the inflation rate in late 1980 was around 14% and had been in the sustained double-digits for two years. the fed’s prime rate at the end of 1980 was 21.5% and was in the double digits for 7 years. i was an adult during this entire period and while it was unpleasant the most destabilizing aspect of it was that it allowed ronald reagan to become president, one of the most evil and incompetent men to hold the office in recent memory.
the current inflation rate is a minor blip with many causes, most related to the pandemic. it is not something i would spend more than five minutes worrying about and it is certainly not in any way biden’s fault except in the sense that he had the misfortune to follow donald trump, a man who made reagan look like a paragon of virtue and competence by comparison, in office. by the same token, i am even less concerned by the notion of the fed raising their prime rate to 1% in quarter point increments over the course of the next year. any intelligent economist and/or statistician who has any knowledge of history would probably be even more sanguine than i am.
on the other hand, such a professional will probably not be allowed anywhere near a camera at fox except as part of a shouting heads 6-pack so there is that.
edited to note that this is at least tangential to the topic and possibly off-topic so if this becomes a distraction i might feel the need to split this off into its own topic or some other leader might do so if it happens after i leave the keyboard.
