Billionaires do more harm to the economic climate than any other entity or force in the economy.
While it may take a billion-dollar company to supply jobs for the working class of any nation, these jobs may as well be pointless if they do not pay their workers fairly. Additionally, determined citizens can start their own jobs and run local businesses, but billion-dollar corporations frequently squeeze out the competition with a monopolistic iron-grip.
Inflation is a buzzword that is on the minds of many young and financially struggling Americans. Inflation is described by economist Johnny Harris as when there is more money in the economy than stuff to spend it on.
While most young adults would blame inflation for their economic hardship, it isn’t the reason for their troubles; it’s the corporate entities that are monopolizing their industries, driving up prices on goods, and not keeping wages up to speed.
Vox Media referred to a term called “the virtuous cycle of inflation,” which describes how inflation is actually healthy for the economy if handled properly.
As prices rise, consumers are urged to buy products sooner to avoid paying more down the line, which leads to companies earning more money, possibly causing an increase in employment and people earning more money to spend, further increasing demand and causing prices to rise.
On another note, we can’t just halt inflation entirely, as it would cause a massive recession or a deflation spiral. It’s how when prices fall people spend less on products to see how much lower the prices can go, which leads to lower company losses and possible layoffs, meaning people having less money to spend on products, resulting in lower prices.
The last time this happened in America was the great depression, which was only escapable because WWII created massive amounts of jobs to kickstart the economy.
The key component is that every step of the cycle must be achieved for the economy to be sustainable. This is why the pandemic was so harmful to the economy: supply chains were disrupted, which led to an increase in demand, but the market couldn’t keep up, meaning massive halts in the economic flow of currency.
But of course, there’s nobody holding these billionaires accountable. They don’t need to increase wages, so why would they? There’s nothing stopping Amazon’s Jeff Bezos from neglecting his workers other than a pesky little strike, or Walmart CEO Doug McMillon from making 1,000 times what his median employees make every year.
With all the money in the world, anyone could make anything happen, and the only way these people could be held accountable is through legal means. But who is to say a little bribery wouldn’t change that?
Is it not suspicious that in Donald Trump’s second inauguration, several of the wealthiest American CEOs were in attendance? Furthermore, is it not at all alarming that Elon Musk looks like he just became a part of the executive branch of the government through his DOGE team, even scoring an office in the White House? It sends up multiple red flags that show economic power can translate to political power.
At this stage, there is not much that can be done on an individualistic scale. It is possible to reach out to local branches of the government and advocate for a higher minimum wage and more laws that help the working class.
However, greater changes are made when people organize and come together as communities. Through union strikes and serving local businesses, there isn’t anything more impactful from us than to put our money where our mouth is.
