, who they don't give a shit about. It's a Big Club, and YOU AIN'T IN IT!
in the aftermath of crash of 07-08 there was free money to borrow but austerity was the politics of the time and nobody utilized the free money to get the economy back on track, there was lack of demand so first point is off kilter. and the fed reserve does not like inflation, they are constantly trying to balance inflation at 2%, no more no less. Fed reserve has a mandate to create jobs and stabilize economy. This is just corporate greed, plain and simple. They are using hysteria and fear to profit
@@scootypuffjr.6042 what is free money you refer to? just interest rate at 0% ?
I think you have a point with corporations maximising profits by maintaining these higher prices, but the Federal Reserve has to not only ensure price stability but also act against inflation in a way that protects jobs and output. With the Stock Market doing well at this time with the low interest rates, a lot of ordinary middle income people have began to invest in the stock market so a crash there could not only hurt the top but also them.
@@casperhiscock4871 You are an economic illiterate.
Spot on!
This was the most important explanation I've seen on this. Ms. Owens was superb.
Thank you thank you thank you.
Corporate CEO Salaries/bonuses have increased over 300% over the past 30 years. Compared to blue collar worker pay.
They can get by just fine without raising prices.
1 CEO, 200,000 workers. Not the same weight
@@mikolowiskamikolowiska4993 One CEO makes 5,000,000% the salary of one worker...
@@mikolowiskamikolowiska4993 you are right a CEO is a leech on the profit margin while the workers and consumers are forced to cover ceo pay raises with lower wages and higher prices
If y’all were right then the companies could just hire a cheaper CEO that runs the company just as well.
But they don’t…because y’all are wrong…
@@owenkeller2748 What's wrong? That they make 5,000,000% more than their average worker? I guess they really aren't billionaires then. My bad.
It's not just CEOs taking in all that money. It's also the top shareholders, most of which are in the 10%, so likely CEOs of other companies. You know, since 10% of the population owns 80% of the stock market, leaving the pittance available to the masses to scrounge over.
Shipping containers from China starts at $8,000 to $30,000 and pre-pandemic it was like $1000 or less
You'd think that cost would show up in the earning calls of the companies, and as such, the profit margins would be more reasonable.
Fun fact; Mitch McConnell’s wife Elaine Chao’s
family owns one the biggest shipping companies in the world!! Pretty interesting to me… especially when she was the DOT sec.
Tariffs placed in 2019
I am so glad you are doing these CZcams videos, I was so upset when you left Comedy Central, you know more than the law makers.
Great guest!
Economists “don’t have a theory of power.” Wow. I have had problems with macro economics for decades, and I have *never* heard the problem be stated so succinctly. There it is.
There is actually a lot of theory on this, this statement is false.
@@mikeldehart8001 Yes, exactly. Economists know exactly how "power" works and we call it monopoly... or oligopoly
Economists have a very precise mathematical theory of market power, which allows them to calculate exactly how much a company can jack prices up before they will start to LOSE profits. TLDR, they can't do it infinitely, and there's no reason to think that they weren't already maxed out last year and the year before etc. The only way that calculation changes is if the money supply changes, which is a state decision. If you want to believe that these greedy companies woke up one morning this year and decided to be evil and jack up their prices to make more profit, then you have to also believe that, before that morning, they were being good people and keeping the prices low at the cost of their own profits. Jon has this backward. I don't think inflation is caused by greedy companies precisely because I think that companies are so greedy that it is inconceivable that they were not already maximising profits for the given price level. What has changed is the price level, not the greed, the greed was already maxed out. This is 100% government's fault.
Where I do agree with your comment though is that economists have a horse shit understanding of POLITICAL power. They just understand market power.
@@neildutoit5177 We live in a time in History where money is the meaning and goal of life. That's primitive.
@@djrychlak4443 I agree
Real issue: how are you gonna tell the corporations that run everything and decide to raise prices to pad their pockets "Hey, you can't do that!"? They're just gonna laugh at you and raise things another 20% because they want to pad their bottom line and give themselves another bonus... while cutting hours and wages for workers at the same time as they raise the prices.
They can be broken up easily. Our government has to have balls to do it.
@@fmbbeachbum8163 they control the establishment politicians, now you are beginning to figure out the actual reason why Trump was popular.
@@fmbbeachbum8163 There's a big reason why the government doesn't have the balls to break up these corporations. That reason is lobbying. The companies you're talking about will definitely lobby the government to prevent any legislation that hurts their profits. Lobbying is rampant in the US, and we desperately need to address it. One way is by implementing a Public Election Fund. Election campaigns are stupidly expensive in the US, and it's currently unviable to fund one without accepting donations from wealthy special interests. If politicians don't bend to their will, they risk losing elections. A Public Election Fund allows candidates to fund their campaigns without having to take money from such entities. Not only that, but if you make it so that candidates can only access the fund if they swear off taking donations from anyone other than who they'll be representing, then that makes it extra effective against corruption. Also, if you make it a voucher-based, donation-multiplying fund, then they'll be forced to get involved in their community and learn exactly what everyday people need. It's critical that we implement measures like these, because currently, politicians are heavily incentivized to help wealthy special interests and no one else.
I highly recommend helping out grassroots efforts that are trying to implement Public Election Funds, because there are plenty across the country and they're making progress. My state has recently implemented it across a couple counties, and candidates are using them and winning.
