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we may be near the end of rate hikes. Did you hear Powell’s remarks? The labor market is still overly tight. And, we’re a long way from 2% inflation.

• no_wizard 4y ago
  The paradox here for me is...isn't that fine? Having a tight labor market isn't per se bad. I don't buy that higher employment makes all prices higher by such a significant margin that we will see 8% YOY inflation as a result. As with most thing, there is so much nuance that drives inflation. For instance, global supply chains are still disrupted or slowed across major industries. I think supply has way more to do with this, and "cutting demand" is like putting a band aid on a arterial wound. People are still going to bleed. It feels like it puts the political & economic power back into business interest hands read more cynically, since the only gains labor has made in the last 2 years is due to said labor market tightening, even though labor is one of multiple factors in increased prices in the same period. There's no "mix" policy here. I imagine some demand reduction is needed (if things are overheated like housing was in the past, for instance), but there is 0 acknowledgement that supply side issues will just simply continue to exist even when demand is lower because they still can't get raw material fast enough, and nobody is really doing anything about it.
  • JumpCrisscross 4y ago
    > a tight labor market isn't per se bad Everyone agrees on this. But the tight labor market doesn't exist per se. It exists with raging inflation. That turns the labor market's tightness into a policy enhancer for the Fed, since it has more room to maneuver.
• UncleMeat 4y ago
  The last four months have had a combined annualized CPI-U of 3%. Not too far from 2%.
  • deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]