PAY ATTENTION! 

THESE CORPORATE PRICE GOUGERS WILL CONTRIBUTE TO DEFEATING 

HARRIS-WALZ! 

LET'S MAKE SURE THIS IS SUCCESSFUL FOR CONSUMERS! 

Tyson Foods frozen chicken products sit in the refrigerated section of a Target on August 8, 2023 in Washington, D.C. 

(Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

'People Need to Go to Jail for This Sh*t': Video Shows How US Meat Industry Colludes to Boost Prices

"This is probably one of the top five food scandals of the 21st Century," a former grocery industry executive told More Perfect Union.

A former grocery executive told a progressive media outlet in a video released Tuesday that "people fucking need to go to jail" over a long-running scheme in which dominant U.S. meat industry players have used information provided by a little-known data analytics company to increase prices and pad their bottom lines.

"This is probably one of the top five food scandals of the 21st Century, and we can't underplay it," said Errol Schweizer, the former vice president of Whole Foods' grocery division. "People need to go to jail for this shit."

Schweizer's comments come at the start of a nine-minute video produced by More Perfect Union, which tells the story of how Indiana-based Agri Stats, the seemingly bland data firm, "built a network used by the nation's largest meat companies," including Tyson Foods, Hormel, and Cargill.

"Inside that network, America's meat barons share secret data," says More Perfect Union's Eric Gardner, the video's narrator. "It's alleged that Agri Stats organizes and then launders that information across the industry. Companies weaponize it, restricting output, manipulating the market, ultimately raising your prices."

Watch the full video:

Last September, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a civil antitrust suit against Agri Stats for allegedly "organizing and managing anticompetitive information exchanges among broiler chicken, pork, and turkey processors."

"The complaint alleges that Agri Stats violated Section 1 of the Sherman Act by collecting, integrating, and distributing competitively sensitive information related to price, cost, and output among competing meat processors," the DOJ said. "This conduct harms customers, including grocery stores and American families."

Less than two months later, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison led a bipartisan coalition of states in joining the Justice Department's lawsuit, which Agri Stats tried unsuccessfully to dismiss earlier this year.

Ellison told More Perfect Union that while an update to U.S. antitrust laws is long-overdue, "the Sherman Act, passed in 1890, is enough to stop Agri Stats from this illegal information-sharing that it's doing."

"I want to get to trial on this fast," said Ellison. "I believe we've got a great case, and I believe that what we're fighting for is a fair economy so that all Americans can aspire to prosperity."

More Perfect Union released its video days after Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris proposed a first-of-its-kind federal ban on price gouging in the food and grocery sectors and called for new rules to "make clear that big corporations can't unfairly exploit consumers to run up excessive profits."

The meat industry was among the corporate forces that pushed back on Harris' proposed price gouging ban. Julie Anna Potts, president and CEO of the Meat Institute—a lobbying group for the meatpacking industry—accused the Harris campaign of "unfairly" targeting the meat and poultry industry.

While Potts said that "avian influenza, a shortage of beef cattle, and high input prices like energy and labor are all factors that determine prices at the meat case," Tyson, Cargill, JBS S.A., and National Beef are each facing lawsuits accusing them of illegally colluding to fix prices.

COMMON DREAMS

Petition: Investigate and prosecute Big Oil →

 

Everyone knows gas prices are high — but do you know why they’ve stayed this high for so long? Collusion.

When Pioneer Natural Resources, the largest oil company in Texas, tried to merge with ExxonMobil, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) discovered evidence that Pioneer was illegally colluding with OPEC, the oil cartel that includes Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia, to keep prices high.

US oil producers are explicitly prohibited by federal law from price fixing and from taking actions that restrict competition.

But Pioneer CEO and GOP mega-donor Scott Sheffield was caught red-handed coordinating production strategies in private messages to Oil Ministers in the Middle East, to keep prices artificially high.

The FTC has now referred this case to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). Add your name to build public pressure and demand the DOJ investigate and prosecute American oil executives who are illegally colluding to keep gas prices high.

Add Your Name

People across the country who are struggling to make ends meet are continuing to spend thousands of dollars more per year on gas prices at the pump, as well as higher prices for other goods and services due to these artificially high oil prices.

The corporate greed and collusion causing this must be put to an end ASAP.

Sign on to the petition if you agree →

In solidarity,

Justice Democrats

 

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Biden Should Be Clear: Corporations Are to Blame for High Prices

Biden has not condemned specific corporations publicly, or threatened them with specific actions unless they lower their prices.

