Should Jerome Powell put on his Paul Volcker outfit and push interest rates through the roof? I would argue that, while modest rate hikes are appropriate, it is too soon to bring out the heavy artillery.
Voters want elected officials to challenge corporate greed to lower prices.
The attorney general’s office will seek to apply the state’s price-gouging law to opportunistic price increases that use high inflation as an excuse.
Starbucks, McDonald’s, Chipotle, Amazon – all protect profits by making customers pay more. We need the political courage to say they can and should cover rising costs themselves
There is no compelling reason to raise interest rates, now or later.
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"A large across-the-board increase in interest rates is a cure worse than the disease," says economist Joseph Stiglitz. "That might dampen inflation if it is taken far enough, but it will also ruin people's lives."
While inflation-hawks are quick to highlight the cost of higher prices, they rarely, if ever, mention the costs associated with the higher interest rate policy they recommend, costs that include higher unemployment and lower wages for working people.
Neoliberals say that inflation is caused by high social spending and good wages, and that working-class people must sacrifice these to bring prices down. But there are other causes of inflation, and solutions that don’t pit us against ourselves.
Companies are raising prices well above increases in their costs. The only antidote is to finally take action against corporate power.
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