Groundwork Collaborative
{{Short description|American economic policy non-profit organization.}}
{{Infobox organization
| name = Groundwork Collaborative
| logo = Goundwork Collaborative logo.svg
| abbreviation = GWC
| location = Washington, DC
| type = Public policy think tank
| formation = {{start date and age|2018}}
| founder = Michael Linden
| leader_title = Executive Director
| leader_name = Lindsay Owens
| website = [https://groundworkcollaborative.org/ Official]
| homepage =
}}
Groundwork Collaborative (GWC) is an American 501(c)(3) non-profit think tank and progressive advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., that, according to its website, works to "change economic policy and narratives to build public power, curb private power, and create an economy that works for all of us."{{cite news|last1=Coy|first1=Ben|last2=Przybyla|first2=Heidi|date=2022-10-29|title=Food suppliers blame inflation for price hikes. Lawmakers say they're padding the bill.|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/food-suppliers-blame-inflation-price-hikes-lawmakers-say-padding-bill-rcna9200|access-date=19 September 2022|publisher=NBC News}}{{cite web|title=What We Do|url=https://groundworkcollaborative.org/what-we-do/|publisher=Groundwork Collaborative|access-date=14 June 2023}} The organization is best known for research, analysis, and media commentary on economic issues, such as inflation, student debt, housing, and the U.S. labor market.{{cite news|last= Werschkul|first=Ben|date=2022-08-30|title=Corporate profits are at a 70-year high. Will the Inflation Reduction Act change that?|url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/corporate-profits-are-at-a-70-year-high-will-the-inflation-reduction-act-change-that-173207569.html|access-date=18 September 2022|publisher=Yahoo Finance}}{{cite news|last1=Douglas-Gabriel|first1=Danielle|last2=Stein|first2=Jeff|date=2022-08-24|title=Biden to cancel up to $10,000 in student loans, $20K for Pell recipients|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/08/24/biden-student-loan-cancellation/|access-date=18 September 2022|newspaper=The Washington Post}}{{cite news|last=Changa|first=Anoa |date=2022-07-10|title=Black Unemployment Declines But More Economic Policy Interventions Are Needed|url=https://newsone.com/4370261/black-unemployment-declines-need-more-economic-policy-interventions/|access-date=18 September 2022|publisher=NewsOne}}
Groundwork has been described as a "left-leaning think tank" and a “nonprofit that is critical of corporate behavior” by the Washington Post, and a “progressive economic policy group” in the New York Times.{{cite news|last=Lynch|first=David|date=2022-04-02|title=As inflation spreads, rising prices fuel charges of corporate greed|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/04/02/inflation-corporate-greed/|access-date=18 September 2022|newspaper=The Washington Post}}{{cite news|last1=Stein|first1=Jeff|last2=Romm|first2=Tony|date=2022-07-29|title=White House insists economy is strong as allies grow uneasy about Fed|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2022/07/29/white-house-federal-reserve-gdp/|access-date=19 September 2022|newspaper=The Washington Post}}{{cite news|last=Miller|first=Claire Cain|date=2020-04-10|title=Could the Pandemic Wind Up Fixing What's Broken About Work in America?|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/10/upshot/coronavirus-future-work-america.html|access-date=19 September 2022|work=The New York Times}}
History
Groundwork is led by Lindsay Owens, an economic sociologist who served as a senior economic policy advisor to Senator Elizabeth Warren and deputy chief of staff and legislative director to former Representative Keith Ellison and Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal.{{cite news|title=Lindsay Owens|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/author/lindsay-owens|access-date=14 September 2022|publisher=Business Insider}} She was recently named to the Washingtonian's “Most Influential People Shaping Policy” list, noting that “Owens is known in media circles for her skills in communicating ways to better understand inflation and corporate profiteering.”{{cite news|date=2023-04-27|title=Washington DC's 500 Most Influential People of 2023|url=https://www.washingtonian.com/2023/04/27/washington-dcs-500-most-influential-people-of-2023/|access-date=14 June 2023|publisher=Washingtonian Magazine}}
The organization was founded in 2018 by Michael Linden.{{cite news |last=Voght |first=Kara |date=2020-10-28 |title=The Pandemic Forced Joe Biden to Think Bigger. Meet the Economists Who Got Him There. |url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/10/joe-biden-economy-jared-bernstein-ben-harris-heather-boushey/ |access-date=19 September 2022 |publisher=Mother Jones}} Linden also served as the executive associate director at the Office of Management and Budget from May 2022 - June 2023.{{cite web|title=Michael Linden|url=https://www.legistorm.com/person/bio/223467/Michael_Linden.html|publisher=Legistorm|access-date=18 September 2022}}{{cite news|last=Coy|first=Peter|date=2022-10-29|title=The 10 People Most Likely to Influence the Economic Policy of a President Biden|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-10-29/the-10-people-most-likely-to-influence-the-economic-policy-of-a-president-biden|access-date=18 September 2022|publisher=Bloomberg}}
