Breakdown:

1. General Mills’ Profits vs. Rising Prices
   General Mills, which makes $2.1 billion annually in profit, recently paid $300 million in dividends to investors and repurchased $150 million in stock to enrich executives and shareholders. Despite these large payouts, the company is raising the price of cereal by 20%, blaming inflation, even though its profits remain high.
2. Misleading Justifications for Price Hikes
   Corporations like General Mills use inflation as a cover for raising prices, but their financial reports tell a different story. Despite claims that rising costs are driving price increases, the reality is that these companies are using inflation as a convenient excuse while prioritizing returns to shareholders over keeping prices affordable for consumers.
3. Corporate Profits and Executive Pay
   General Mills isn’t alone in this pattern of behavior. While raising prices for everyday consumers, it continues to lavish massive sums on its top executives, including $16 million in pay for the CEO. This stark contrast between corporate profits and rising costs for consumers highlights the growing divide between corporate interests and the public’s well-being.
4. Energy Companies Following the Same Playbook
   It’s not just food companies. Energy companies, like Con Edison and PG&E, are also raising prices while raking in huge profits and laying off workers. These corporations continue to prioritize shareholder profits, leaving everyday people struggling to pay higher utility bills.
5. Housing Costs Adding to the Squeeze
   On top of rising food and energy costs, the general public is also being hit with skyrocketing housing prices. While wages remain stagnant, the cost of living continues to climb, further squeezing people financially. Corporations, including those in real estate, are prioritizing profit over providing affordable housing.
6. The Public Bears the Burden
   The general public is being squeezed for every dollar, with rising costs across essential sectors like food, energy, and housing. The increasing prices are not the result of natural economic forces but are largely driven by corporate greed and the desire to increase shareholder profits at the expense of consumers.
7. “You Can’t Save Your Way Out of Poverty”
   The current economic landscape highlights a critical truth: it’s nearly impossible for the average person to save their way out of poverty when corporate greed drives the cost of living ever higher. The system is structured in a way that continually extracts wealth from everyday people, funneling it upwards to shareholders and executives.
8. Corporate Greed Over Public Interest
   We cannot expect corporations, whose only interest is enriching shareholders, to prioritize the public’s well-being. Their actions consistently show that they will prioritize profits over affordability, even at the expense of the general population’s financial health.
9. The Growing Divide Between Corporations and Consumers
   The gap between corporations and the consumers they serve continues to widen. While companies like General Mills generate massive profits, consumers are left to shoulder the burden of higher prices and fewer affordable options. This growing disparity underscores the need for systemic change in how corporations operate and how profits are distributed.
10. Call for Change
    The pattern of corporate greed, price gouging, and wealth concentration must be addressed. Consumers and policymakers need to push back against these practices, advocating for fairer systems that prioritize public interest over shareholder profits. Without systemic change, the financial squeeze on everyday people will continue to worsen.

In summary, companies like General Mills and others are raising prices while pocketing billions in profits and enriching executives and shareholders. This corporate greed is causing a financial squeeze on the general public, highlighting the growing divide between consumers and corporations that prioritize profit over the well-being of the people they serve.