The document states that an "analysis of financial information from a sampling of the largest corporations in several industries shows massive increases in profits between 2019 and 2021."
According to the subcommittee:
- Three of the five largest companies in the shipping industry saw profits rise by 29,965%;
- The two largest public companies in the rental car industry enjoyed a profit increase of 597%
- Four of the largest public companies in the meat processing industry saw profits go up by 134%; and
- Four of the 10 largest public companies by market cap in the oil and gas industry had profits rise by 62%.
"Over the same period, profit margins increased by 201% among the companies analyzed in the shipping industry, by 262% among the companies analyzed in the rental car industry, and by 53% among the companies analyzed in the meat processing industry," the document notes.
The report also points out that "recent economic studies make clear that record corporate markups, profits, and profit margins contributed to—and continue to contribute to—ongoing Inflation."
Specifically, the document says that "studies by the Economic Policy Institute and Roosevelt Institute demonstrate that profits contributed more to price growth in the United States from mid-2020 through the end of 2021 than at any other point from 1979 to the present—and continue to contribute markedly today. This is especially true in highly concentrated industries."
The document concludes with the assertion that "the federal government can and should play an important role in addressing inflation, including by passing legislation to address excessive price hikes," and highlights the Inflation Reduction Act, which Democrats finally passed this summer after months of party infighting and opposition from the GOP.
www.commondreams.org
