Thread by @TheLastRefuge2

Nothing makes my blood pressure rise as much as these manipulative econ creeps. Go ahead and complain about corporate food profiteering..... then f**king explain to me why you raise foodstamp/snap reimbursement rates to fatten their f**king corp bottom line.

https://twitter.com/tomselliott/status/1435674050500644866

(2) This is the @BrianDeeseNEC grocery price equivalent of Jonathan Gruber saying "we rely upon the stupidity of the American voter", during Obamacare....

(3) Part of the lobbying in the food industry by BigAg multinationals is to advocate for the expansion of U.S. taxpayer benefits to underwrite the costs of the domestic food products they control.

(4) By lobbying DC, these multinational corporations get congress and policy-makers to expand the basis of who can use Food Stamps, EBT and SNAP benefits (state reimbursement rates). Expanding the federal subsidy for food purchases is part of the corporate profit dynamic.

(5) With increased taxpayer subsidies, the food price controllers (BigAg Multinationals) can charge more domestically and export more of the product internationally. Taxes, via subsidies, go into their profit margins.nytimes.com/2021/08/15/us/…

(6) The corporations then use a portion of those enhanced profits in contributions to the politicians. It’s a circle of money.

politico.com/news/2021/08/1…

(7) Wheat, corn and soybeans are the foundation of the U.S. food supply. They are primarily used as ingredients in processed foods, oils, and are fed to the cattle, hogs, and poultry that supply meat and eggs for the American diet.

(8) When those grain harvests go up in price, the downstream increase in price is far reaching.

WARNING from May of this year:

usatoday.com/story/money/ma…

(9) The reason is simple, JoeBama’s economic policies are beneficial to the multinationals, crushing to the domestic U.S. economy and driving massive increases in prices in a variety of sectors.

(10) Remember, there is no such thing as a “commodity” market in the free market sense of the word. Those commodity markets are now “controlled markets“, and fully under the control of massive multinational agricultural corporations.

(11) MAY 2021 […] “Americans should definitely expect an eventual rise in prices later in the year,” says Moya. “The surge with grain prices should not immediately be visible at supermarkets, since retailers absorb the initial increase."

(12) ..."(But) eventually, the margin pressure will be too big and probably at some point late in the summer, Americans will start to take notice to some increases on grocery shelves.”

usatoday.com/story/money/ma…

(13) The biggest lie in modern economics, willingly spread and maintained by corporate media, the Biden Administration and @BrianDeeseNEC , is that a system of global markets still exists.

It doesn’t.

(14) Every element of global economic trade is controlled and exploited by massive institutions, multinational banks and multinational corporations. Institutions like the World Trade Organization (WTO) and World Bank control trillions of dollars in economic activity.

(15) Underneath that economic activity there are people who hold the reigns of power over the outcomes. These individuals and groups are the stakeholders in direct opposition to principles of America-First national economics. Collectively known as “The Big Club”.

(16) In the Western World, separate from communist control perspectives (ie. China), “Global markets” are a modern myth; nothing more than a talking point meant to keep people satiated with sound bites they might find familiar.

(17) Global markets have been destroyed over the past three decades by multinational corporations who control the products formerly contained within global markets.

(18) The same is true for “Commodities Markets”. The multinational trade/econ system, run by corporations and multinational banks, now controls the product outputs of independent nations.

(19) The free market economic system has been usurped by entities who create what is best described as ‘controlled markets’.

(20) In essence, thanks specifically to the way the World Trade Organization (WTO) was established in 1995, national companies expanded their influence into multiple nations, across a myriad of industries and economic sectors (energy, agriculture, raw earth minerals, etc.).

(21) This is the basic underpinning of national companies becoming multinational corps.

Think of these multinational corps as global entities now powerful enough to reach into multiple nations -simultaneously- and purchase controlling interests in a single economic commodity.

(22) A historic reference point might be the original multinational enterprise, energy via oil production. (Exxon, Mobil, BP, etc.)

(23) However, in the modern global world, it’s not just oil; the resource and product procurement extends to virtually every possible commodity and industry. From the very visible (wheat/corn) to the obscure (small minerals, and even flowers).

(24) During the past several decades national companies merged. The largest lemon producer company in Brazil, merges with the largest lemon company in Mexico, merges with the largest lemon company in Argentina, merges with the largest lemon company in the U.S., etc. etc.