In January 2021, Lindsay Owens became interim executive director and was named the organization's executive director in June 2021.{{cite web|title=Groundwork Collaborative names Lindsay Owens, PhD, new executive director|url=https://groundworkcollaborative.org/news/groundwork-collaborative-names-lindsay-owens-phd-new-executive-director/|publisher=Groundwork Collaborative|date= 2021-06-21|access-date=14 September 2022}}
Previous notable Groundwork employees include Janelle Jones, former chief economist at the Department of Labor, and Angela Hanks, former acting assistant secretary for Employment and Training Administration at the Department of Labor.{{cite news|last=Dmitrieva|first=Katia|date=2021-02-21|title=Biden's 36-Year-Old Economist Has Her Eye on an Equal Recovery|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-26/biden-economist-janelle-jones-has-her-eye-on-an-equal-recovery|access-date=18 September 2022|publisher=Bloomberg}}{{cite news|last=Stewart|first=Emily|date=2021-01-14|title=Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion Covid-19 stimulus plan, explained|url=https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/22231808/joe-biden-economic-stimulus-proposal|access-date=18 September 2022|publisher=Vox}}{{cite web|title=Angela N Hanks|url=https://womensmediacenter.com/shesource/expert/angela-n-hanks|publisher=National Economic Association|access-date=18 September 2022}}
Activities
=Corporate profiteering=
Groundwork offers research on "corporate profiteering" which the organization claims is a contributor to inflation sometimes called "greedflation". The organization maintains a database that tracks corporate earnings calls which news reports say "has described the CEOs as not just price gouging, but also 'bragging' about their ability to raise prices faster than costs."{{cite news |last=Werschkul |first=Ben |date=2022-08-30 |title=Corporate profits are at a 70-year high. Will the Inflation Reduction Act change that? |url=https://news.yahoo.com/corporate-profits-are-at-a-70-year-high-will-the-inflation-reduction-act-change-that-173207569.html |access-date=20 October 2022 |publisher=Yahoo Finance}}{{cite web |title=End Corporate Profiteering |url=https://endcorporateprofiteering.org/ |access-date=14 June 2023 |publisher=Groundwork Collaborative}} The organization has referenced companies including Chevron, H.B. Fuller, 3M and Colgate-Palmolive in the media, alleging its CEOs are "using the cover of inflation to jack up prices on consumers."{{cite news |last1=Finney |first1=Michael |last2=Yip |first2=Randall |date=2022-08-26 |title=Inflation or profiteering? Advocacy group says companies raising prices under cover of inflation |url=https://abc7news.com/corporations-and-inflation-greedflation-profiteering-price-gouging/12120449/ |access-date=20 October 2022 |publisher=ABC 7 News}} In November 2022, Groundwork and the progressive consumer rights advocacy group Public Citizen released a report that found that large corporations opposed to anti-price gouging legislation spent $751 million on federal lobbying since 2020, nine times more than what was spent by supporters of the legislation.{{cite news |last=Evers-Hillstrom |first=Karl |date=2022-11-03 |title=Corporations dominated lobbying on anti-price gouging bills: analysis |url=https://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/business-lobbying/3717308-corporations-dominated-lobbying-on-anti-price-gouging-bills-analysis/ |access-date=10 January 2023 |work=The Hill}}
In early 2022, Janet Yellen,{{cite news |last=Condon |first=Christopher |date=2022-06-09 |title=Janet Yellen Rejects Idea Corporate Greed Is to Blame for Inflation |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-09/yellen-rejects-idea-corporate-greed-is-to-blame-for-inflation |access-date=1 November 2022 |publisher=Bloomberg}} Larry Summers,{{cite news |last=Anstey |first=Christopher |date=2022-05-13 |title=Summers Compares Price-Gouging Bill to Trump's Bleach Injections |url=https://news.bloomberglaw.com/antitrust/summers-compares-price-gouging-bill-to-trumps-bleach-injections |access-date=1 November 2022 |publisher=Bloomberg Law}} and Jason Furman{{cite news |last=Zeballos-Roig |first=Joseph |date=2022-01-16 |title=A former top Obama economist throws cold water on the Biden administration's favorite inflation argument: 'Corporate greed is a bad theory' |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/former-obama-economist-biden-inflation-argument-corporate-greed-2022-1 |access-date=1 November 2022 |publisher=Business Insider}} criticized this approach of focusing on price gouging to combat inflation.
