January’s Rise of the Consumer Price Index (CPI)

by Erik Randolph | Feb 10, 2022

January’s Rise of the Consumer Price Index (CPI)

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that

the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.6% in January

Today, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that in January the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis. The CPI is up 7.5% over the last 12 months, not seasonally adjusted. That is the highest 12-month rate since February 1982, just prior to when the stagflation of the 1970s was finally defeated.

The Georgia Center for Opportunity’s (GCO) take: “Our nation’s recent bout of severe inflation continued in January and doesn’t show signs of easing anytime soon,” said Erik Randolph, GCO’s director of research. “The rate once again exceeded consensus estimates from economic experts. Alarmingly, there seems to be a major disconnect between politicians and insider pundits over how impactful inflation is for the average American. They say we should be thankful for rising wages, but Americans are still net losers in this highly inflationary environment. When you can’t find a decent used car, your energy bills are spiking, and your grocery bills might have doubled in one year’s time, minimal wage gains are little solace.

“The monthly inflation rate for January is unsettling: 0.8% prior to being seasonally adjusted. When annualized, it’s double digits inflation (10.6%). If it were a fluke, that would be one thing. But this is the fifth time this has happened over the last ten months. This is not unpredicted. We’ve been saying since the beginning—along with many economists—that the actions taken by the federal government because the pandemic would lead to inflation.”

State Unemployment December 2021 Statistics

by Erik Randolph | Jan 25, 2022

State Unemployment December 2021 Statistics

Today, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced state unemployment numbers from December 2021.

The results put Georgia as 6th best in the nation for jobs recovered since the beginning of the pandemic. Utah, Idaho, Texas, and Arizona lead the pack, with Utah the run-away leader in labor force recovery.

The Georgia Center for Opportunity’s (GCO) take: “An important factor aggravating the wide disparity among the states in the jobs recovery is out-migration. Many workers—and businesses who are taking jobs with them—are voting with their feet by moving out of states that imposed more severe COVID-19 shutdown measures compared to states that were less severe, including Georgia,” said Erik Randolph, GCO’s director of research.

For more, read Randolph’s research report on the economic impact of the pandemic shutdowns.

Could inflation be a persistent problem for the foreseeable future?

by Erik Randolph | Jan 12, 2022

Could inflation be a persistent problem for the foreseeable future?

The CPI is up over 7% over last 12 months

Today, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that in December the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.5% on a seasonally adjusted basis. The CPI is up 7% over the last 12 months, not seasonally adjusted. That is the largest 12-month increase since 1982.

Georgia Center for Opportunity’s take:

“Pundits are breathing a sigh of relief after the latest CPI numbers landed because they weren’t worse than expected, but optimism may be misplaced,” said Erik Randolph, GCO’s director of research. “The problem is that we’ve established a new floor for prices that likely won’t go down in the coming years. Those impacts are most acutely felt in the areas that hit the pocketbooks of the lower income the hardest, such as food, rent, and energy. Now, it’s more important than ever to avoid pumping more stimulus into the economy that will only worsen the problem. Doing so could make inflation a year-in, year-out persistent problem for the foreseeable future.”

Inflation’s Growing Problem: A warning shot for Congress

by Erik Randolph | Aug 16, 2021

Inflation’s Growing Problem: A warning shot for Congress

The inflation rate in July—as measured by the seasonally-adjusted Consumer Price Index (CPI)—abated somewhat from June’s rate, increasing at 0.5% instead of 0.9%. But don’t cheer too much yet.

This is known by economists as disinflation, not deflation. The rate came down, but prices are still continuing to climb.

Annualized, the monthly inflation rates calculate to 5.8% for July and 11.4% for June. Both rates continue to exceed the Federal Reserve’s target of 2% annual inflation. Of course, as I discussed in this blog, the Fed’s 2% target rate is too high and compromises Congress’s original goal of promoting purchasing power that would benefit everyone.

Prices are Ratcheting Upwards

When the CPI inflation rate is viewed by its increase from the same month of the prior year, the trend is not good.

