These are the real causes of inflation

Chatter going around social circles and on corporate media would have us all thinking that the inflation that we are experiencing is because of an increase in the money supply. It seems like an easy answer since the more of something you have, the less valuable it becomes. It is basic supply and demand. The problem is, inflation is effecting the entire Western world, and it is not a unique problem to countries like our own which did pump cash into the economy to keep us from entering a financial depression.

One must also consider who received that cash and where it went. The theory would be that stimulus money is floating around the economy, lowering the overall value of our currency, meaning we need to spend more of it to buy goods. If ordinary Canadian families were holding onto boatloads of cash, then households likely wouldn't be seeing record highs of debt levels like they are. Wages are finally going up but they are not keeping up with inflation itself. Any stimulus money or increase of wages that Canadians got most likely went directly to pay for necessities like housing, food, gas, and their mobile phone.

It's not like people are choosing to spend more on these things either. These items are things that ordinary Canadians need to survive and participate in the economy. But when you are an owner of any of these sectors, and you own more and more of a piece of the pie, you are able to avoid competitive pressures and are able to set prices to whatever you want. Add in media stories about the money supply, the war in Ukraine, and Covid- and globalization-related supply chain issues, and you have a perfect excuse to raise prices. We aren't in an era of inflation. We are in an era of runaway greed and monopolistic price gouging.

Don't take my word for it: Housing is up a whopping 20% year over year. Oil producers are avoiding increasing production in order to keep prices high. Restaurants such as Applebees are using the rise of gas prices to put downward pressure on worker wages. Meat producers are allegedly colluding to short change ranchers and gouge consumers, as food prices in general have risen 5.7% compared to a year ago. The prices for internet and mobile will surely rise after Rogers swallows up one of its few competitors in Shaw, which the CRTC insanely approved (with only one more hurdle remaining). Canadians are being hosed over and over, and at the worse possible time.

Growing wealth inequality and the consolidation of companies over the years has demonstrated that the theory of trickle-down economics was a lie. So instead of going back into the economy in the form of investments in their workforce, in equipment, or in research and development, stimulus money, tax breaks, and the enormous profits that follow are used to buy back shares, pay out dividends, acquire competition, or are simply sent away and added to the hoards of cash that have been offshored for decades.

The answer to inflation is not to cut social investments or slow progress in strengthening critical supports for vulnerable Canadians. The answer is to go after the rich and the corporations who are using their power to squeeze every last penny from the rest of us, as they exploit economic conditions and global conflicts to accumulate more and more property, wealth and resources. This greed has to come to an end before the economy collapses and we all end up suffering, as has been the case historically. After all, if the government doesn't do their job to represent our best interests, it will be the people who will be forced to, and I will gladly be among the first to lead the charge.