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There have been some supply shocks in the past year, but I'm increasingly convinced that the disaster rhetoric around inflation is more of a political argument
by ashtonkem 5y ago
There have been some supply shocks in the past year, but I'm increasingly convinced that the disaster rhetoric around inflation is more of a political argument more than an economic one. Personally I suspect it has more to do with justifying austerity in order to curb labor's demand for more money than anything else.
- rsj_hn 5y ago> I suspect it has more to do with justifying austerity in order to curb labor's demand for more money The problem with blowing off inflation because you think it empowers workers is that the latest round of inflation more than erased all the wage increases that were provided. In real terms, workers have been falling behind. So perhaps to make those labor demands more real, it might be a good idea if the government wasn't competing with the private sector for goods and services.
- ashtonkem 5y agoTo be clear, I think that all of the price movement we're seeing today is a result of supply chain shock and pent up demand. Arguing about inflation while the ports are still clogged seems extremely short sighted to me; of course prices rise when supply is stuck in a container in LA! Once the supply chains clear up, then we can decide what, if any level of inflation we're seeing. Until that point in time, I will view any doomer narrative about inflation and the proposed solutions for it with extreme skepticism, especially when the proposed solution is convenient for capital and hard on labor.