I’ve analyzed every poll and survey over the last two months, and they all tell the same basic story:

Voters’ top issue is high prices and the cost of living—not jobs, not abortion, not immigration, not U.S. President Joe Biden’s or former President Donald Trump’s age, not even the survival of democracy.

Voters still don’t believe Biden will get prices down, but they believe Trump will. A significant number appear willing to vote for Trump and risk the future of democracy because they believe he will do better job lowering prices.

Consumers are getting shafted, as corporations tell Wall Street they expect to be able to keep their prices and profits in the stratosphere.

Which is why Biden’s approval rating on the economy is deeply underwater while perceptions of Trump’s handling of the economy when he was president (marked by low inflation but huge job losses from Covid-19) are positive.

What should Biden do?

Put blame for high prices squarely where it belongs: on big corporations with monopoly power to keep prices high.

And take those corporations on: Condemn them for price gouging. Threaten them with antitrust lawsuits, price-gouging lawsuits, even price controls. Criticize them for making huge profits and giving their top executives record pay while shafting consumers.

And name names: PepsiCo, Tyson's, Kroger and Albertsons, Exxon-Mobil, and others.

To be sure, the Biden administration has brought down the prices of prescription drugs like insulin and inhalers, reduced bank overdraft and credit card fees, and cracked down on “junk fees” levied by airlines, concert promoters, and more.

Its Department of Justice has launched a lawsuit to combat price-fixing in the meat industry. And the FTC is suing to block the Kroger/Albertsons grocery mega-merger that would send grocery bills even higher.

“We’re taking on corporate greed to bring down the price of gas, food, and rent, eliminating junk fees,” Biden told a crowd of 1,000 supporters in Philadelphia recently.

But Biden has not berated hugely profitable corporations for keeping their prices and profit margins sky high—unlike Sens. Bob Casey (D-Penn.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), who have made corporate price hikes central to their campaigns and are outrunning Biden in polls. Biden has not condemned specific corporations publicly, or threatened them with specific actions unless they lower their prices.

Brown, who represents a state that Trump won handily in 2020, has cut several web ads proclaiming he is “cracking down on the companies that rip off Ohio.”

Casey released a campaign ad showing corporate executives in suits sneaking into a grocery store under cover of night and switching out cereal boxes for smaller replacements. He has introduced a bill that would crack down on “shrinkflation”—a term for companies’ reducing the size of their goods but not cutting prices (Biden praised that legislation during his State of the Union address).

Senate Democrats in tight races, like Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and Jacky Rosen of Nevada, are making similar pitches.

Why isn’t Biden?

Partly, I think, because he’s uncomfortable attacking corporations directly.

It’s also because some economists close to his White House (such as Larry Summers) disagree that a major driver of inflation is corporations’ raising prices to juice profits. (Three years ago, Larry and I publicly debated a wealth tax on hugely profitable corporations. I was in favor; he against.)

But the fact is, corporate profits have surged to record levels. Shares are trading at record levels. Corporations are buying back their stock at record levels. CEO pay is at record levels. Corporate concentration—monopoly power—is higher than ever.

Concentration has increased in over 75% of U.S. industries since the late 1990s.

Consumers are getting shafted, as corporations tell Wall Street they expect to be able to keep their prices and profits in the stratosphere.

Is It Inflation? Or Is It Greedflation? | Robert Reichwww.youtube.com

Most voters agree that big corporations are largely responsible for inflation. Nearly 6 in 10 say corporations’ being “greedy” is a major cause of inflation, including a majority of independent voters, according to a poll by Navigator Research.

The Biden campaign’s internal polling has found similar results.

With less than five months to go—and the cost of living being the No. 1 issue on voters’ minds—Biden should let ‘er rip.

