At the current rate of inflation, the dollar will lose 33 cents of purchasing power within a decade.
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IfPresidentDonaldTrumpwaselectedwithaspecificmandate,itwastolowerprices.PollafterpollrevealsthatinflationisatopworryforAmericans.Sotheadministrationshouldbeworriedthatit’stickingbackup.Further,thepresident—whoseemstothinkhecansolveallproblemsunilaterallywithexecutivebranchorders—willsoondiscoverthattoconquerinflation,hewillneedthehelpofCongress.
Today’srisinginflationisn’tTrump’sfault.Wheninflationfirstspikedseveralyearsago,theFederalReserveinsistedformonthsthatitwasundercontrolandonitswaybacktothe2percenttarget.Ithadyettoarrivetherewhen,thispastSeptember,theFedbeganprematurelycuttinginterestratesby100basispoints.NowcoreConsumerPriceIndex(CPI)inflationremainsat3.3percentyearoveryear,wellabovethepre-pandemicnormandafull65percenthigherthantheFed’ssupposedtarget.
Atthecurrentrate,thedollarwilllose33centsofpurchasingpowerwithinadecade.Thisisnotatemporaryinconvenience;
