[HN Gopher] U.S. Inflation Hits New Four-Decade High of 9.1%
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U.S. Inflation Hits New Four-Decade High of 9.1%
Author : fortran77
Score : 35 points
Date : 2022-07-13 17:42 UTC (5 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.wsj.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.wsj.com)
| acd wrote:
| Here is a 2020 history blog post about QE quantative easing:
|
| https://www.brookings.edu/blog/ben-bernanke/2020/01/04/the-n...
| planarhobbit wrote:
| Realistically, what are the viable directions from here, and what
| are their outcomes?
| mercy_dude wrote:
| Fed can't hike rates as fast as they need to bring down the
| inflation so it's going to last till 2023 or beyond. If economy
| enters into recession, which there is a solid chance of, Fed
| will have to stop rate hikes and start back QE (like ECB) and
| that means inflation is here to stay. The only good thing is it
| will also inflate away the 33 trillion debt we have.
| ab_testing wrote:
| I agree with you and don't understand why you are being
| downvoted. If the second quater GDP growth comes back
| negative and it proves that we are in a recession, then the
| fed will have to halt the interest rate hikes. That will
| prolong the high inflationary period.
| rendang wrote:
| Why would you expect inflation in a recession especially when
| fuel is driving a lot of the inflation and fuel demand goes
| down in recessions?
| mercy_dude wrote:
| Because the factors driving the inflation are from supply
| side such as energy or supply chain mess. Recessions won't
| kill demands as fast - people are still going to need gas
| and presumably food.
| toomuchtodo wrote:
| Benchmark rate is a blunt tool. It won't print more oil and
| food supply, nor can it print more housing stock (sectors
| where inflation is currently focused). This is where targeted
| fiscal policy would be most beneficial (mandating remote work
| where able, encouraging more rapid uptake of EVs to not be
| beholden to a global oil market while one of the largest
| suppliers is engaged in a land war and has sanctions applied
| to it), but that is unlikely to arrive with the current
| authorities of fiscal policy.
|
| Asset price destruction is also a likely outcome, and will
| bring down home and equities prices, allowing for those on
| the margins to get into homes where prices were too high
| before, as well as get exposure to the stock market for
| wealth accumulation. This, in my humble opinion, is a desired
| outcome. TLDR Deflate the asset bubbles.
|
| A light recession would be welcome for price stability, and
| with labor participation rate where it is at, I think the
| data shows some reliable indicators that unemployment won't
| spike when the Fed starts banging away with their rate hammer
| on the broader economic system. A million people, for a
| variety of reasons, left the labor force during the pandemic,
| while 10k Boomers retire per day. The US economy faces an
| ongoing labor shortage well into the next decade [1].
|
| [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LI4mDQeo9eE
| smileysteve wrote:
| To agree; the fed got caught with its pants down; QE was
| extreme in 2020 and should have begun the wind down process
|
| (It's also hard to define worse timing/actions by Powell if
| he were a malignant actor)
|
| 1. After states started reopening
|
| 2. On Federal Stimulus (PPP, unemployment, or 2nd/3rd
| stimulus checks)
|
| 3. Staged on percentage of population vaccinated and covid
| positivity rates / propensity to travel (ie spun down by
| June)
| smileysteve wrote:
| > This is where targeted fiscal policy would be most
| beneficial
|
| Something Congress should consider instead of tariffs on
| imported goods (steal, aluminum, wood) that have failed
| miserably (actually increased trade deficit) is applying
| these taxes on virgin material. Promoting recycling rusting
| steel, scrap aluminum, plastic and fiberglass composite
| wood and concrete could bring back domestic production and
| clear our backyards, while being greener than China making
| raw material and shipping it.
| agentofoblivion wrote:
| Mandating remote work? You have terrible ideas.
| toomuchtodo wrote:
| If you can't supply more oil, you must destroy demand or
| avoid the demand in the first place.
|
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32069033
| (Netherlands poised to make work-from-home a legal right,
| says report)
|
| https://www.euronews.com/next/2021/11/11/which-countries-
| pla... (After Portugal, which countries in Europe are
| improving post-COVID remote working laws?)
|
| Progress takes time, and requiring people burn
| (currently, very expensive and in short supply) fossil
| fuels to move their bodies to an office to do knowledge
| work is silly. Perhaps this will be more clear as the
| global oil market situation deteriorates further. More
| economic pain may need to occur before such policy is
| encouraged along. C'est la vie.
| ChuckNorris89 wrote:
| > _Progress takes time, and requiring people burn
| (currently, very expensive and in short supply) fossil
| fuels to move their bodies to an office to do knowledge
| work is silly._
|
| Yet it's still mandatory for many tech jobs in Europe.
| Companies are delusional with their butts in seats
| culture.
| sfe22 wrote:
| Yeah, a statist can never govern you hard enough
| [deleted]
| Clubber wrote:
| Environmentally and economically driving to a location
| and back every day unnecessarily is a horrible idea. It's
| like burning a $20 bill inside a bicycle tire every day.
| There are some cases where in person work is required to
| do the job, but a significant portion of jobs don't
| require it any longer (and probably haven't since the
| late 90s).
| selimthegrim wrote:
| Related discussion here:
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32081779
| mhneu wrote:
| Rupert Murdoch's WSJ. Just be a little careful as Murdoch has
| pressured/selected editors that will spin news in the way he
| wants.
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