Inflation figures for February are out. Should we be worried?
There are different ways of viewing inflation, but I prefer looking at the annual change. Headline CPI, the number you see in the headlines, clocked in 1.7% above its level last February, so there's nothing much to be concerned about there. It's true that it's been climbing for a while, but this is mostly to recover from its plunge at the start of the pandemic last year.
The metric that the Fed is more interested in is core inflation, which doesn't include volatile food and energy prices. Core CPI is at 1.3% and is actually declining a bit.
In other words, there's nothing to be concerned about here. That makes this a pretty good baseline to gauge whether big stimulus spending sparks a round of high inflation. Come back in a year for the answer.
I imagine it will spark a round of low-ish inflation, like around 2.5%, and certain conservatives will raise a cry over it, spiced with alarm over whatever goods happen to have short-term increases of five or ten percent.
I already see this with Unreconstructed Pennsylvania MAGAT @ultraweedhater on Twitter blaming El Tio Pepe for gas at three dollars a gallon (but at least a woman of color is vice president).
(Sometimes, it ***is*** difficult to gauge Barry Mc Cockiner politically, as he is a contrarian troll much of the time, but given his mid-Atlantic guido background & very much real anti-Kaepernick stance, I would suggest on balance he is Commonwealth white power trash like his fellow Pennsylvanian Christian Pulisic, though with a slight chaos, more Perotista than Steve Forbes fanboy.)
Y'know you just bashed a dude for being racist with a racist term for him, right?
Is my hairy back not Guido enough?
If the past 30 years have taught us anything about inflation it's that central banks can't even cause inflation even when they try. Anyone worried about inflation right now is still living in the 70s. I'm not saying inflation will never be a problem again but it is so far from being a problem right now it's absurd. May as well worry about where Sky Lab is going to fall.
OMG, he said inflation! He said inflation!! OMG OMG OMG it's going to happen, it's going to be everywhere, it's going to be out of control!! Inflation is coming to eat us in our beds!!!
I am truly sick and tired of wealthy white men pontificating ominously about what might happen -- pretty much all existing evidence to the contrary (see Krugman) -- and studiously ignoring the ongoing disaster that is happening and will continue if we don't do something about it.
And I'll also say, I'm happy to see the Biden people ignoring them just as studiously.
+1
Yeah, but yry inflation will surge the next 3 months. It's looks.
You mean I just converted my IRA to gold for nothing? Thanks a lot!
You should have gone bit coin.
I'm going with a big "nope."
Been a lot of inflation panic articles of late. Bunch of old folks scared by events from 50 years ago. As long as the data are good press on.