(25) National companies, formerly of one nation, become “continental” companies with control over an entire continent of nations.

…. or it could be over several continents or even the entire world market of Lemon/Widget production.

(26) These are now multinational corporations. They hold interests in specific segments (this example lemons) across a broad variety of individual nations.

(27) With control of the majority of actual lemons the multinational corporation now holds a different set of financial values than a local farmer or national market. This is why commodities exchanges are essentially dead.

(28) In the aggregate the mercantile exchange is no longer a free or supply-based market; it is now a controlled market exploited by mega-sized multinational corporations.

(29) Instead of the traditional ‘supply/demand’ equation determining prices, the corporations look to see what nations can afford what prices. The supply of the controlled product is then distributed to the country according to their ability to afford the price.

(30) This is essentially the bastardized and politicized function of the World Trade Organization (WTO). This is also how the corporations controlling WTO policy maximize profits.

(31) Back to the lemons. A multinational might hold the rights to the majority of the lemon production in Brazil, Argentina and Calif/Florida. The price the U.S. consumer pays for lemons is directed by the amount of inventory (distribution) the controlling corp allows in the U.S.

(32) If the U.S. lemon harvest is abundant, the controlling interests will export the product to keep the U.S. consumer spending at peak or optimal price. A U.S. customer might pay $2 for a lemon, a Mexican customer might pay .50¢, and a Canadian $1.25.

(33) The bottom line issue is the national supply (in this example ‘harvest/yield’) is not driving the national price because the supply is now controlled by massive multinational corporations.

(34) The mistake people often make is calling this a “global commodity” process. In the modern era this “global commodity” phrase is particularly nonsense.

(35) A true global commodity is a process of individual nations harvesting/creating a similar product and bringing that product to a global market. Individual nations each independently engaged in creating a similar product.

(36) Under modern globalism this process no longer takes place. It’s a complete fraud. Massive multinational corporations control the majority of production inside each nation and therefore control the global product market and price. It is a controlled system.

(37) Expanding the federal subsidy for food purchases is part of the corporate profit dynamic.

(38) In highly developed nations this multinational corporate process requires the corporation to purchase the domestic political process (as above) with individual nations allowing the exploitation in varying degrees.

(39) As such, the corporate lobbyists pay hundreds of millions to politicians for changes in policies and regulations; one sector, one product, or one industry at a time. These are specialized lobbyists.

(40) It is ironic when we discuss corporate financial payments to government officials in foreign countries we call them corrupt. However, in the United States we call it lobbying, the process is exactly the same.

(41) The process of charging the U.S. consumer more for a product, that under normal national market conditions would cost less, is a process called exfiltration of wealth. This is the basic premise, the cornerstone, behind the catch-phrase ‘globalism’.

It is never discussed.

(42) To control the market price some contracted product may even be secured and shipped with the intent to allow it to sit idle (or rot). It’s all about controlling the price and maximizing the profit equation.

(43) To gain the same $1 profit a widget multinational might have to sell 20 widgets in El-Salvador (.25¢ each), or two widgets in the U.S. ($2.50/each).

(44) Think of the process like the historic reference of OPEC (Oil Producing Economic Countries). Only in the modern era massive corporations are playing the role of OPEC and it’s not oil being controlled, thanks to the WTO it’s almost everything.

(45) Again, this is highlighted in the example of taxpayers subsidizing the food sector (EBT, SNAP etc.), the corps can charge U.S. consumers more. Ex. more beef is exported, red meat prices remain high at the grocery store, but subsidized consumers can better afford high prices.

(46) Of course, if you are not receiving food payment assistance (middle-class) you can’t eat the steaks because you can’t afford them. (Not accidentally, it’s the same scheme in the ObamaCare healthcare system)

(47) Agriculturally, multinational corporate Monsanto says: ‘all your harvests are belong to us‘. Contract with us, or you lose because we can control the market price of your end product.

(48) Downside is that once you sign that contract, you agree to terms that are entirely created by the financial interests of the larger corporation; not your farm.

(49) The multinational agriculture lobby is massive. We willingly feed the world as part of the system; but you as a grocery customer pay more per unit at the grocery store because domestic supply no longer determines domestic price.

(50) Perhaps now we understand better how massive multi-billion multinational corporations, and the political institutions they pay for, were/are aligned against President Trump; and they will never relent in their need to see the risk he/we represents destroyed.

(51) /END