What you need to know now about inflation

The last time we took a longer look at inflation, economists were still trying to figure out if rising prices would be temporary or whether they’d be sticking around for a while. Well, inflation is here. It’s now at a 40-year high, and the Federal Reserve is getting ready to raise interest rates to curb demand and — in theory — prices. So what now? “Service sector inflation, it’s looming,” said Betsey Stevenson, a professor of public policy and economics at the University of Michigan and member of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Barack Obama. Stevenson said while inflation in the goods sector will likely work itself out, what scares her the most is inflation in the service sector of the economy, an area where prices haven’t risen that much. On today’s show, we’ll talk about what’s driving inflation, the long-term effects it could have on our economy and what policymakers can do to get it under control. In the News Fix, we’ll talk about what inflation looks like in the rental market and why former President Donald Trump continues to have a grip on the Republican Party. Then, we’ll hear from listeners about the metaverse, tips on where to use the loo when you’re road tripping across America and an answer to the Make Me Smart question that puts a really fine point on our look at inflation and the supply chain. Here’s everything we talked about today: “CPI December 2021: Inflation Jumped at Fastest Pace Since 1982″ from The New York Times “What should the White House do to combat inflation? Experts weighed in with 12 ideas.” from The Washington Post “AOC: Corporate ‘price gouging’ is fueling inflation” from Yahoo News “How Trump’s political groups are spending their huge cash haul” from Politico “Trump Had Role in Weighing Proposals to Seize Voting Machines” from The New York Times “Rent Inflation Shows That Landlords Have the Upper Hand Again” from Bloomberg “Tesla agrees to fix ‘rolling stop’ feature over safety concerns” from The Financial Times