COMMON DREAMS

Biden must put the blame for high prices where it belongs — on big corporations They have record profits, record share prices, and record monopoly power — which is why Biden must threaten them with real consequences unless they stop shafting consumers ROBERT REICH JUN 13 Friends, I’ve analyzed every poll and survey over the last two months, and they all tell the same basic story: Voters’ top issue is high prices and the cost of living — not jobs, not abortion, not immigration, not Biden’s or Trump’s age, not even the survival of democracy. Voters still don’t believe Biden will get prices down, but they believe Trump will. A significant number appear willing to vote for Trump and risk the future of democracy because they believe he will do better job lowering prices. Which is why Biden’s approval rating on the economy is deeply underwater while perceptions of Trump’s handling of the economy when he was president (marked by low inflation but huge job losses from COVID) are positive. What should Biden do? Put blame for high prices squarely where it belongs: on big corporations with monopoly power to keep prices high. And take those corporations on: Condemn them for price gouging. Threaten them with antitrust lawsuits, price-gouging lawsuits, even price controls. Criticize them for making huge profits and giving their top executives record pay while shafting consumers. And name names: PepsiCo, Tyson's, Kroger and Albertsons, Exxon-Mobil, and others. To be sure, the Biden administration has brought down the prices of prescription drugs like insulin and inhalers, reduced bank overdraft and credit card fees, and cracked down on “junk fees” levied by airlines, concert promoters, and more. Its Department of Justice has launched a lawsuit to combat price-fixing in the meat industry. And the FTC is suing to block the Kroger/Albertsons grocery mega-merger that would send grocery bills even higher. “We’re taking on corporate greed to bring down the price of gas, food and rent, eliminating junk fees,” Biden told a crowd of 1,000 supporters in Philadelphia recently. But Biden has not berated hugely profitable corporations for keeping their prices and profit margins sky high — unlike Senators Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Sherrod Brown of Ohio, who have made corporate price hikes central to their campaigns and are outrunning Biden in polls. Biden has not condemned specific corporations publicly, or threatened them with specific actions unless they lower their prices. Brown, who represents a state that Trump won handily in 2020, has cut several web ads proclaiming he is “cracking down on the companies that rip off Ohio.” Casey released a campaign ad showing corporate executives in suits sneaking into a grocery store under cover of night and switching out cereal boxes for smaller replacements. He has introduced a bill that would crack down on “shrinkflation” — a term for companies’ reducing the size of their goods but not cutting prices (Biden praised that legislation during his State of the Union address). Senate Democrats in tight races, like Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and Jacky Rosen of Nevada, are making similar pitches. Why isn’t Biden? Partly, I think, because he’s uncomfortable attacking corporations directly. It’s also because some economists close to his White House (such as Larry Summers) disagree that a major driver of inflation is corporations’ raising prices to juice profits. (Three years ago, Larry and I publicly debated a wealth tax on hugely profitable corporations. I was in favor; he against.) But the fact is, corporate profits have surged to record levels. Shares are trading at record levels. Corporations are buying back their stock at record levels. CEO pay is at record levels. Corporate concentration — monopoly power — is higher than ever. Concentration has increased in over 75 percent of U.S. industries since the late 1990s. Consumers are getting shafted, as corporations tell Wall Street they expect to be able to keep their prices and profits in the stratosphere. Most voters agree that big corporations are largely responsible for inflation. Nearly 6 in 10 say corporations’ being “greedy” is a major cause of inflation, including a majority of independent voters, according to a poll by Navigator Research. The Biden campaign’s internal polling has found similar results. With less than five months to go — and the cost of living being the #1 issue on voters’ minds — Biden should let ‘er rip. Please watch:

You're whining about HIGH ENERGY PRICES? TRY FACTS!

 

        IT'S SHORT HAND FOR PROPAGANDA TO BLAME PRESIDENT BIDEN EVEN 

        THOUGH A PRESIDENT HAS NO CONTROL OVER GLOBAL OIL PRICES, 

        INSTEAD OF BLAMING & WHINING, INFORM YOURSELF! 

        IT'S COLLUSION & CONSPIRACY! 
        

        FOR THOSE WHO PAID ATTENTION, PRESIDENT BIDEN NOMINATED 

        ANTI-TRUST SUPPORTERS & PROTESTS WERE VIGOROUS. SEVERAL 

        NOMINEES WERE WITHDRAWN. 

Congress Urged to Tax Big Oil for Price Fixing and 'Issue Every American a Refund'

The Groundwork Collaborative's leader also said that "the Department of Justice should criminally prosecute Scott Sheffield," the former Pioneer CEO whom the FTC blocked from joining ExxonMobil's board.

excerpts:

Groundwork Collaborative executive director Lindsay Owens on Tuesday responded to U.S. government allegations of fossil fuel industry price fixing with calls for federal prosecution and congressional action to return money to the American public.

"Americans have been working harder and harder to cover rising energy costs, with the understanding that supply chain snags and geopolitical forces were keeping prices high," Owens said. "Now the Federal Trade Commission has uncovered the real source behind the price at the pump: collusion."

"The Department of Justice should criminally prosecute Scott Sheffield and Congress should tax back the industry's windfall profits and issue every American a refund," she added, referring to Pioneer Natural Resources' founder and longtime CEO.

