Trumpflation won’t be temporary

Conservatives called it “Bidenflation” when President Joe Biden’s economic policies pushed the inflation rate to its highest point in decades. Now that President Trump’s economic policies are reigniting inflation, it’s only fair we call it “Trumpflation.” Although it may not reach the level that Bidenflation hit, it’s not going away soon.

When prices started rising in the early days of the Biden administration, as the COVID-19 pandemic was rounding the corner and would soon start to decline, the Federal Reserve Bank suggested the price increases would be “transitory” — primarily a result of supply constraints.

Many businesses, including manufacturers, shippers and warehouses, were just reopening or barely operating, making it hard to get products to market. Those shortages, plus quickly rising gasoline prices, pushed many prices up. The Fed thought it was similar to when a natural disaster occurs and gasoline and even some grocery prices go up because of high demand and vendors can’t restock. Typically, prices return to normal within a few days or weeks when the crisis passes.

And post-pandemic inflation might also have subsided quickly except Biden and Democrats began pumping money into the economy — starting with the American Rescue Plan. Pouring trillions of taxpayer dollars into an economy struggling with shortages is a recipe for inflation. And many economists, including some Democrats, warned Biden about his over-the-top government spending.

The official inflation rate was 1.4 percent the month Biden entered the........

© The Hill