>a fairly normal 12% over three years That's roughly double the Fed target rate — annualized 3.8%, which would be the highest any year save 2008, which was its

>a fairly normal 12% over three years That's roughly double the Fed target rate — annualized 3.8%, which would be the highest any year save 2008, which was itself an anomaly due to the GFC. The last time inflation exceeded 3.5%, save 2008, was in 1991. So 12% in three years is in no sense normal (for the USA). The inflation is real, and it's serious. It's actually produced a reduction in real wages [1] despite much excitement about workers' bargaining power. Progressives complaining about the Fed (which is finally reacting reasonably) seem to be missing that preventing a wage–price spiral is not the same thing as union-busting. 1: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/realer.nr0.htm https://www.bls.gov/news.release/realer.nr0.htm