President Biden gets community noted on inflation

President Biden strongly criticized corporate "price gouging" this week in a more forceful manner, signaling a renewed administration effort to address widespread voter dissatisfaction with the economy as the upcoming election approaches.

After weeks of internal meetings led by White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients, Biden's aides proposed a plan to rebuke companies sharply for not lowering prices despite recording record profits. The president, approving of the idea, adopted the new approach as part of efforts to address voters' negative views on his handling of the economy, even as inflation decreases from last year's spike and corporate profits remain high.

In his Monday remarks, Biden took on a populist tone, admonishing companies for not reducing prices despite the recovery of supply chains. He stated, "To any corporation that has not brought their prices back down — even as inflation has come down, even [as] supply chains have been rebuilt — it’s time to stop the price gouging." On Thursday, he reiterated this message on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Biden's stance is supported by a federal report revealing a significant jump in corporate profits in the latest quarter, contrary to expectations of a decline. Corporate profits, surpassing labor costs for the first time in 18 months, accounted for slightly more than 15 percent of national income in the most recent quarter. White House officials emphasize that Biden's remarks are part of a broader effort to pressure large companies to lower prices when possible.

While the extent of the president's push against corporate price gouging remains uncertain, the White House aims to use the bully pulpit to call out companies not passing on savings to consumers. The administration pointed to Walmart's recent announcement of lower costs as a positive example.