About this: "When price inflation occurs, it can be a very challenging time for everyone. In that type of environment, prices of goods and services often go up

About this: "When price inflation occurs, it can be a very challenging time for everyone. In that type of environment, prices of goods and services often go up faster than wages, and the public and policymakers wish to constrain them." Wages in the USA went up faster than inflation during the period 1893-1973, despite two long upwards trends in inflation, 1893-1920 and 1938-1973. Likewise, wages rose faster than inflation for most of the 1800s, though the 1800s didn't see many long-term inflationary trends. When you read an article like this one, it is worth remembering that the era 1973-1995, when inflation rose much faster than wages, is unique in USA history. Also, inflation rose faster than wages for most of the period from 2000-2015, even though this was an era of low inflation. So, when someone says high inflation will outrace the increase in wages, they are really just talking about 1973-1995. I've read many different theories about why the era 1973-1995 was so bad, and I don't think there is a definite answer, but there is wide agreement that two of the big contributing factors then were deindustrialization and the collapse of the labor unions. It seems unlikely that anything like deindustrialization is going to repeat itself now, as the USA has already lost all of the jobs that compete directly with low wage export industries.