Tipsheet

Not Buying Biden's 'Temporary' Inflation Spin, These Companies Are Jacking Up Prices

Spencer Brown
Spencer Brown  |  August 10, 2021 11:15 AM

As the Biden administration's policies continue to spur inflation, Americans have already seen the impact at the gas pump and in the grocery store over the summer. Data dashboards used to monitor the price of goods and services show inflation spiking at its fastest rate since the 1990s.

Tyson Foods "cannot increase prices for chicken and prepared foods fast enough to keep pace with rising costs for raw materials like grain," according to company executives. Restaurants that serve Tyson products have already seen price increases and retail consumers will start paying more on September 5. 

Tyson already raised the price of pork by 39 percent in the last quarter while beef went up 11 percent and chicken prices increased 15 percent. The company says more increases are planned, suggesting they don't buy the White House's "transitory" spin. 

Shake Shack leadership announced that they would be passing inflation costs along to consumers as well, with a greater than usual 3 to 3.5 percent increase coming this year. Like Tyson Foods, Shake Shack is suggesting more increases will follow if inflation pressures are not stemmed. Consumers of Shackburgers have already seen three price hikes of 2, 5, and 10 percent affecting various products and services from Shake Shack. McDonald's, too, has had to raise prices around 6 percent compared to a year ago.

Already this summer, Chipotle raised prices on its fast-casual offerings by 3.5 to 4 percent to cover wage increases, though executives say more price increases may be necessary to prevent inflation from gutting the company's earnings. 

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Domino's pizza is also raising prices to offset inflationary pressure while food and beverage giant PepsiCo has been more blunt with its reasoning. "Is there somewhat more inflation out there? There is. Are we going to be pricing to deal with it? We certainly are," explained PepsiCo's chief financial officer of coming price increases across the company's family of brands including Frito Lay and Quaker. 

It's not just food and dining where Americans are seeing higher prices. Harley Davidson added a 2 percent surcharge to certain models. Paper product giant Kimberly Clark has increased prices, as have game-makers Hasbro and Mattel, while Procter & Gamble expect to raise prices again to offset an expected $1.9 billion after-tax hit from input costs this year.

While Joe Biden, Jen Psaki, and White House allies claim such inflation pressure is "transitory" and just a temporary or seasonal problem, these companies clearly aren't buying the spin. Instead, they are raising prices in an attempt to stay above water despite lasting inflation. As a result of the Biden administration's failure to address inflation, Americans — even those Biden promised wouldn't see tax increases — will see their dollars getting them less and less.