The organization released a report in January 2024 arguing that it had "resounding evidence" that high corporate profits were responsible for 53% of inflation in the United States during the second and third quarters of 2023.{{Cite news |last=Perkins |first=Tom |date=2024-01-19 |title=Half of recent US inflation due to high corporate profits, report finds |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/jan/19/us-inflation-caused-by-corporate-profits |access-date=2024-08-17 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} Economist Isabella Weber called this phenomenon where firms do not lower prices for consumers after input prices fall a form of implicit collusion, allowing companies to reap windfall profits. This followed a similar December 2023 paper published by the UK-based Institute for Public Policy Research and Common Wealth think tanks that stated that corporate profiteering played an important role in the inflation spike of 2022. Corporate profits surged while wages failed to keep pace with rising prices, resulting in the working class suffering the largest decline in disposable and discretionary income since World War II.{{cite news |last=Inman |first=Phillip |date=December 7, 2023 |title=Greedflation: corporate profiteering 'significantly' boosted global prices, study shows |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/dec/07/greedflation-corporate-profiteering-boosted-global-prices-study |access-date=January 6, 2024 |work=The Guardian |location=}}
The organization also reported in February 2024, that 30% of the rise in grocery prices in particularly vulnerable sectors like beef, chicken, fruits, vegetables and snacks and urged the Biden administration to finalize rules to address the concentration in the meatpacking industry.{{Cite news |last1=Bhattarai |first1=Abha |last2=Stein |first2=Jeff |date=2024-02-03 |title=Inflation has fallen. Why are groceries still so expensive? |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/02/02/grocery-price-inflation-biden/ |access-date=2024-08-17 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}
=Monetary and fiscal policy=
In 2022, Owens penned a New York Times op-ed where she criticized the hiking interest rates of interest rates to slow the economy, calling them a "a blunt policy tool with a high likelihood of throwing the country into a recession" and made a case that profiteering by corporations is a leading cause of inflation.{{cite news|last=Owens|first=Lindsay|date=2022-05-05|title=I Listened In on Big Business. It's Profiting From Inflation, and You're Paying for It.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/05/opinion/us-companies-inflation.html|access-date=14 June 2023|newspaper=The New York Times}} She has also appeared multiple times on The Problem with Jon Stewart as a featured guest and panelist to discuss why Groundwork believes the Federal Reserve's policies are misguided and how corporate profiteering is driving inflation.{{cite news|date=2022-10-11|title=Corporate Greed Is Causing Inflation - The Problem With Jon Stewart Podcast | url=https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jon-talks-racial-injustice-inflation/id1583132133?i=1000551365885|access-date=16 December 2022|publisher=The Problem with Jon Stewart}}{{cite news|date=2023-03-17|title=The Inflation Blame Game | url=https://www.theproblem.com/episode-9-the-inflation-blame-game/|access-date=12 May 2023|publisher=The Problem with Jon Stewart}} Likewise, Mabud has been publicly critical of the Federal Reserve, arguing its actions will cause job losses and an economic recession while not addressing price gouging by corporations.{{cite news|last=Burns|first=Tobias|date=2023-01-27|title=Inflation cools further ahead of key Federal Reserve meeting|url=https://thehill.com/business/3832937-inflation-cools-further-ahead-of-key-federal-reserve-meeting/|access-date=14 June 2023|newspaper=The Hill}}{{cite news|last=Perkins|first=Tom|date=2022-10-16|title=Latest US inflation data raises questions about Fed's interest rate hikes|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/05/opinion/us-companies-inflation.html|access-date=14 June 2023|newspaper=The Guardian}}
= Debt ceiling =
