Kerby Anderson

While looking at various headlines and reading many of the news articles, I noticed a trend that should be highlighted. It appears we are being conditioned to accept high inflation and become resigned to a poorer standard of living.

A headline last year predicted, “Inflation’s New Normal Will be 4%. Get Used to It.” Her prediction was right. Inflation has been with us and will continue to be with us. Another headline reported that “Consumers Are Getting Used to Higher Inflation.” He assumed that workers would demand higher wages to keep up with inflation. As I mentioned in a previous commentary, wages have not kept up with inflation.

The most recent headline came from a podcast in this country done with the Bank of England’s top economist. He said people in the UK need to accept that they are poorer. He lamented there was a “reluctance to accept that, yes, we’re all worse off.” He was concerned that people demanding pay increases and businesses raising prices will fuel more inflation. Fortunately, the article also quoted another economist that pointed to the “massive expansion” in the money supply as a reason for inflation.

Missing from these stories is who benefits from inflation and who is hurt by it. Remember the classic quote, *“Inflation is the surest way to fertilize the rich man’s field with the sweat of the poor man’s brow.” Increasing prices harm the poor more than the rich, and inflation is stealing the wealth of everyone as the dollar devalues.