Britain’s racing inflation has a hidden cause: corporate greed

41 comments
  1. Isn’t this something that we should file under “No shit, Sherlock”.

    What’s more important is that there is absolutely bugger all that can be done about it. Corporations can play games with trans-national finance and defeat any attempt to level the playing fields – all costs can be trivially passed on to customers.

  2. I don’t understand this argument. Haven’t corporations, always been “greedy” and sought to maximise profits? Why would that explain the sudden increase in inflation?

  3. Wait shell/BP announcing consecutive record profits while telling us how they’re being forced into their highest ever prices wasn’t a big enough clue???

  4. Energy and transportation costs affect everything that is produced, and those companies not passing on the cost savings that we can clearly see in the markets will kill everything else

  5. That is whole point of capitalism though. The big companies did not get that way by playing nice, they got there by being ruthless and destroying the competition by any means necessary. Look back at the history of the likes of Coca Cola, Nestle, Philip Morris, BP, Facebook etc. They all have a history of greed stretching back as far as they go, a history littered with crushed companies, lobbying, environmental damage and much more. Corporate greed is one of the world’s worst kept secrets.

  6. Energy and fuel prices driving inflation

    Oil companies make record profits

    Hmmmm. Maybe these are somehow connected? Not sure, not an economist.

  7. ‘I have a contract that says my electric is 100% renewable – so why has it gone up.’

    ‘Ah – its the war in Ukraine’

    ‘Explain please’

    ‘Its the way the price of electricity is calculated – its linked to the price of gas, which is affected by the war’

    ‘but wholesale gas prices are rock bottom at the moment’

    ‘did I mention the war in Ukraine…’

  8. “Will you please tax us we are making to much money” – Many cooperation’s realizing it’s better to pay a little now than lots in the future.

    “I can’t hear you over my wanting to punish the poor” -Tories

  9. This idea is the ultimate cop-out. Of COURSE companies charge market prices for their goods – that’s how it’s always worked, and how it will always work. So we can take actions that will actually affect supply/demand levels, and thereby attempt to lower market prices. Or we can impotently rail against “corporate greed”, doing nothing to actually help, but… feeling good about ourselves, I guess?

  10. and the reason it’s happening is because the Tory government is allowing it, because they’ve been bought off by the companies involved.

  11. The fact terms lie ‘tax havens’ is so casually thrown around without ‘jailtime’ included really hints at just how relaxed we’ve gotten about just letting this happen.

    Tax simply shouldn’t be dodgeable. No exceptions, no excuses and when they get caught it should be hard jailtime, not paying some fine they can obviously afford without a sweat.

    There are far too many very much intentionally legalised loopholes they duck and weeve through. Then giving the people at the top eye watering bonuses for doing so.

    Culturally we need to get away from the ‘tax is bad so it’s normal for people/companies to want to avoid it’. This sort of shit is why so many modern countries are in collasal debt, why we have hungry nurses, struggling services across the board.

    It has been compounding for decades with it never being properly tackled. We need a governent that finally puts their foot down and isn’t so bloody wishy washy about making the hyper wealthy and corporations just pay enough to make the country they profit able to actually effectively run.

  12. Well I for one am shocked by this startling revelation, I would never have guessed.
    I guess we will have to stop the corporate greed by taxing the rich.

  13. There is no hidden cause. It is the Brexit Correction that is returning the economy to the disaster it was in the 1970s. We already have corporate, supermarket, enforced rationing of eggs – cheese and milk is unlikely to be far behind. And tomatoes. Probably.

  14. Ah yes, I remember in 2021 when the corporations got together and decided to be greedy so inflation went up. Before that they were altruistic which was why inflation was low.

  15. It’s not hidden, the major news outlets aren’t covering it in their analysis of what’s driving inflation.

  16. Well I can’t read the article but the headline is bullshit.

    Inflation is caused by the BoE’s monetary policy and a shortage of gas

  17. If anyone glances at when inflation becomes a problem it seem far more likely due to top down profiteering than bottom up demands for better pay.
    It’s not like companies raising prices aren’t recording record profits.
    Wars, pandemics, oil shocks make people vulnerable and a great excuse for people at the top to fill their pockets.

  18. What’s causing Turkey’s (currently 85%). General view seems to be printing money and putting back into economy. Like we have done.

  19. Hardly hidden, it’s in their dividend payouts. 1 greedy person at the top is hard to satisfy with profits, 100 hedgfunds at the top are impossible to satisfy.

    Somewhere the drive changed from “Good product and good profits” to “Cheapest possible production and all the money that exists”.

  20. Bingo.

    Prices “had” to go up.

    Yet profits were at record levels.

    Meaning they did not have to go up. Corporations simply didn’t want to take a hit, or, they just capitalised on the crisis to make loads of money.

    Prices or profits need to fall in order to get inflation under control. Either pay people more money and keep prices the same, or lower prices and keep wages the same.

    edit:

    Also, reverse Brexit. Prices have increased due to that in some areas, too.

  21. Its not just corporate greed, but also wealth greed. Often paid loads for land rents, land, owning of businesses etc, and its not uncommon for them to pay next to no tax.

  22. And let’s not forget the thing the Tories have a media blackout on…. The Tory Brexit.

    People were warned it would increase prices but they took no notice.

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