Inflation is driven by record corporate profit margins, not excessive wages.

Evidence

The classism of the economic models that guide public debate and economic policy is hidden in plain sight. It is assumed that inflation is due to exceedingly low unemployment rates, resulting in higher wages and increased household consumption. Lawrence H. Summers, former president of Harvard University, an adviser to President Barack Obama, and still one of the most influential public voices asserted: “Rising demand, with capacity and labor constraints, are fully sufficient to account for what we observe in meatpacking [higher prices].” Workers are scolded for consuming too much and working too little. This interpretation precludes the circulation of more critical explanations that speak of a “profit epidemic.” According to these empirical studies, far from being the fault of labor costs and unemployment rates, the increase in prices is primarily attributable to the political decisions of the ruling class, resulting in profit margins that are at an all-time high both in Europe and the United States. — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 280

Categorization

• XREF: Direct empirical rebuttal to the wage-price narrative — and a concrete claim about current profit margins.