Inflation in the sense that money is losing purchasing power, is always happening. It often doesn't perfectly reflect in consumer prices because business are ho

Inflation in the sense that money is losing purchasing power, is always happening. It often doesn't perfectly reflect in consumer prices because business are hopefully becoming more efficient at some rate. Exactly. This article is about consumer prices, and yet this discussion became about inflation. Even I conflated the two. I should have said "perceived inflation" or just "prices". Regardless, we're saying the same thing. As I illustrated with my own example from my business, I'm raising prices right now because: 1. I need to: all my vendors are raising their prices and I need to pay my employees more. 2. I am able to do so without consequences. My clients are all raising their prices too, in order to cover rising costs from their vendors (including me) and employees. I'm perfectly willing to concede that inflation's always been happening (I'm not much of an economist) but that it took COVID to bring about a chain reaction of price increases that ordinary folks experience as "inflation".