Owens' statement came after members of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) declined to contest ExxonMobil's controversial $64.5 billion acquisition of Pioneer—which was completed Friday—but approved a consent order barring Sheffield from serving on Exxon's board of directors or as an adviser to the fossil fuel giant.

"This complaint is a wake-up call about the dangerous consolidation of Big Oil's economic and political power."

In response to the Journal's reporting, Tyson Slocum, director of Public Citizen's Energy Program, similarly said that "Congress must immediately hold hearings on Big Oil's alleged collusion with OPEC to raise gasoline prices for Americans."

"Congress must not only investigate Pioneer's alleged role in conspiring with OPEC, but whether there existed a broader conspiracy by U.S. oil companies to collude with OPEC nations," he argued. "Big Oil must be held accountable for any conspiracy by or among American oil companies and OPEC members."

The reporting was notably published on the same day as the U.S. Senate Budget Committee's hearing about a nearly three-year investigation into fossil fuel companies and trade groups' decadeslong "campaign of deception and distraction," which has evolved from denying the planet-heating impact of their products to pretending to be part of the solution to the climate emergency.

COMMON DREAMS

 

Record corporate profits from your thinning wallets Why doesn't the mainstream media want to talk about this? ROBERT REICH MAR 30 Friends, The latest economic data shows two big things: (1) Corporate profits reached a record high in the fourth quarter of last year. (2) Inflation is still with us. The government reported Friday that the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge rose 0.3 percent month-to-month in February, following a January uptick that was the largest in a year. Prices have risen 2.5 percent over the past 12 months — certainly better than inflation readings compared with a year ago but still stubbornly above the Fed’s 2 percent target. So-called core inflation, which strips out more volatile food and energy prices and is therefore a more reliable indicator of where prices might be headed, is still coming in more strongly than central bank officials would like to see. The easiest explanation for both phenomena — record corporate profits and prices remaining elevated — is that corporations have enough monopoly power to keep prices high. (Corporations are also shrinking the size of the products you’re buying without lowering their prices — a variant of the same thing.) This is one of the biggest reasons the American public is not crediting Biden with a great economy. Most people still aren’t feeling it. But the mainstream media doesn’t want to talk about this. Last November, the New York Times contacted me about contributing a NYTimes Opinion video. I suggested one on corporate monopolies keeping prices high. After lots of to-ing and fro-ing, the editor wrote: “One of our economists felt that it might be a little late, in that the rate of price increases is slowing...and so this particular take might not be as timely as I'd hoped.” Not timely? In 2023 PepsiCo’s chief financial officer said that even though inflation was dropping, its prices would not. Pepsi hiked its prices by double digits and announced plans to keep them high in 2024. If Pepsi were challenged by tougher competition, consumers would just buy something cheaper. But PepsiCo’s only major soda competitor is Coca-Cola, which — surprise, surprise — announced similar price hikes at about the same time as Pepsi, and has also kept its prices high. The CEO of Coca-Cola claimed that the company had “earned the right” to push price hikes because its sodas are popular. Popular? The only thing that’s popular these days seems to be corporate price gouging.  We’re seeing this pattern across much of the economy — especially with groceries At the end of 2023, Americans were paying at least 30 percent more for beef, pork, and poultry products than they were in 2020.  Why? Near-monopoly power. Just four companies now control processing of 80 percent of beef, nearly 70 percent of pork, and almost 60 percent of poultry. So of course it’s easy for them to coordinate price increases. The problem goes well beyond the grocery store. In 75 percent of U.S. industries, fewer companies now control more of their markets than they did 20 years ago. So what should be done? First, antitrust laws must be enforced. Kudos to the Biden administration for enforcing antitrust more aggressively than any administration in the last 40 years. It’s taken action against alleged price fixing in the meat industry — which has been a problem for decades.  It has sued to block the merger of Kroger and Albertson’s — two giant grocery chains. Kroger operates 2,750 stores in 35 states and the District of Columbia. The company’s 19 brands include Ralphs, Smith’s, King Soopers, Fred Meyer, Food 4 Less, Mariano’s, Pick ’n Save and Harris Teeter. Albertsons operates 2,273 stores in 34 states. Its 15 brands include Safeway, Jewel Osco, Vons, Acme and Shaw’s. Together, Kroger and Albertsons employ around 700,000 people. It’s suing Amazon for using its dominance to artificially jack up prices — one of the biggest anti-monopoly lawsuits in a generation. It’s suing Apple for using its market power to control its apps and prevent other businesses from offering them. It successfully sued to block the merger of JetBlue and Spirit Airlines, which would have made consolidation in the airline industry even worse. But given how concentrated American industry has become, there’s still a long way to go. Biden should make his antitrust enforcement against corporate power a centerpiece of his campaign. Secondly, big corporations must not be allowed to use their power to gouge consumers. Senator Elizabeth Warren and others recently unveiled the latest version of their Price Gouging Prevention Act. “Giant corporations are using supply chain shocks as a cover to excessively raise prices and sometimes charging the same price but shrinking how much consumers actually get,” Warren charges. The bill would empower the FTC (which would also get $1 billion in additional funding) and state attorneys general to stop companies from charging “grossly excessive” prices, regardless of where alleged price gouging took place in a supply chain. (The legislation would also protect small businesses — those earning less than $100 million — from litigation if they had to raise prices in good faith during crises.) The bill would also require public companies to disclose more about their costs and pricing strategies. I don’t have any illusions that this bill will find its way into law soon. Democrats hold a slim majority in the Senate, and not all Democrats support it. Meanwhile, Republicans and their business backers are dead set against it — and are eager to blame continued high prices on Biden, not on corporations. But this bill is just as necessary as aggressive antitrust enforcement — and an example of what could and will be done if Democrats sweep the 2024 elections. The record profits of large corporations are coming out of the paychecks of average Americans, who are still struggling to get by. Biden and the Democrats must say this loudly and clearly, and tell the public what they are doing — and will do — to stop corporate monopolies and price gouging.

