President Biden, whose approval rating has suffered amid high inflation, is beginning to pressure large grocery chains to slash food prices for American consumers, accusing the stores of reaping excess profits and ripping off shoppers.
“Americans, we’re tired of being played for suckers,” the president said in South Carolina. “And that’s why we’re going to keep these guys — keep on them and get the prices down.”
“There are still too many corporations in America ripping people off: price gouging, junk fees, greedflation, shrinkflation,” Mr. Biden said last week in South Carolina. Aides say those comments are a preview of more pressure to come against grocery chains and other companies that are maintaining higher-than-usual profit margins after a period of rapid price growth.
“It’s hard to figure out what the short-term policy response is in this situation,” said Bharat Ramamurti, a former economic aide to Mr. Biden and an author of a report on grocery-price inflation that will be published on Friday from the progressive Groundwork Collaborative in Washington.
“When you have something that is driven in part by supply disruptions, what can you actually do to put downward pressure on prices?” he said.
The tight labor market, they said, had resulted in higher costs for producing and distributing those foods, “which have been passed on to consumers.”
@WingedAbaloneGreen4mos4MO
It appears that the Biden Administration is more concerned about his approval ratings with only 10 months to go before the election than he has been about food prices the past 2 years, which according to this article food prices are up 16% during the past two years.
If the average American household food costs were $500 per month for a family of four (which is probably low) before inflation pressures began to rise, is now costing an additional $960 more per year, above all other prices increases they have had to endure, such as increases in utility costs, health care and all other essential goods and services.
People have been calling out the rising costs of food for more than a year and only now Biden and his administration is taking notice since his approval ratings on the economy remain under water.
@Guilty2006Democrat4mos4MO
Have you considered that a president cannot address everything at once and perhaps there have been bigger, more pressing issues such as interest rates, inflation, Healthcare, etc that have been addressed? Now that some of that has calmed down, he is beginning to address this problem with food costs which is partly out of his hands due to "greedflation" with some of these companies.
It's not always about getting an "approval rating" up.
$5.09/gallon of gas at my local station yesterday. Food sky-high - along with natural gas, electricity and water. Rents through the roof. Interest rate on loan 2 times what it was when Biden took office. You are wrong.
@PuzzledGnuConstitution4mos4MO
Heating oil was $2.12 a gallon on 20 Jan 2020, and today is $4.18,
down from the all-time high of $6 last November.
Fill-up of a 275-gallon tank by the side of the house goes from
$583 to $1,150 until the truck returns in ~ five weeks.
⏤Up 97%.
Diesel Fuel for trucks moving food was $2.38 in Jan 2020;
today, it is $4.15, down from an all-time high of $5.81 last June.
Big rig 135-gallon tank fill-up goes from $321 to $560.
@IndependentMartySocialist4mos4MO
According to an analysis by the nonpartisan Economic Policy Institute, corporate profits accounted for 54% of food price increases between 2020 and 2021.
For the four prior decades, only 11% of food price increases was attributed to corporate profits.
This is hard evidence of corporate price gouging.
Keep hammering Corporate America's price gougers, Uncle Joe....and tell them the Justice Department is available to counsel them.
@Bl4ckBoxTommyDemocrat4mos4MO
If Biden can solve this problem AND keep gas prices reasonable, I think it will greatly improve his standing. I'll be voting Biden (Blue down the ticket) and I'm mad about prices. I know inflation is coming down but see how food prices remain high. Corporations are gouging us.
@Patriot-#1776Constitution4mos4MO
Moron thinks high prices are due to corporate greed? No, they're due to YOUR inflation and YOUR interest rates, bonehead. Stop printing money, abolish the Fed, and return to the Gold Standard and you solve the problem. Regulate the prices of grocery stores and you make everything worse.
@9JLP4RB4mos4MO
lower taxes on food products becasue everyone needs to buy them
@9JKZZSNPeace and Freedom4mos4MO
prices are to high for people to pay and if it gets way higher then world hunger might start again
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