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In an economic recovery, why are we only talking about inflation?

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The latest jobs report shows that the U.S. economy continues its rapid recovery from the pandemic crisis. Employers added 428,000 new jobs in April, continuing a now-year-long streak of similarly strong job growth. After surging to a post-World War II high of 14.7% in 2020, unemployment is now down to 3.6%, the lowest level in 50 years.

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When I talk to business groups these days, the most commonly asked question is, "Are we headed for stagflation?" At the beginning of 1979, the United States already had 9 percent annual inflation; the surge in oil prices after the Iranian revolution sent inflation well into double digits. The Federal Reserve, under Paul Volcker, responded with drastically tighter…

Pay rate is the top factor U.S. wage earners look for when seeking a job, according to the nearly 19,500 wage earners who took part in the 16 th annual Voice of the Blue-Collar Worker survey. “Hourly workers are absolutely essential to the U.S. economy, yet often their perspectives are not heard or understood,” added Ms. Canfield.“ EmployBridge launched the annual…

The Federal Reserve is currently attempting to rein in the highest inflation since the 1970 s without tipping the U.S. economy into recession. In a new book, "21st Century Monetary Policy: The Federal Reserve from the Great Inflation to COVID-19," Bernanke explores the Fed's recent history, one "defined by remarkable innovation and change." On January 29, 2020, Jay…
The Fed is set to raise interest rates again this summer. At what cost?

But the coronavirus pandemic and its economic impact – the overnight pullback in employment coupled with an infusion of money not seen in history and now, seemingly, runaway inflation – have had Bernanke thinking. And writing.

To combat the hot housing market, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates. The National Association of Realtors expects home sales to drop 9% during 2022 compared to 2021 because of rising interest rates. The average 30- year-fixed home loan rate is now 5.37%, up more than 2 percentage points since the year began, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

That's how the affordable housing community looks at the Federal Reserve's decision to finally increase lending rates. The Fed should have done this years ago. The Fed was guided by a belief that growth in the investment community would trickle down into other areas of the economy, but no such trickling occurred.

Last month, President Biden proposed fixing the so-called "family glitch," a quirk in Obamacare's text that has prevented millions of people from purchasing subsidized coverage through the exchanges. It's only the latest attempt to gift more people taxpayer-sponsored health coverage. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, this could make an additional…

John Barrasso, R- Wyoming, issued the following news release:. U.S. Senators John Barrasso and Sherrod Brown introduced bipartisan legislation to expedite the payment of Social Security Disability Insurance benefits to individuals with terminal illnesses by eliminating the five-month waiting period. In addition to Barrasso and Brown, the bill is…

-The Federal Reserve raised its baseline interest rate range Wednesday by two times the size of a usual rate hike as the central bank sprints to get ahead of rising inflation. The Federal Open Market Committee, the panel of Fed officials in charge of monetary policy, boosted interest rates by 0.5 percentage points to a target range of 0.75 to 1 percent.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.

The Federal Reserve is about to deliver its biggest punch yet in the fight against surging inflation. Policymakers start a two-day meeting on Tuesday, and they are widely expected to raise interest rates by half a percentage point— the largest rate hike in more than two decades.
The Fed is set to raise interest rates again this summer. At what cost?

The Federal Reserve is poised this week to accelerate its most drastic steps in three decades to attack inflation by making it costlier to borrow- for a car, a home, a business deal, a credit card purchase- all of which will compound Americans’ financial strains and likely weaken the economy.

One of the primary provisions in the bill is the expansion of Roth 401 features. Why is Congress so enamored with Roth savings features? If Congress wants you to use Roth accounts and pay taxes now, should you?

The Federal Reserve is widely expected to take a big step this week on its“ expeditious march” to get its key interest rate back to a more normal level. Two weeks ago, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President and CEO Mary Daly used that word— expeditious— in describing her itinerary for ending the Fed’ s very accommodative interest rate policy it instituted in…