 

Egg producers and two trade groups inflated prices for years, federal jury finds

Three major food companies overpaid for eggs for years because the country's top producers as well as two trade groups engaged in a scheme to restrict supply and inflate costs, an Illinois federal jury found on Tuesday.

The decision capped a five-week antitrust trial against Cal-Maine Foods Inc., Rose Acre Farms Inc., and two egg-industry trade groups, United Egg Producers and United States Egg Marketers. The verdict is a huge victory for the plaintiffs, General Mills Inc, Kellogg Co., and Nestle SA, Bloomberg Law first reported.

“We are incredibly pleased by the jury’s decision,” Brandon Fox, a Jenner & Block LLP partner representing the food companies, said. “For the first time, the defendants have been held liable for their antitrust violations. We are now going to turn our attention to the damages phase.”

The jury, made up of nine men and three women, agreed with the food companies that there had been an orchestrated plot to make them pay more for eggs than the market demanded. The jury also found that those practices unreasonably restrained trade in the egg market which is a violation of federal antitrust laws.

"The conspiracy did exist," Fox said in court. "You know the players. You know who did it. You've had an opportunity to see it day in and day out."

He added that his clients had spent "hundreds of millions of dollars" on egg products.

Egg producers and two trade groups inflated prices for years, federal jury finds


https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/egg-producers-and-two-trade-groups-inflated-prices-for-years-federal-jury-finds/ar-AA1kmJPd

TOP NEWS: Seniors Tell McCarthy to 'Release His Hostage' and Back Clean Debt Ceiling Hike

 

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April 19, 2023 Top News Supreme Court Postpones Crucial Abortion Pill Ruling "The Supreme Court knows that siding with extreme Trump judges to restrict medication abortion will ignite the biggest political firestorm since Roe v. Wade was overturned," said one advocate. Julia Conley 'Illegal Corporate Price-Fixing' Is Rampant in US Economy: Report "Large corporations which are supposed to be competing with one another are often secretly conspiring to set prices," said one expert. "In doing so, they cause economic harm to consumers and contribute to inflation." Kenny Stancil In Gun-Obsessed US, 'Stand Your Ground' Laws Blamed for Fresh Spate of Shootings "Wrong-house shootings are a bleak reminder how many of our fellow Americans are armed and waiting for an opportunity to kill," said one historian. Julia Conley Progressive Coalition Speaks Out as Big Business Moves to Crush Julie Su "Workers in this country need an experienced leader and brilliant public servant at the helm of the Department of Labor, and Julie Su is exactly that," said EPI's president. Jessica Corbett Senior Groups Tell Kevin McCarthy to 'Release His Hostage' and Back Clean Debt Ceiling Hike "He is endangering the benefits that seniors rely on to survive, just to score political points," said Alex Lawson of Social Security Works. Jake Johnson 'What the Climate Emergency Looks Like': Extreme Heat Busts Records Across Asia Sweltering temperatures have devastated numerous Asian countries this month, eliciting demands for lifesaving climate action. Kenny Stancil

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