Some commentators argue that the US needs a recession to bring inflation down. That thinking hinges on a simplistic model of the economy and a refusal to see Covid and the war in Ukraine as important sources of inflation now. The stakes are too high to rely on such a questionable approach.
Yes, inflation is a hardship, and it hits those with the least the hardest. Among American families in the bottom 20 per cent by income, almost 60 per cent of their spending is on food, gasoline and housing. That’s a far bigger fraction than among high income families.
The prices of these necessities have risen rapidly since the pandemic began. As a result, the lowest income families, on average, spend more than $300 a month extra to buy the same amount of these necessities.