@@BlastinRope I get that Trump sold himself as anti-establishment, but he appointed corporate goons to top positions. He conferred with top insurance company leadership before *coincidentally* choosing NOT to reopen the healthcare marketplace during a pandemic. He also made millions from taxpayers off of his businesses during his term in office. He's as "establishment" as any of them.
@@BlastinRope Trump was popular because he knew what to say, not because he was outside the establishment. A big business man like Trump is most definitely part of the establishment, especially after getting into politics and making numerous decisions that benefited him and his businesses. Trump was popular because he lied to people and they believed it. He lied about being an outsider, about not being part of the establishment, and people bought it because they wanted to believe it in spite of the demonstrable reality of his entire business career.
I'm not counting on government to do anything to help us as they are too indebted to these companies. We can boycott their products. I realize I'm personally not going to hurt them but if we all do it and hit em in the pocketbook we can make a difference!! If you don't REALLY need it don't buy it!! Attacking their bottom line is what we have to do to get their attention 😱🤯😳
I work in a grocery store (administrative work), so I get to see all the lovely details of prices/costs/margins. I can tell you I'm frequently shocked to see products with margins that are 5-20% higher than they were only a few years ago. It's most pronounced in meats and vegetables. Various cuts of steak which I know for a fact were sitting around 35-40% margin 5-6 years ago are not sitting at 50-55% margins. Cold meats (for sandwiches) went from 40-45% to, in some cases, 60% now.... That's a whole pile of grade-A bullshit, no joke.
The exact moment Jerome Powell and voting members of the Federal Reserve got concerned about inflation and dropped the "transitory" line was when wages started to increase. There was no talk about raising rates prior to decrease demand. John your NOT Paranoid!
Jerome Powel could care less about wages rising since he doesn't have any businesses. He knows that when you raise wages to combat inflation you get the wage price spiral that this moron said doesn't exist even though I know my own business wages went up over 20 percent now I have to raise prices further.
Wages increased when workers didn't show up.
Corporate greed and corruption is the root of all the problems in society today.
It's concise but it's so true.
Yes, I think we all agree that greed and corruption are problems. What we don’t agree on is the solution. Bigger government just means more incentive to control it by the corporations. Take power away from the government, and corporations will focus on customers instead.
Love You Jon❤
what a fun coverage of a devestating reality
It is no longer about maintaining a healthy sustainable business for majority of public companies, it is now about making all the money at the expense of the public. Glad someone in the mainstream finally brought this up, as an MBA grad and business owner I have been talking to friends about it since Q4 last year.
@JonStewart - Another great video AND all three guests. Your content choices (especially around fiscal matters/unfair practices are spot on for our times. THANK YOU!!
I was looking for some inspiration on what to research for my PhD and looking into power is definitely a contender.
This needs more views.
Oh my gosh, this is exactly what we have been yelling at the tv for months now. Corporate greed! Even if you could, SHOULD prices be raised? Really an ethical questions.
Thats not how pricing works. How could a corporation increase a price if people are not willing to pay it?
“Irony!” here in New Zealand our government raised the minimum wage recently and literally a week later the media starts talking about inflation.🤔🤔🤔our supermarket chains are run by a duo monopoly Countdown and Foodstuffs. A recent Commerce Commission report showed other competing supermarket chains couldn’t get into the market to compete as Countdown and Foodstuffs had a monopoly control over the suppliers. Inflation is clearly a creation of corporate greed!
The law of supply and demand has morphed into the law of "people have more supply of money and we demand to have it", by the Corporations. No one company should be allowed to have a monopoly.
Yes! Very well said.
No, it’s not caused by greed, it’s cause by the creation of too much money by central banks, coupled with supply shortages due to government shut downs.
@@davidleaman6801 correct. This started by the moron Democrats printing 6 trillion dollars and throwing it into a slow economy with Supply chain problem. But as usual liberals love to protect their liberal masters from the reality of the world and their decision making. It's disgusting.
@@garyandsandrahamlin872 Money printing does not always lead to inflation. The Fed printed record amounts of money since 2000, and we didn't start having record inflation until the pandemic. In fact inflation was below expectations for many many years before then! Corporations are raising prices more than they have to in order to cover costs, thus greed is a very important factor here. Try watching the video next time before you respond because they literally covered this in the video.
I'm from the u.k.. over 1 month ago our office of national statistics stated that 58% of our inflation is caused by corporate profits and yet our government hasn't tackled it in any sort of way. in fact they are targeting strikes saying that much needed wage rises, due to years of wage stagnation, are going to cause higher inflation. our 10% inflation rate not only impacts on the working class but also our middle class to such an extent even barristers are going on strike ( barristers are lawyers here). we have full time employees needing to use food banks due to low wages, high fuel prices, cars and heating homes. add to this higher mortgage payments, higher food prices etc etc and yet the government does NOTHING about corporate profits. inflation will also have an impact on multiple smaller businesses due to a lack of spending power by the public who are struggling to pay for their basic needs. this only shrinks the economy leading to less money going to our exchequer therefore less money they can spend on healthcare, our social security and numerous other areas of our welfare state. the blame lays at the door of ineffectual government or downright corruption
She is fantastic … so knowledgeable