Although the increase over the prior year held steady for July, prices were also increasing last year. That is, prices are still 5.3% higher than a year ago when prices were also increasing. The problem is compounding, and prices are ratcheting upwards.

Perhaps not surprisingly but definitely unfortunately, the Fed’s economists appear to have been caught off guard. When Fed Chairman Jerome Powell testified before Congress last month, he admitted as much as inflation has spiked higher than they anticipated. However, he still maintained that the inflation is based on temporary factors that will abate with time.

Mr. Powell’s comments may have been just for the inflation rate, and he may be overly optimistic. In the meantime, we must brace ourselves for an increase in the price level.

To think that the price level may come down is probably unrealistic. That has not happened ever since we gave the Fed the responsibility to maintain purchasing power in 1946 that was dumbed down in 1978 to the weaker goal of “reasonable price stability.” Of course, this policy change happened during the complete failure of federal policymakers in both the Fed and Congress when the nation was suffering from double-digit inflation combined with stagnant economic growth.

Why does promoting purchasing power matter?

Inflation hurts practically everyone. If your wages do not keep up, your purchasing power is eroding.

This is truest for those in poverty, low-income families, and low-skilled labor. They will slip further behind, making income disparity worse and possibly causing Congress and state governments to spend more on safety-net programs that will only fuel inflation higher when Congress funds the increases with even more debt.

Businesses—who need predictability to make good entrepreneurial decisions—generally will also suffer, slowing down economic activity.

Workers will have a harder time keeping up with rising prices and will demand higher wages, only fueling inflation further.

More Cautious Approach to Government Spending is Needed

A likely major cause of the climbing price level is all the governmental debt-based spending to address the pandemic. Further debt-based spending will not ameliorate the problem but exacerbate it.

Congress needs to exercise more restraint and caution now as it considers the expansive spending bills that appear likely to pass. It is very likely that they are setting up the nation for unpleasant economic times, hurting the poorest among us the worst. The growth in the Consumer Price Index is an omen for Congress to take a step back and trim those bills.

Promote Purchasing Power—Not the Minimum Wage

by Erik Randolph | Jul 13, 2021

Promote Purchasing Power—Not the Minimum Wage

How to help working families the most

During a focus group session on working class families we recently conducted at the Georgia Center for Opportunity, Jazmine* made an observation more perceptive than most experts.

Our focus group consisted of working-class African-Americans who did not have a college degree and who were not employed in a managerial position nor on track to become a manager.

Knowing financial stress up close, Jazmine essentially said that either the minimum wage should be increased or the cost of living should be lowered.

Her observation is a perfect segue from my prior blogs on:

the empirical economic evidence against the minimum wage,
why the minimum wage is bad news for small business and the overall economy, and
alternative strategies to the minimum wage that help everyone, instead of just some workers at the expense of others.

The Success Sequence provides an outline of how to reverse the cycle of poverty in our communities. GCO uses this as a framework for much of our work.

Promoting Purchasing Power

The Employment Act of 1946 declared it is the policy and responsibility of the federal government to:

“promote maximum employment, production, and purchasing power.”

Promoting purchasing power means lowering the cost of living, as Jazmine suggested.

Solidified in the 1951 Accord with the Treasury Department, the responsibility ultimately fell to the Federal Reserve to conduct monetary policy as we know it today.

How well has the Fed done with promoting purchasing power? Horribly, quite frankly.

Since 1951, prices have increased 3.4% annually on average, as measured by the geometric mean. In other words, the price level was tenfold higher in 2020 than in 1951. Prices doubled each generation.

It is widely accepted that the poor suffer most from inflation because they spend a higher portion of their income on necessities, and their income growth typically lags others.

For example, according to the most recent mid-year consumer expenditure report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, consumers in the lowest income quintile spend 82.2 percent of their income on housing, transportation, food, and healthcare, compared to 64.4 percent for the highest quintile. A five percent inflation rate would cost those in the lowest quintile an additional $1,156 for these items on a budget that is already tight, averaging $28,141. A 10% inflation rate would double those costs to $2,312.

