Inflation Rate Is Worst in 17 Years
So they’ve finally admitting what every WalMart shopper knows, the inflation rate has been heading up for quite awhile. Naturally the fingers point to fuel which, along with bio-fuel demands on grain, is one of the driving factors pushing food costs higher not only in the United States but globally.
But here is something that makes this worse. If the true inflation rate were only 4.1% we’d be in pretty good shape. Most families can afford that by changing their buying habits a bit. But that rate, thanks to former Fed chair Alan Greenspan, already takes into account when you cannot afford steak you’ll buy hamburger. Now how much inflation have we actually seen over the past 20 years? A heck of a lot more than the Fed wants us to know about, that is certain.
To make matters worse another factor, though not the influence of fuel prices, is the rapidly sinking value of the U.S. Dollar on the global markets. But this really is double edged sword. It adds a bit to inflation by increasing the cost of goods imported from countries whos currencies have gone up against the dollar, mainly Europe and Japan. But it also makes our own goods more attractive in those same countries. And it pisses off the Europeans which has merit of its own…