Everywhere you look—at the grocery store, the car lot, and the gas pump—prices are rising. The federal government revealed this week that overall goods costs have increased by 7.5% from a year ago. According to the CPI, housing costs have increased by 4%, meat prices have increased by 12%, and the cost of purchasing a used car has increased by more than 40%.
Here’s another reality, though. Families are experiencing sticker shock, but profits for the companies that place these products on the shelves are soaring. The U.S. Commerce Department’s data indicates that corporate profit margins have reached their highest point in seven decades. This has incensed the general public, who claim that certain companies are exploiting the pandemic as an excuse to raise prices beyond reasonable limits. And they are right.
Today a handful of mega corporations control the food chain, pharmaceuticals, energy, technology and media. So much so that the economy has become run by monopolies. The top 7 companies (‘Magnificent 7’) on the US stock market have taken over.
Compared to the other 493 stocks, which have gained just 6%, the Magnificent Seven have gained 71%. The S&P 500 has gained roughly 19% this year due to the benchmark’s market cap distribution, which permits larger stocks to contribute more to the index’s movements.
To make things worse, investment firms Blackrock, Vanguard and State Street own them all. Learn who they are: link here
This is not an anti-Capitalism statement, it is an anti-monopolistic statement. It’s time to break up these monopolies like we did in the 1920s with the oil sector. These monopolies threaten our democracy.
Who controls our food? 10 companies. This not long ago was hundreds of companies but due to takeovers it is now a only handful. This is the same for all sectors, a few companies have all the power and that includes owning the politicians.
Who controls Pharmaceuticals? Again it is only a handful of companies.
Who controls the media?
Who controls energy?
Who controls Technology?
Canada has a Telecom monopoly with THREE companies controlling the entire country. The government is in lockstep with these monopolies. What has been the result?
Canadians pay 20% more than Americans and 170% more than Australians on their cell phone plans on average. The Big 3 Canadian telecom companies (Bell, Rogers and Telus) own 90% of the market and charge higher prices due to a lack of competition.
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