Worse, those in the lowest quintile are unable to save for their future, and inflation erodes away the value of the little savings they do have. Consider that on average, those in the lowest quintile purchased only $563 in personal insurance or toward their pensions, compared to $19,736 for those in the highest quintile. This disparity guarantees the poor will be inadequately prepared for retirement or unforeseen loss or tragedy.

Prior to the federal government taking on the responsibility of promoting purchasing power, prices not only remained fairly stable but actually decreased during times of relative peace. Typically, they only increased dramatically during times of war.

This pattern can be seen visually in the accompanying chart using the Consumer Price Index and related data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. For example, the price level increased 24% due to the War of 1812 but then deflated 57% over 47 years until the start of the Civil War, even after accounting for a slight bump up due to the Mexican War.

The pattern was similar for the remainder of the century. Prices increased 74% during the Civil War but then deflated 47% to its pre-Civil War level until the start of the 20th Century.* Although the price level rose somewhat during the progressive era, it was still 30% lower at the start of World War I than at the close of the Civil War.

America’s inflationary policy

Unfortunately, a 1978 law changed promoting purchasing power to become the lame “reasonable price stability,” which is not the same thing.

Over the years, the Fed has allowed inflation as a matter of policy. In 2012, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke explicitly stated for the first time an inflation target of 2% per year. If the Fed can somehow hold to this target, which it has not been able to do historically, it equates to doubling the price level every 35 years. Last August, it backed away from this policy. Because of all the pandemic spending and monetary expansions, the Fed approved a policy to allow inflation to rise “modestly” above its 2% target.

It is not just the Fed that has shied away from promoting purchasing power. In 1978, and in the midst of the stagflation years, Congress legislated the modest goal that inflation should be 3% or less, but the target rate was supposed to come down to zero percent by 1988 unless it might have impeded employment.

The Fed is not alone to blame for the inability of the federal government to control inflation. Congress’s lack of fiscal discipline resulting in soaring budget deficits place the Fed in a tenuous position to keep interest rates low so federal debt service costs also remain low. Furthermore, recent Fed direct purchases of Treasury debt because of all that federal spending adds to the money supply, eroding—not promoting—purchasing power.

How Congress can better help the average working family

If economics has any immutable law, it must be that you can’t get something out of nothing. This explains why the Consumer Price Index increased 5.4% since last year, as announced today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And the rate of increase appears to be accelerating. The monthly rate was 0.6% in May but 0.9% in June. If this June inflation rate persists, and hopefully it does not, we will have double digit inflation. A 0.9% monthly rate equates to an 11.4 % annual rate.

Considering all the recent deficit spending by Congress and expansionary policies by the Fed, expect more of the same, or worse. In fact, according to a survey of economists in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal, “Americans should brace themselves” because economists are waking up to the prospect of higher inflation, expecting “brisk price increases for a while.”

Economic history indicates deflation should be the norm. In fact, innovation spawns increased productivity that allows prices to fall, which should show up as deflation. We have the opposite: productivity gains with inflation. This outcome places the blame squarely on monetary and fiscal policy.

In the meantime, Jazmine and other hard working Americans struggle to keep up with rising prices. Instead of pushing for increases in the minimum wage that help some at the expense of others, Congress needs to renew our nation’s purchasing power policy and get its fiscal house in order.

*Jazmine’s last name withheld for confidentiality.

*This is not intuitive. It takes a smaller percent decrease to offset a percent increase, such as a 43% reduction will offset a 74% increase. For example, suppose you receive a 20 percent pay raise this week, but next week you receive a 20 percent pay cut. Are you back where you started? The answer is no; you are worse off. If your weekly pay was $100, the increase took you to $120, but then your pay cut took you to $96, even lower than your starting point.

Erik Randolph is the Director of Research at the Georgia Center for Opportunity.