Inflation Blamed on “Profiteering”

By: John Semmens

One economic sector where prices are rising dramatically is meat. The White House blamed the four biggest companies in the meat industry, accusing them of “raising prices while generating record profits during the pandemic.”

White House National Economic Council Director Brian Deese charged that “this blatant profiteering is a disservice to both farmers and consumers. We need a food production system that is focused on need, not greed. President Truman seized the steel industry in 1952. Maybe government needs to take a bigger role in the food industry so we can ensure a more reliable and efficient system. If we reorganize the whole industry we could replace 'for profit' enterprise with a collective undertaking that would allow democracy to control what is produced, who produces it, and who consumes it. Sounder decisions on diet and nutrition could be implemented and a healthier population cultivated.”

Mark Dopp, COO of the North American Meat Institute, characterized the White House's complaints as “inflammatory statements that ignore the fundamentals of how supply and demand affects markets. The 'for profit' system is what has made America's free market the most productive in the world. The notion that a bigger intrusion of government into food production and distribution could improve upon free enterprise has been repeatedly refuted wherever it's been tried.”