Last year, inflation was running at under 5%. There was no fuel crisis, and no food crisis, spurred on by the war in Ukraine. Covid was widely believed to be

Last year, inflation was running at under 5%. There was no fuel crisis, and no food crisis, spurred on by the war in Ukraine. Covid was widely believed to be going away a bit quicker than has quite turned out to be the case. Should we have locked down the economy in 2020, which really is why massive monetary stimulus was needed? Perhaps not. But that wasn't the Fed's decision; they were reacting to the fact that it was done (by politicians). Should we have neglected to use this fresh money to prop up an infrastructure bill, to grow our way out of inflation? Probably not, but that boils down to Congress doing what it does best; failing to competently govern the nation (this isn't a partisan statement; compromise wasn't achieved either cross aisle or even intra-party). And should we be propping up the Ukrainian resistance amid the invasion? Well, that's complicated -- we probably shouldn't have backed the Orange Revolution or Maidan Revolution in the first place, but asking the US not to engage in regime change is like asking a baby not to fill its diapers. In any case, the actions taken there have led to the fuel, fertilizer, and food crises we're not facing. None of this was caused by the Fed. The Fed, however, is on the hook for attempting to navigate the currency through this $#!+storm they've been handed. Have they done it perfectly? No, I won't try to argue that. But have they done it adequately given what they have to work with? Personally, I'm inclined to say yes, but that's up to you. I'd just argue strongly that looking at things as if the Fed has been behind the chaos we're looking at now would be entirely unfair, and would be letting a lot of filthy politicians off the hook in the process.