Guys, Chris Hayes just compared inflation to “the moment a big concert or playoff game ends and everyone’s trying to get out of the parking lot”:
The entire economy feels a bit like the moment a big concert or playoff game ends and everyone's trying to get out of the parking lot. "Transitory" can last a maddeningly long time, but the conditions that produce it are, indeed, temporary not strucural.
— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) November 10, 2021
Maybe Chris can explain at what point transitory inflation that lasts a “maddeningly long time” is no longer a concern, because, Dems have lost the most important member of the caucus on it:
By all accounts, the threat posed by record inflation to the American people is not “transitory” and is instead getting worse. From the grocery store to the gas pump, Americans know the inflation tax is real and DC can no longer ignore the economic pain Americans feel every day.
— Senator Joe Manchin (@Sen_JoeManchin) November 10, 2021
At least Manchin is pushing back on the idea that the only way to fight inflation is to print more money, or, in Chris’s case, add more people to the stadium or venue:
Doesn't feel like the kind of situation you would want to add another 3.5 trillion people. https://t.co/mn8b9V7QHr
— David Harsanyi (@davidharsanyi) November 10, 2021
And transitory inflation, if it is that, is bad:
There are two problems here:
1. If the Fed does nothing, people might conclude the Fed doesn't care about inflation, leading to a spiral
2. Even transitory inflation can eat up the wage gains of what would otherwise be a golden era for workers https://t.co/jSObkMiusv
— Noah Smith 🐇 (@Noahpinion) November 10, 2021
And nobody knows when it will end:
No one really knows how this is going to end.
The "concensus" is inflation will be very high through the winter and spring. Then start to moderate.
But if Fed, WH & Wall Street are wrong, it will get messy. And Fed will have to act (i.e. raise interest rates) in 2022.
— Heather Long (@byHeatherLong) November 10, 2021
Hang in there, everyone! The traffic jam will ease . . . one day:
Inflation is high right now (6.2% is highest in 31 years).
Overall, wage growth is NOT keeping up with inflation. Many American workers are worse off. (Chart 1)
*BUT* there are some parts of the economy -like hospitality – where wages ARE growing faster than inflation (Chart 2) pic.twitter.com/mV8ncIlAdK
— Heather Long (@byHeatherLong) November 10, 2021
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