"Let them eat cake". (B/M)illionare CEOs reactions to inflation

[ygolo]

Are you still in the middle class?

It’s hard to turn on the news without seeing a report about how inflation is battering the American middle class. Census Bureau data show about a quarter o

www.consumeraffairs.com

Inflation is different from cost-of-living, and nobody is comparing it against wages.

As I keep harping, CPI is a horrible metric. What we really need to track is how much a median hour of work will get you -- especially in terms of physiological needs - food, shelter, etc.

I realize that the USA has done better than the other countries with regard to the cost of living crisis. But the patterns prevail:
1) People on the wrong side of the divide keep being told that the cost of living crisis isn't real
2) The cost of shelter is not making the political and media talking points, other than in passing-it's politically divisive on both sides of the aisle.

Scratch a little on why Biden is losing demographics that ought to be strengths. Yes- people are sick of the identity politics, but what would they rather be talking about?

 

[ygolo]

5 Things the Lower Middle Class Can’t Afford Anymore Due To Inflation - New Trader U

The financial landscape for the lower middle class within the $30,001 – $58,020 income bracket has recently been marked by significant shifts, making

www.newtraderu.com

 

[ygolo]

 

[ygolo]

It’s not just monopoly and monopsony: How market power has affected American wages

This paper highlights the need to tackle sluggish wage growth and rising inequality with a broad menu of policy interventions that go beyond those provided by competitive models to focus on employer and worker power, and even beyond the antitrust agenda suggested by focusing exclusively on...

www.epi.org

 

[ygolo]

 

[ygolo]

 

[ygolo]

https://www.visualcapitalist.com/top-10-highest-paid-ceos-in-america/

 

[ygolo]

Historical effects of shocks on inequality: the great leveler revisited - Humanities and Social Sciences Communications

Inequality of wealth and its associated power has varied greatly over human history. It is often thought that the main levelers of inequality were natural disasters such as epidemics or earthquakes, and social turmoil such as wars and revolutions. Here we critically review evidence of the...

www.nature.com

 

[ygolo]

Watch till the end. They buried the lead a bit.

But without the context given up front, I'm not sure everyone would get it.

Blackrock, Vanguard, and State Street own parts of every public company and each other.

Often they own the biggest non-founder portions and may have a bigger percentage than even the founders, if you add all three index funds together.

Even though some of their assets under management come from everyday folks (through pension funds), the bottom 50% of the population own a tiny sliver of the shares.

This creates an incentive structure to keep prices high and wages low.