During the 2023 United States debt-ceiling crisis, Owens urged President Biden to "not give into hostage-taking," called for more tax increases and for Biden to invoke the Fourteenth Amendment as a strategy to avoid default.{{cite news|last=Corbett|first=Jessica|date=2023-05-17|title=Progressive Senators Tell Biden: Prepare to Invoke 14th Amendment to Prevent Default|url=https://www.commondreams.org/news/senators-bident-14th-amendment-debt-ceiling|access-date=22 May 2023|publisher=Common Dreams}}{{cite news|last1=Kane|first1=Paul|last2=Pager|first2=Tyler|date=2023-05-11|title=Debt ceiling meeting between Biden, congressional leaders postponed|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/05/11/debt-ceiling-biden-congress-meeting/|access-date=12 May 2023|newspaper=Washington Post}} After negotiators struck a deal to raise the debt ceiling and cap discretionary spending, Owens criticized the compromise saying it "represents the worst of conservative budget ideology," citing the effects flat spending may have on programs like Head Start and rental assistance.{{cite news|last=Johnson|first=Jake|date=2023-05-28|title="The worst of conservative budget ideology": Progressives condemn Biden-GOP debt ceiling deal|url=https://www.salon.com/2023/05/28/the-worst-of-conservative-budget-ideology-progressives-condemn-biden-debt-ceiling-deal_partner/|access-date=30 May 2023|work=Salon}}{{cite news|last=Tankersley|first=Jim|date=2023-05-29|title=Why Spending Cuts Likely Won't Shake the Economy|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/29/us/politics/debt-ceiling-economy.html|access-date=30 May 2023|newspaper=The New York Times}}
=Fighting Chance for Families=
In June 2021, Groundwork and liberal polling firm Data for Progress launched a 'war room' called Fighting Chance for Families to advocate for extending the temporary expanded child tax credit that was included in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.{{cite news|date=2021-06-28|title=Liberal groups set up 'war room' to push Democrats to extend child tax credit|url=https://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/article252428913.html|access-date=10 October 2022|publisher=McClatchy Washington Bureau}} In July 2021, the group released a poll from Data for Progress and Mayors for a Guaranteed Income that found a majority of voters supported making the expanded child tax credit permanent, which contradicted polling by Morning Consult and Politico that found the opposite.{{cite news|last=Schnell|first=Mychael|date=2021-07-21|title=Majority in new poll says expanded child tax credit should not be permanent
|url=https://thehill.com/policy/finance/564063-majority-in-new-poll-says-expanded-child-tax-credit-should-not-be-permanent/|access-date=19 December 2022|work=The Hill}} Reports of the group's survey data suggested that President Joe Biden's approval ratings increased 4 percentage points among parents who received monthly checks.{{cite news|last=Delaney|first=Arthur |date=2022-03-22|title=Loss Of Child Tax Credit Payments May Have Hurt Joe Biden's Approval Rating|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/child-tax-credit-joe-biden_n_623b163ae4b019fd81358297 |access-date=18 October 2022|publisher=HuffPost}} The program expired at the end of 2021.{{cite news|last=Matthews|first=Dylan |date=2022-04-18|title=Who killed the expanded child tax credit?|url=https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2022/4/18/23026908/child-tax-credit-joe-manchin-policy-feedback-partisan |access-date=18 October 2022|publisher=Vox}}
=EconCon=
Along with other liberal organizations including the Economic Policy Institute, Demos, Center for Economic and Policy Research, and the Roosevelt Institute, Groundwork hosts EconCon, a yearly economic policy convention for left-leaning economists, advocates and policymakers.{{cite web|title=EconCon|url=https://econcon.com/|publisher=EconCon|access-date=14 June 2023}} Recent keynote speakers have included Office of Management and Budget director Shalanda Young, Rep. Delia Ramirez, and Minnesota lieutenant governor Peggy Flanagan.{{cite news|last=Bade|first=Rachael|date=2023-06-10|title=Playbook: Trump dumps gas on the political fire|url=https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2023/06/10/trump-dumps-gas-on-the-political-fire-00101384|access-date=14 June 2023|publisher=Politico}}
In 2022, Senator Elizabeth Warren delivered a keynote speech at the convention calling on Congress to eliminate the debt ceiling during the lame duck session of the 117th United States Congress and criticized the Federal Reserve's policies on inflation.{{cite news|last=Sheffey|first=Ayelet |date=2022-11-17|title=Elizabeth Warren slams the Fed for risking 'pushing our economy off a cliff': 'There is a big difference between landing a plane and crashing a plane'|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/warren-recession-2022-federal-reserve-interest-rates-risking-economy-2022-11|access-date=14 June 2023|publisher=Business Insider}}{{cite news|last=Stancil|first=Kenny |date=2022-11-17|title=Democrats Can Defeat GOP Extremism by 'Fighting for Working People': Warren|url=https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/11/17/democrats-can-defeat-gop-extremism-fighting-working-people-warren|access-date=14 June 2023|publisher=Common Dreams}}
=ProsperUS=
