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Showing posts with label Economy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Economy. Show all posts

Sunday, November 10, 2024

Bringing down inflation

Managing the national economy is complicated and I don't pretend to understand it. All I know is that practically the entire world suffered from inflation during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Various governments have struggled to get inflation under control and some have been more successful that others. For example, here's what the inflation rate for the USA looks like over the past five years. The current inflation rate is about 2.4%.

I just heard a couple of Republican pundits claim that one of the priorities of the new Trump administration is to bring down inflation. Does anyone know what their goal is? Are they aiming at a zero inflation rate or just something below 2.4%? Can someone explain, in simple language, what policies the new administration will use to bring down inflation? Does the general public think that the Trump administration will actually lower the cost of goods by creating a negative inflation rate?

We have a similar situation in Canada. Here's the inflation rate over the past ten years. The current inflation rate is 1.6% (September 2024).

The Canadian opposition parties are blaming the current government for inflation and they are promising to do better. Does anyone in Canada know what their inflation rate goals are and how they hope to achieve them?

Let's assume, for the sake of argument, that my questions are merely rhetorical questions and I actually know the answers. Let's assume that the opposition parties in Canada and the United States (and elsewhere) know full well that current governments have been quite successful at combating inflation. Those opposition parties are deliberately misleading the public by claiming that they would have done better and they will bring down inflation if they are elected. Is is possible to create a society where this kind of rhetoric is not acceptable? Is it possible to create a society where the public is so well educated that opposition parties cannot get away with spreading misinformation?

Or are we doomed to be controlled by an electorate that is incapable of distinguishing between truth and reality?