President

President Joe Biden

2022-May-13th

Link

1. “You want to bring down inflation?” Biden asked. “Let’s make sure the wealthiest corporations pay their fair share.”

2022-May-14th

Twitter

1. Deficit Reduction ( Link )
   • Under my predecessor, the deficit increased every single year.
     This year, we’re on track to cut the deficit by $1.5 trillion – the biggest one-year decline ever.
     It matters to families, because reducing the deficit is one of the main ways we can ease inflationary pressures.
2. Replies
   • @neoliberal ( Link )
     • This is so silly. The deficit is decreasing because we’re not doing pandemic aid anymore, and federal receipts are up because of inflation. Congress, or the Biden administration, didn’t do anything to lower the deficit.

Congress

Senators

Senator Elizabeth Warren

2022-February-20th

Twitter

Link

1. SEN. WARREN: “You know how much [Elon Musk] paid in taxes, one of the richest people in the world? Zero! And he’s not the only one. Jeff Bezos, another one of the richest people in the world, he pays less in taxes than a public school teacher or a firefighter.”

 

2022-February-14th

Twitter

Link

1. Giant corporations are making record profits by increasing prices, and CEOs are saying the quiet part out loud: they’re happy to help drive inflation.
   American families pay higher prices and corporate executives get fatter bonuses. See for yourself what executives are saying:
   • @TysonFoods ( Link )
     • CEO: “we’re asking [consumers] to pay for inflation.” But Tyson didn’t just pass on higher costs, it more than doubled its first quarter profits by increasing beef prices 33% & chicken prices 20%. Tyson is driving higher inflation for profit.
   • @Kroger ( Link )
     • CEO: “A little bit of inflation is always good in our business.”
       Huge grocery chains like @Kroger
       are using inflation as cover up to jack up consumer prices to fatten their profits.
   • @ProcterGamble ( Link )
     • executives: “Pricing has been a positive contributor to our top line.”
       “the consumer is very resilient.”
       P&G already increased prices on baby care, detergent, dryer sheets, hair care, oral care, skincare and now touting more to come.

2022-April-12th

Twitter

Link

1. Giant corporations are using inflation as cover to raise their prices & boost their profits. In industry after industry, we have too little competition & companies have too much power to increase prices. I’ve been calling out this corporate profiteering & price gouging.
   • The auto and rental car industries are using deceptive practices and consolidation to rake in large profits. I’ve called on the Biden Administration to crack down on their corporate profiteering.
   • Giant private equity firms and corporate landlords are hiking up rents and taking advantage of the housing shortage to squeeze millions out of their paychecks. I’ve demanded that these companies provide answers on their predatory practices.
   • Giant ocean carrier conglomerates have been taking advantage of antitrust exceptions, driving up shipping costs and exacerbating inflation. And guess what? Their profits are at record highs.
   • Last month, my colleagues and I called out big pharma for exploiting their market power to pad their profits at the expense of patients and taxpayers.
     We asked @PhRMA to answer for these troubling price hikes and put an end to this price gouging.
   • Giant grocery chains are jacking up prices on food and using inflation as a cover to fatten their profits. I’ve called them out on their corporate price gouging.
   • How do we fight inflation and corporate price gouging? We enforce our antitrust laws, promote competition, and hold companies accountable so consumers don’t get ripped off. I have a plan for that.

 

The Rich

Technology Entrepreneurs

Jeff Bezos

2022-May-13th

Twitter

1. Misdirection ( Link )
   • “Raising corp taxes is fine to discuss. Taming inflation is critical to discuss. Mushing them together is just misdirection,” Bezos added.

2022-May-15th

Twitter

1. Misdirection ( Link )
   • In fact, the administration tried hard to inject even more stimulus into an already over-heated, inflationary economy and only Manchin saved them from themselves. Inflation is a regressive tax that most hurts the least affluent. Misdirection doesn’t help the country.

2022-May-16th

Twitter

1. $3.5 Trillion ( Link )
   • They know inflation hurts the neediest the most. But unions aren’t causing inflation and neither are wealthy people
   • They did their best to add another $3.5 TRILLION to federal spending. They failed, but if they had succeeded, inflation would be even higher than it is today, and inflation today is at a 40 year high.

 

Elon Musk

2022-February-20th

Twitter

1. Sawyer Merritt 📈🚀 ( @SawyerMerritt ) ( Link )
   • Elon also donated over $5.7 billion in Tesla shares to charity in November 2021.
2. Oracle Investments ( @oracletim1 ) ( Link )
   • Please share all of the facts with American citizens before you vilify people.
     @elonmusk paid zero taxes in 2018 because he overpaid in 2017. He’s also paying more in taxes in 2021 than any American in history on top of donating almost $6 billion to charity.

 

2022-May-16th

All-In Summit in Miami Beach

1. Musk suggested that recessions aren’t necessarily a bad thing, adding that he’s been through a few of them in his time at public companies.
2. “What tends to happen is, if you have a boom that goes on for too long, you get misallocation of capital — it starts raining money on fools, basically,” he said.
3. Musk, when asked about recent comments about inflation made by fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos, said the rising prices had resulted from simply money printing. Musk and Bezos are, respectively, the No. 1 and No. 2 richest people in the world, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
4. “The honest reason for inflation is that the government printed a zillion amount of more money than it had,” Musk said, adding that countries including Venezuela had already been down the same path. “This is not like, you know, super complicated.”

 

Referenced Work

1. The Street
   • Luc Olingamay
     • Jeff Bezos Has Advice for Joe Biden Against Inflation
       Link
2.  Reuters
   • Hyunjoo Jin
     • Musk donated over $5.7 billion in Tesla shares to charity in November
       Link
3. Yahoo
   • Yahoo! Sports
     • Jeff Bezos doubles down in war of words with Biden: “What is in mogul drinking water these days?”
       Link
4. Financial Express
   • Elon Musk sees US as ‘probably’ in recession; says could last up to 18 months
     Link