Category: More

Sometimes I just get stuck on a subject and can’t get it out of my head. My wife often says that when I get like that I over-react; I grumble, mumble, and repeat my source of aggravation over and over again. I admit that it is true. But all of us have some pet peeves that bother us from time to time. When it does happen it’s bad, but when it happens repeatedly, it’s even worse.

Since this blog is in effect my financial journal, the subject of discomfort and annoyance that are relevant here are those financial pet peeves in my life that actually warrant a post. So here goes, and please don’t agree with my wife after you read them!

Last November, while I was having a Thanksgiving meal with my family, a discussion came up about inflation and what the reasons were that it has run wild for months. I have been talking about inflation now for over 18 months and that was long before the Fed or most people gave it a second thought, but last November it was a big topic. My opinion then (as it is now) is that inflation has several causes but that price gouging and corporate greed (profiteering) is a real part of it. I was met with skepticism, denial, and an actual argument over it.

It’s Not a Pretty Thought…

…but corporate greed is now driving inflation way more than you ever dreamed. Perhaps you still doubt it or want to doubt it because you think “hey, this is America and they wouldn’t ever do that” or “gee, we live in a country where business is free to charge whatever they want and make money, right?”

There are many burning questions on the minds of Americans these days. With all the gut punches that we’ve been taking in the past few years, bad news is the norm and good news…well, try to find some.

When it comes to our health, the way we socialize, the kids and schooling, politics, human rights, women’s rights, civil rights, war, and yes, I have to say it, the terror we face every week from gun violence, inflation may seem like an unimportant back burner issue. But it’s not. So how does ongoing inflation rank among America’s biggest problems? And what can we do to prepare for it?

To fight inflation, the Federal Reserve has raised short-term interest rates by half a percentage point. The Fed will also likely be raising rates a half-point at its next two meetings after that. It is trying to avoid the risk that consumers’ and businesses’ expectations of large price increases could become baked into price and wage decisions, creating a self-fulfilling inflation spiral.

That has happened before and when it does, it’s a disaster and it just proves that things can actually get even worse for you and your wallet. None of us has a crystal ball, but it does seem that the Fed has been wandering around with blinders on for a long time and their new strategy smells a lot like panic in the year zero or in this case the year 2022. So where does that leave all of us right now?