Trump’s war will turn the cost of living crisis into a global storm

Arms dealers, Big Oil, Big Ag, and others stand to profit from the war on Iran—lining their pockets through genocide, ecocide, and plunder.

We’ll be asked to accept inflation as something inevitable, like a natural disaster, instead of recognising it as the deliberate outcome of the genocidal war waged by the Anglo-American-Zionist empire.

We should absolutely not do that.

Transfer of wealth

Economist James Meadway warns that big companies will leverage their market power during this crisis to inflate prices and reap massive profits.

“Big companies will use their market power to drive up prices in the event of a crisis and make super profits”

NEW: Listen to @meadwaj unpack climate-linked inflation in our very festive @macrodose x Break Down crossover episode!https://t.co/SXfsYQiGOr pic.twitter.com/iodXTTFiq5

— The BREAK–DOWN (@break_downradio) December 18, 2024

A study on the 2022 oil price surge, after Russia attacked Ukraine, found that US fossil-fuel profits hit $377 billion. of that, 50% went to the wealthiest, while only 1% trickled down to the bottom 50%. Isabella Weber, one of the authors of the study, predicts that:

The war on Iran likely brings a new oil price shock and windfall profits.

So, who stands to win?

Our research shows: Last time around (2022), the US reaped the largest fossil fuel profits of any country ($377bn). 50% went to the top 1%, only 1% to the bottom 50%. A🧵 pic.twitter.com/WPNmm0l3Hu

— Isabella M Weber (@IsabellaMWeber) March 1, 2026

The same global ownership networks delivered windfalls to UK shareholders.

UK’s End Fuel Poverty Coalition found that North Sea oil and gas giants raked in £127 billion in profits since 2020. They added that three million households funk into fuel poverty. A windfall tax on these profits could generating £5.1 billion a year.

📈North Sea energy firms are set to make bumper profits from rising gas prices, generating over £200m a month in windfall tax revenue at current levels.

🚨Meanwhile bills are set to rise again from July. Heating oil prices have already doubled for some households. And £5.5bn in… pic.twitter.com/VotY7Wvu1U

— End Fuel Poverty Coalition (@EndFuelPoverty) March 23, 2026

Global South countries will hurt the most

Economist Prabhat Patnaik warns that the global south will bear the brunt of this crisis— from inflation, currency collapse, debt, to austerity. He is of the view that it will be far worse in the global South than in the US or UK.

In a recent interview, he highlighted that the Indian rupee has already hit an all-time low against the dollar.

He explained that when currency depreciates, the price of everything imported rises—not just oil.

 

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So, here’s where we are—on one side, there are 20 centibillionaires and billions in profits for oil companies and arms dealers. On the other, genocide in Gaza, destruction in Lebanon, bombs on Iran, and millions in poverty. The system fuels both.

We can either refuse to accept it, or watch it happen again.