Sources & References
Source Classification Legend
🏛️ Government/Institutional - Official government reports, academic institutions, regulatory agencies
🎯 Unbiased/Centrist - Research organizations, industry analyses, factual reporting with minimal bias
🔵 Democratic-Leaning - Progressive publications, Democratic politicians, left-leaning think tanks
🔴 Republican-Leaning - Conservative publications, Republican politicians, right-leaning think tanks
Government & Institutional Sources
🏛️ U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics - Productivity and Costs
https://www.bls.gov/productivity/
Historical labor productivity, compensation, and unit labor cost data from 1947-2024. Primary source for worker productivity vs wage growth analysis.
🏛️ U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics - Employment and Wages Annual Averages 2024
https://www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2024/
Comprehensive employment and wage data covering 155 million jobs, representing 98.5% of civilian wage and salary employment.
🏛️ Government Accountability Office - Corporate Welfare Report
https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/taxpayers-subsidize-poverty-wages-at-walmart-mcdonalds-other-large-corporations-gao-finds/
GAO analysis showing Walmart employed 14,541 SNAP recipients and McDonald's employed 8,783 across nine states, documenting taxpayer subsidization of corporate profits.
🏛️ American Medical Association - Health Insurance Market Competition
https://www.ama-assn.org/system/files/competition-health-insurance-us-markets.pdf
Analysis showing three companies control 80% of health insurance market, enabling systematic price manipulation.
🏛️ Federal Trade Commission - Amazon Acquisition Analysis
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2017/06/ftc-challenges-amazon-acquisition-whole-foods
FTC documentation of Amazon's consolidation strategy and competitive concerns.
Unbiased/Centrist Analysis
🎯 UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research - Corporate Subsidies Analysis
https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/04/15/we-are-spending-153-billion-a-year-to-subsidize-mcdonalds-and-walmarts-low-wage-workers/
Comprehensive study showing $153 billion annual taxpayer cost to subsidize low-wage workers at major retailers.
🎯 eMarketer - Amazon E-commerce Market Share Analysis
https://www.emarketer.com/content/amazon-will-surpass-40-of-us-ecommerce-sales-this-year
Analysis showing Amazon controls 40.4% of US e-commerce sales ($491.65 billion), with Amazon and Walmart together controlling over 50% of global online sales.
🎯 Farm Action - Agricultural Consolidation Data
https://farmaction.us/agriculture-consolidation-data-hub/
Documentation of agricultural consolidation showing 4 companies control 85% of beef industry and 70% fewer hog farmers since mid-1990s.
🎯 Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis - Walmart Economic Impact
https://www.minneapolisfed.org/article/2004/the-wal-mart-effect-poison-or-antidote-for-local-communities
Federal Reserve analysis showing 47% small business sales loss after Walmart arrival and community economic impacts.
🎯 University of Wisconsin - Planned Obsolescence Study
https://esmartrecycling.com/blog/planned-obsolescence-the-hidden-costs-you-cant-afford
Study finding planned obsolescence results in additional $1,043 per year for typical American household just for technology devices.
🎯 Good Jobs First - Corporate Subsidies Database
https://subsidytracker.goodjobsfirst.org/parent/amazon-com
Comprehensive tracking of Amazon's $4+ billion in taxpayer subsidies and tax breaks.
Progressive/Democratic-Leaning Sources
🔵 Economic Policy Institute - CEO Compensation Analysis
https://www.epi.org/publication/ceo-pay-in-2021/
Analysis showing CEO pay increased 1,460% since 1978 while worker wages stagnated, documenting systematic wealth concentration.
🔵 Joint Economic Committee - Corporate Profits vs Worker Compensation
https://www.jec.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/democrats/2018/8/weekly-economic-snapshot
Analysis showing corporate profits increased 107% since 2000 while employee compensation increased only 28% after inflation.
🔵 Jacobin - Health Insurance Profit Analysis
https://jacobin.com/2024/12/health-insurance-profits-unitedhealthcare-aca
Documentation of 400% profit increases in healthcare since 2014 while denying 1 in 3 claims and raising family premiums 52%.
Industry & Technical Sources
🎯 Appliance Industry Trade Analysis
https://www.warrantyweek.com/archive/ww20250522.html
Industry analysis showing Whirlpool and GE market control with 14% cost increases passed to consumers while using tariff protection.
🎯 Steel Industry Consolidation History
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mergers_and_acquisitions_in_the_United_States_steel_industry
Documentation of steel industry consolidation from JP Morgan's 1901 creation of instant 67% market share to 2025 foreign ownership.
🎯 National Family Farm Coalition - Agricultural Corporate Control
https://nffc.net/what-we-do/ending-corporate-control/
Analysis of agricultural consolidation showing contract farming elimination of farmer autonomy and vertical integration by major corporations.
Methodological Transparency
All data sources are provided with clear political classification to enable readers to evaluate potential bias. Claims are cross-referenced across multiple source types where possible. Specific figures and quotes are linked directly to their original sources for verification. Economic calculations use inflation-adjusted figures to 2024 dollars with 1978 baseline for historical comparisons. Per-family cost estimates derived from total figures divided by US household counts, with ranges reflecting geographic and demographic variations.