This article is reprinted by permission from NerdWallet. The investing information provided on this page is for educational purposes only. NerdWallet does not offer advisory or brokerage services, nor does it recommend or advise investors to buy or sell particular stocks, securities or other investments. Our government’s plan to beat inflation and lower prices is to damage our healthy economy and have somewhere around one million Americans lose their jobs.
Any volunteers out there willing to take one for the team and go without an income for a while so that the rest of us can get a better deal on a dozen eggs? No? Didn’t think so. Monetary policy can be baffling. It’s the whole break-something-to-fix-it strategy. When you boil it down, the plan sounds bad enough, but then add in: 1) A possible recession that 2) could lead to even higher unemployment and 3) the risk of having to rebuild our economy — and you might begin to wonder, is this the best idea we’ve got? Even more concerning: Following the latest hike Nov. 2, the Federal Reserve has increased interest rates by nearly four percentage points so far this year, with more to come, and there’s little evidence so far that the plan is even working. Here’s where we currently stand and where the Fed is attempting to steer the economy.The numbers are stubborn For those of you who like to stir in a little economic chat with your evening cocktail, here are the numbers stubbornly resisting the Fed’s current tight money squeeze: Consumer price index: The primary measure of inflation, the CPI, is not a number that the Fed actively tracks, but just about everyone else does. It is a survey of consumer prices, including food, shelter, services, commodities, medical care and energy. The all-items index saw prices increase by 8.2% for the 12 months ending in September, down only incrementally from 8.3% in August. …