Did you know that the inflation crisis is over? That’s the word from deranged press hacks Paul Krugman and John Harwood.
Krugman, who has built a brand as the Jim Cramer of economists, is now taking a victory lap, claiming that he was right all along about inflation being “transitory.”
There’s being shameless and then there’s whatever Krugman is in that post. Nearly two years after the inflation boom started, he’s now proclaiming the burden of proof about the situation to be on those who said inflation wasn’t just transitory. I realize he probably gets his groceries delivered and never looks at the bill given he’s a wealthy man, but I have to wonder what planet he’s living on.
No one is buying this redefinition of the word transitory at this point. Inflation began to spike in the summer of 2021. It is now January of 2023, and the only reason inflation appears to be lower is that it’s being compared to the already elevated year-over-year baselines of the prior year. If inflation goes from two percent to nine percent but then you begin comparing current inflation to the nine percent number and not the original two percent number, you will end up with a decrease in the rate of inflation.
In reality, Americans are still suffering under prices that are around 15 percent higher than when Biden took office, and in no universe has the inflation crisis been transitory. Krugman knows that because he himself originally promoted the idea that there was going to be no inflation crisis.
Regardless, the talking points obviously went out, because John Harwood decided to push the same line as Krugman.
What “relief” is he talking about? Food prices are through the roof. You might as well forget about airfare right now. Never mind the increases in home heating and other energy costs. Yes, used car prices have gone down somewhat, but even then, they are still far higher than when Biden entered the White House.
And that’s really the game being played here. Hacks like Krugman and Harwood want you to forget what things were like before Biden was elected. They want you to compare your current position to mid-2022 instead of the end of 2020. But that’s not how politics works. Americans are in the position they are in, paying through the nose for basic necessities, because of the current president’s policies.
Lastly, to the extent that inflation is easing (core CPI is down slightly), that’s only because the Federal Reserve had to hike interest rates up to around seven percent. So yeah, grocery prices aren’t growing at quite the same rate, but now you can’t buy that house or car you wanted to buy. Am I supposed to be excited about that? Give Biden a pat on the back? It’s ludicrous gaslighting.