Inflation prices are the highest they’ve been in four decades. Americans are hurting financially and many would like to know why. Unfortunately, there isn’t one simple answer to this.
“Greedflation,” better known as price gouging, has been used to explain this peak in prices. This is where companies take advantage of spikes in demand by charging higher prices for necessities. This usually happens after a natural disaster or a state of emergency such as the 2020 pandemic, but this isn't the only reason.
Pandemic stimulus checks could've contributed to rising inflation. With more money to spend on goods and services, demand has also increased. The supply chain crisis caused by the pandemic, made only worse by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, has kept prices high on a variety of items such as food, technology, and gasoline.
That's not to say that corporations have no hand in this economic reality as profit margins for more than 2,000 publicly traded companies rose well above pre-pandemic averages in the last year. Companies are benefiting greatly from this time while Americans struggle to afford everything.
Price gouging and pandemic stimulus problems contribute to the economic reality of today but inflation is a cycle in the American economy. No matter who or what causes prices to rise, Black Americans usually feel the worst of any economic crisis.