As of this article’s writing, inflation is 8.2%, imposing an unavoidable tax on all Americans. A tragedy of this is that this inflation could have easily been avoided.

Suppose a President of the United States proposed raising taxes on everyone, rich and poor, by 8.5%. And suppose this would not be a one-time 8.5% tax increase; taxes would be increased by 8.5% every single year.

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) was included in the 1975 Energy Policy and Conservation Act and intended to hold up to 700 million barrels of oil in the event of an emergency. The SPR was created following the 1973 Middle East Oil Embargo, when the price of crude oil tripled over six months, leading to a severe economic recession. The SPR is supposed to buffer against such disruptions that might otherwise lead to an economic or national security emergency.

Hopefully by the time this is published, the war will be over and peace will prevail in Eastern Europe. At the time of this column’s writing, the conflict is escalating. In addition to the horrific humanitarian crisis, the war threatens substantial harm to the U.S. economy.

The “Humphrey-Hawkins Full Employment Act” named after Senator Hubert Humphrey and Representative Augustus Hawkins, was signed into law on October 27, 1978. It charges the Federal Reserve to pursue monetary policy to promote low rates of unemployment and inflation. This is the Federal Reserve’s so-called “dual mandate.”

Labor market shortages do not appear to be improving and in fact, might be getting worse. Labor force participation, defined as the percentage of the population either working or actively looking for work, is at a 44-year low. Only half of the decline in labor force participation experienced during the 2020 shutdown has been recovered. The labor market situation appeared to be deteriorating at the end of 2021, as well as into 2022.

If the 2021 economy could be summarized in one word, I would say it is “disappointing.” Vaccine development and deployment has far exceeded expectations since the pandemic began; anyone who wants a vaccine can get one! The economic recovery in the face of this, however, is far below expectations.

In October, inflation was running at 6.2%, which is three times higher than its 25-year average. How does it get back to 2%, like it was pre-COVID?

In the March 2019 issue of My City Magazine, I discussed the debt ceiling and the government shutdown that spanned December 22, 2018 to January 2019. Now, less than three years later, we face the prospect of another shutdown. The national debt ceiling was recently increased by approximately $450 billion, which prevented a shutdown in October. However, given the sheer amount of borrowing by the federal government, this only kicks the can down the road for another month.

Inflation is a concern. Consumer prices increased by nearly 6% between June and July, on an annualized basis. This means that if prices continued to increase at this rate for a year, then prices would be 6% higher by the end of the year. This is triple the average annual rate of inflation over the last 25 years!

The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) recently announced an extension to the eviction moratorium purportedly to slow the spread of COVID-19. This moratorium cannot be justified on economic grounds and is likely to harm the housing market.

Job openings are everywhere. One cannot drive down a street without seeing “Help Wanted” signs in front of most businesses. Anyone who goes to a bar, restaurant or other commercial establishment is likely to encounter slow, short-staffed service.