In 2021, Groundwork Collaborative formed ProsperUS, a coalition of more than 70 progressive organizations pushing the Biden administration and Congress for increased public investment in the economy.{{cite news|last=Sargent|first=Greg|date=2021-02-02 |title=As a new economic consensus emerges, lefty groups seek to put muscle behind it|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/02/02/new-economic-consensus-emerges-lefty-groups-seek-put-muscle-behind-it/ |access-date=6 December 2022|newspaper=Washington Post}}{{cite news|last=Voght|first=Kara|date=2021-03-17 |title=Joe Biden's Economic Recovery Has a Narrative. Now It Needs a Legacy.|url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/03/joe-bidens-economic-recovery-has-a-narrative-now-it-needs-a-legacy/|access-date=19 December 2022|publisher=Mother Jones}} The group supported the Build Back Better Plan and later, the Inflation Reduction Act.{{cite web|title=ProsperUS Praises House Passage of Build Back Better Bill, Calls for Speedy Senate Passage, No Additional Cuts |url=https://www.prosperus.org/media/prosperus-urges-swift-passage-of-build-back-better-act-lhs6z |access-date=6 December 2022|publisher=ProsperUS}}{{cite web|title=ProsperUS Celebrates Bold Public Investments in Inflation Reduction Act
|url=https://www.prosperus.org/media/prosperus-celebrates-bold-public-investments |access-date=6 December 2022|publisher=ProsperUS}}
During the September 2023 government shutdown crisis, the coalition called on leaders in Congress to reject spending cuts proposed by Congressional Republicans to keep the government funded and avoid shutdown.{{cite web |last=Nicholson |first=Jonathan |date=September 15, 2023 |title=Liberal Groups Urge Congress To Reject Spending Cuts In Fight With House GOP |url=https://news.yahoo.com/liberal-groups-urge-congress-reject-100011944.html |access-date=2 October 2023 |website=Huffington Post }}{{Additional citation needed|date=August 2024}}
=Congressional testimony=
{{Primary sources section
| date = August 2024
}}
During the 117th United States Congress, members of Groundwork's staff testified before various congressional committees on the topics of corporate profiteering, supply chain bottlenecks, inflation, workers' rights, and corporate consolidation. Owens testified before the Senate Budget Committee regarding the links between corporate profiteering and inflation.{{cite web |date=4 April 2022 |title=Corporate Profits are Soaring as Prices Rise: Are Corporate Greed and Profiteering Fueling Inflation? |url=https://www.budget.senate.gov/hearings/corporate-profits-are-soaring-as-prices-rise-are-corporate-greed-and-profiteering-fueling-inflation |access-date=19 September 2022 |website=United States Senate Committee on the Budget}} Dr. Rakeen Mabud, Groundwork's chief economist, testified before the House Antitrust Subcommittee, the House Consumer Protection Subcommittee, the House Financial Services Committee, and the House Oversight Committee regarding inflation, profiteering and supply chain bottlenecks.{{cite web |date=17 May 2022 |title=Reviving Competition, Part 6: Rebuilding Americas Economic Leadership and Combatting Corporate Profiteering |url=https://judiciary.house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=4934 |access-date=19 September 2022 |website=U.S. House Committee On The Judiciary}}{{cite web |date=2 February 2022 |title=Hearing on "Pandemic Profiteers: Legislation to Stop Corporate Price Gouging" |url=https://energycommerce.house.gov/committee-activity/hearings/hearing-on-pandemic-profiteers-legislation-to-stop-corporate-price |access-date=19 September 2022 |website=U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce}}{{cite web |date=8 March 2022 |title=The Inflation Equation: Corporate Profiteering, Supply Chain Bottlenecks, and COVID-19 |url=https://financialservices.house.gov/events/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=409148 |access-date=19 September 2022 |website=U.S. House Committee on Financial Services}}{{cite web |date=22 September 2022 |title=Power and Profiteering: How Certain Industries Hiked Prices, Fleeced Consumers, and Drove Inflation |url=https://oversight.house.gov/legislation/hearings/power-and-profiteering-how-certain-industries-hiked-prices-fleeced-consumers |access-date=23 September 2022 |website=U.S. House Committee on Financial Services}} Mike Mitchell, Groundwork's former director of policy and research, testified before the House Fair Growth Committee regarding corporate consolidation and the imbalance of power between workers and companies.{{cite web |date=6 April 2022 |title=Hearing on the Impact of Corporate Power on Workers and Consumers |url=https://financialservices.house.gov/events/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=409148 |access-date=19 September 2022 |website=House Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth}}