Inflation painfully high in U.S., but some relief may be coming

The U.S. Energy Information Administration forecasts gasoline will drop again to an average of $3.13 in December and to $2.88 for all of 2022 after averaging $3.39 last month, the highest since 2014.

Crazy prices on ordinary household goods in the US.

Gasoline prices out of control--highest since 2014---during the Obama/Biden era not by coincidence.

Inflation is a symptom of strong economic activity, and in this case the added effect of supply-chain bottlenecks. Economic conditions should be favorable after the pandemic effect subsides.

America aside, why is there so little inflation in Japan...?

during the Obama/Biden era not by coincidence.

Still way lower than in July 2008 when it was over $4.11, and Bush - a Texan Republican - was in the Whitehouse. Didn't hear too many conservatives complaining back then.

https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/what-is-happening-with-us-gasoline-prices-2021-11-24/

That's what you get for printing money with nothing to back it. Money was much more stable when the gold standard was in place.

JeffLeeToday  08:35 am JST

Still way lower than in July 2008 when it was over $4.11, and Bush - a Texan Republican - was in the Whitehouse.

Let's do apples and apples. Sound good? But first, yeah, I thought +$4 was alot in 2008.

But then prices were below $2 in October 2008 under Bush--a Texan Republican--in the White House.

Ok, now for the apples:

July 2021 $3.15 a gallon--more than the Trump years.

The juciest apple:

December 2008 **$1.64 a gallon. December 2021 over $3 a gallon.**

Also, gas prices have been over $3 a gallon since May 2021--that's 8 months. So, there was a sharp pain for a moment in 2008, but a long agonizing pain in 2021.

Didn't hear too many conservatives complaining back then.

As illustrated above and, as a bonus, we got high gas prices coupled with the highest inflation in 39 years in 2021 (much higher than inJuly 2008).

Makes sense right?

Inflation is a symptom of strong economic activity

If strong economic activity includes more people working and therefore more production of stuff, that should not generally increase prices, because… supply and demand.

There was low unemployment in the US before the pandemic and economic conditions were good according to my investments, and none of that coincided with high inflation.

I’d suggest high inflation is a result of bad policies. Turkey has high inflation. Venezuela has high inflation.

The US and other advanced western economies should not accept inflation. Inflation should be unacceptable again.

There are too many humanity majors in the US that just read old novels and write essays for four years in college and not enough scientists and engineers. How would you like to finance $55K in tuition for your child for four years so she can write a graduation thesis on a cabin in the woods near some pond in Massachusetts? The US doesn't produce much anymore, and factories are overseas. Money is going out of the country while more is being printed leading to inflated prices.

I see the US is trying to tell Americans that oh the reason prices are going up is because of supply shortages. It's not supply shortages it's a surplus of money from your trillion dollar budgets with money you don't have. You print money and give it to people and expect there to be goods to buy; the goods that have to be produced but are not being produced. Demand has to come from supply. If you just print money and create demand, you can't get supply. Demand can't create supply because supply is what creates demand. Just because people want something doesn't mean it's going to magically appear. Products have to be produced before you can consume it.

America aside, why is there so little inflation in Japan...?

Japan has been in a period of deflation, so inflation would be bringing things back to no price change. Furthermore, the inflation is a number of sectors is based on certain products such as wheat, whereas rice has been mostly stable.

Anyway, I wonder if the predictions take into account Omicron which Boris Johnson says will have a devastating effect on the economy.

Inflation is a symptom of strong economic activity

If the economy is weak, you print money to stimulate it. If the economy is strong, then you withdraw money from circulation. If it is weak, cut interest rates, and if it is strong raise interest rates. K economics sounds simple, but what happens if you've got a weak economy and inflation at the same time? You can't cut and raise interest rates together at the same time. You can't have a loose money and a tight monetary policy simultaneously.

The US needs to pick its poison: are you going to try to stimulate the economy or are you going to try to fight inflation because it can't do both. If you try to stimulate the economy, the act of stimulating the economy will make the inflation problem worse. If you try to fight inflation, keeping a tight reign on money will not stimulate the economy.

No one wants a recession on their watch. Everyone kicks the can down the road. Like a dog chasing its tail, round and round it spins. That's how American money goes, pop! goes the weasel.

I thought Japan's wholesale inflation is at a 40 year or so high?

Most people that are complaining about inflation, could be complaining about an depression, without the trillion pump into the US economy, most American would have nothing, business profited from billion, so did state and local government, a depression would of been an end result

Gasoline prices out of control--highest since 2014---during the Obama/Biden era not by coincidence.

oh like Bush 2008 GFC and Trump 2020 recession worst in 70yrs , on top of that the trillion tax cut for the rich and record 7.8trillion deficit, all under Republican presidents, not by coincidence. Last 3 economic collapses all under a republican

The cost of living adjustments should bust the Social Security system. They’ll have to get better at lying about inflation