Prices rose 2.6% between October 2023 and the same month in 2024, an unremarkable figure.
Yet, inflation seems to be on everyone’s minds.
This month, higher prices helped deliver the presidency from the Democrats to Donald Trump. A CBS News Election Day poll showed three-quarters of voters considered inflation a hardship.
“I think that cumulative inflation is the main reason people were annoyed, going into this election,” said Ryan Bourne, an economist at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank.
The emphasis here is on “cumulative.” Inflation has eased, but prices are likely higher for good: about 21.4% higher since February 2020, according to an analysis by the personal finance site Bankrate.
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To supermarket shoppers paying nearly $2 more for a dozen eggs compared to the start of 2020, Bourne and others said, it might not matter what the inflation rate is now.
Here, then, are some basic facts about inflation, the pandemic-era inflation crisis, and who, if anyone, deserves blame.
What is inflation?
Simply put, inflation means rising prices.
In more nuanced terms, inflation is the rate that prices increase over a period of time, typically measured by the month or year.
American consumers experience inflation when they lose purchasing power because of rising prices.
Inflation is almost always with us, because prices usually rise. “High” inflation means prices are…
