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By Idel Mena Social Media Manager |
December 4, 2024
There’s been a lot of talk in the news about the price of eggs, and if you’ve been shopping recently, you know it’s true – eggs really are more expensive than they used to be.
While egg corporations blame bird flu for disrupting the supply of eggs, that’s not the whole story. Profiteering and greedflation are also driving these record egg prices. Let’s lay down some facts and hatch a plan to stop corruption that hurts everyday Americans 🥚.
@representus 🥚 Eggs have never been so expensive. But fixing the problem isn't about electing one politician or another, it's about cracking down on corruption. Our system is rigged to favor big money and special interests and we can't rely on politicians to stop it. Why would they? They're making $$ too. 🤑 It's on us to change the laws to make government work for us. Join the movement to get big money out of politics and pass laws that put us, the voters, first. #Greedflation #Inflation #BigMoney #Eggs #EggPrices #Corruption ♬ original sound - RepresentUs
Cracking the truth about Big Egg
Over the past year, the cost of eggs has surged nearly 20%. Part of that increase is due to the bird flu which has impacted millions of chickens since 2022. More sick birds = fewer eggs = higher egg prices. Makes sense, right?
But if you dig deeper, unchecked corporate power and good ‘ol fashioned greed are to blame. Just a handful of companies - we’ll call them Big Egg - dominate the market and control the supply of eggs. They have a history of colluding with each other and doing whatever’s necessaryto protect their profits:
- In 2023, a federal jury ordered major egg producers to pay nearly $53 million in damages after they were found conspiring to artificially limit egg supply and raise prices.
- In 2015, the USDA opened an investigation into a government-backed egg association after reports revealed the group had organized a lobbying effort against a plant-based egg-less mayonnaise that threatened to eat into their profits.
- In 2014, an Iowa egg production company and some of its leaders were found guilty of selling eggs that failed government inspection and of bribing a USDA inspector to overlook the failure.
In 2008, due to dramatic increases in the price of eggs, federal prosecutors opened a probe into egg producers over possible price-fixing.
When corporations can cut corners, buy silence, and artificially raise prices, both public health and your pocketbook are directly jeopardized.
How do we curb the influence of corporations, big money, and lobbyists in our political system?
When our broken political system allows industries with big money (like Big Egg) to manipulate supply and lobby to maintain monopolies, consumers pay the price.
But there are concrete things we can fight for to limit the influence and power of big money in our political system:
- Banning lobbyist donations to elected officials
- Banning campaign spending by foreign-influenced corporations
- Banning legislators from trading individual stocks
- Ending the “revolving door” between serving in office and working as a lobbyist
- Requiring disclosures on sources of major donations
- Strengthening penalties for attempting to buy political influence
- Placing caps on campaign spending
We don’t have to wait for Congress to do any of this, and, in fact,they won’t! The system is working just fine for them.); Instead, we can pass these laws at the city and state level to build national momentum. As the nation’s largest nonpartisan anti-corruption organization, that’s exactly what we do and it’s been a successful strategy for our movement and many other movements before us.
If you’re interested in getting money out of politics and making our system work for everyday Americans (and not for mega corporations and the wealthy few), sign up with us and find out how you can get involved.