President Joe Biden used a Wednesday speech at the White House to scold fossil fuel companies for raking in huge profits at the expense of U.S. consumers, who are being gashed by high prices at the pump. But instead of calling for a specific policy solution that would force the industry’s hand, Biden asked oil companies to voluntarily stop padding their bottom lines and instead “pass the savings on to consumers.” “So far, American oil companies are using that windfall, the windfall of profits, to buy back their own stock, passing that money on to their shareholders, not to consumers,”…
price gouging
Second-Richest Man Jeff Bezos Defends Oil Industry Price-Gouging
Progressives ripped billionaire Jeff Bezos for his latest defense of corporate profiteering over the weekend in which the Amazon founder and world’s second-richest person criticized a call by President Joe Biden for oil companies to lower the price of gasoline. On Saturday, Bezos accused President Joe Biden of “misdirection” and ignorance “of basic market dynamic” in response to a tweet from the president which called on companies setting gasoline prices to “bring down the price you are charging.” While Bezos’ comment sparked a sharp response from White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre — who said pump prices remaining constant despite…
Fed Chair Jerome Powell Says Corporations “Are Raising Prices Because They Can”
In a hearing before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said that corporations may be raising prices arbitrarily to pad their profits while the public suffers under high inflation rates. Powell said that higher prices for commodities like groceries could be chalked up to corporate greed, at least partially. This statement echoes recent research that shows that businesses are seeing some of their highest profit increases since 1950, using inflation as an excuse to reach further into consumers’ pockets. The statement came as the result of prodding from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts). During a confirmation…