Selling inflation
My opinion, based on the frantic efforts of just about everyone in the 1970s to rein in inflation,
efforts which were symbolized by president [38] Gerald Ford's "Whip Inflation Now" campaign,
and realized by then Fed chairman Paul Volcker's draconian rise in the interest rate,
which led to the early 1980s recession but did bring inflation under control,
is that inflation over a very modest level causes far more problems than it solves.
But, on the other hand, as I write this in the latter half of 2013,
there are many in the "elite"
who feel that inflation can help the economy more than it hurts it.
This post is intended to exhibit some of the efforts by some members of the "elite"
to sell inflation:
By BINYAMIN APPELBAUM
New York Times, 2013-10-27
WASHINGTON — Inflation is widely reviled as a kind of tax on modern life, but as Federal Reserve policy makers prepare to meet this week, there is growing concern inside and outside the Fed that inflation is not rising fast enough.
Some economists say more inflation is just what the American economy needs to escape from a half-decade of sluggish growth and high unemployment.
The Fed has worked for decades to suppress inflation, but economists, including Janet Yellen, President Obama’s nominee to lead the Fed starting next year, have long argued that a little inflation is particularly valuable when the economy is weak. Rising prices help companies increase profits; rising wages help borrowers repay debts. Inflation also encourages people and businesses to borrow money and spend it more quickly.
The school board in Anchorage, Alaska, for example, is counting on inflation to keep a lid on teachers’ wages. Retailers including Costco and Walmart are hoping for higher inflation to increase profits. The federal government expects inflation to ease the burden of its debts. Yet by one measure, inflation rose at an annual pace of 1.2 percent in August, just above the lowest pace on record.
“Weighed against the political, social and economic risks of continued slow growth after a once-in-a-century financial crisis, a sustained burst of moderate inflation is not something to worry about,” Kenneth S. Rogoff, a Harvard economist, wrote recently. “It should be embraced.”
...
efforts which were symbolized by president [38] Gerald Ford's "Whip Inflation Now" campaign,
and realized by then Fed chairman Paul Volcker's draconian rise in the interest rate,
which led to the early 1980s recession but did bring inflation under control,
is that inflation over a very modest level causes far more problems than it solves.
But, on the other hand, as I write this in the latter half of 2013,
there are many in the "elite"
who feel that inflation can help the economy more than it hurts it.
This post is intended to exhibit some of the efforts by some members of the "elite"
to sell inflation:
2013-10-27-NYT-in-fed-and-out-many-now-think-inflation-helps
In Fed and Out, Many Now Think Inflation HelpsBy BINYAMIN APPELBAUM
New York Times, 2013-10-27
WASHINGTON — Inflation is widely reviled as a kind of tax on modern life, but as Federal Reserve policy makers prepare to meet this week, there is growing concern inside and outside the Fed that inflation is not rising fast enough.
Some economists say more inflation is just what the American economy needs to escape from a half-decade of sluggish growth and high unemployment.
The Fed has worked for decades to suppress inflation, but economists, including Janet Yellen, President Obama’s nominee to lead the Fed starting next year, have long argued that a little inflation is particularly valuable when the economy is weak. Rising prices help companies increase profits; rising wages help borrowers repay debts. Inflation also encourages people and businesses to borrow money and spend it more quickly.
The school board in Anchorage, Alaska, for example, is counting on inflation to keep a lid on teachers’ wages. Retailers including Costco and Walmart are hoping for higher inflation to increase profits. The federal government expects inflation to ease the burden of its debts. Yet by one measure, inflation rose at an annual pace of 1.2 percent in August, just above the lowest pace on record.
“Weighed against the political, social and economic risks of continued slow growth after a once-in-a-century financial crisis, a sustained burst of moderate inflation is not something to worry about,” Kenneth S. Rogoff, a Harvard economist, wrote recently. “It should be embraced.”
...
posted by KHarbaugh at 17:10
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