‘Greedy’ corporations to blame for inflation? More Americans now agree, poll finds

A growing share of Americans believe corporate greed is largely to blame for inflation, new polling shows.

A majority of voters, 59%, said “greedy” corporations that elevate prices to boost profits are a “major cause” of inflation, according to a Feb. 14 poll from Navigator, a left-leaning research group. That figure is up 15 percentage points from January 2022.

The poll — which questioned a representative sample of 1,000 registered voters — was conducted Jan. 25-29.

An equal share of voters, 59%, said government spending was a major contributor to inflation, an increase of five points from two years ago.

Voters were largely split along partisan lines over which group — the public or private sector — was more to blame.

A large majority of Democrats, 72%, labeled corporations a “major cause” of inflation, while only 45% of Republicans said the same.

Similarly, 78% of Republicans said government spending was a “major cause,” while 42% of Democrats said the same.

A majority of independents faulted both the government and corporations, though five percent more blamed the latter.

Additionally, nearly half of voters, 45%, found the statement “corporate profits and CEO salaries are at an all-time high, outpacing inflation” “very convincing.”

Most Democrats, Republicans and independents found the statement “somewhat” or “very convincing.”

The poll follows President Joe Biden’s efforts to highlight price gouging — particularly among the pharmaceutical industry — as a contributing factor to inflation.

“It’s time to stop the price gouging,” Biden said in a November post on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Give American consumers a break.”

Biden’s bid to blame the private sector for inflation comes as multiple polls have shown Americans give him poor marks on his handling of the economy.

The poll also comes as consumer inflation shrunk in January, though it remained elevated above pre-pandemic levels, according to the Associated Press.

This story was originally published February 14, 2024 at 12:11 PM with the headline "‘Greedy’ corporations to blame for inflation? More Americans now agree, poll finds."