Are We in a Perfect Inflation Storm?

• Dec 28, 2021
• By Douglas Brown

If there was a ranking of economic buzzwords for 2021, the term ?transitory? would have to be near the top of the list. This word has been used over and over by Fed Chair Jerome Powell and his colleagues to describe inflation pressures emerging from the reopening of the global economy. However, inflation rates, even after excluding food and energy prices, have remained stubbornly elevated near multi-decade highs, making inflation a hot topic in mainstream media and politics. The latter has shined an even brighter light on Powell, who was at the same time vying for a second term as Fed chair. Competing with Powell for the top job was Fed Governor Lael Brainard, who was generally perceived to be more dovish of the two (a very relative comparison). Given the heightened public focus on rising...

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