A high cost to stop inflation: sinking the economy and triggering unemployment

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Our government’s plan to defeat inflation and drive down prices is to hurt our healthy economy and cost approximately one million Americans their jobs.

Are there any volunteers willing to take one for the team and go without income for a while so the rest of us can get a better deal on a dozen eggs?

Monetary policy can be confusing. It’s the whole strategy of breaking something to fix it. When you sum it up, the plan sounds pretty bad, but then add in: 1) a possible recession which 2) could lead to even higher unemployment and 3) the risk of having to rebuild our economy – and you might start to wonder, is the best idea we have?

Even more worrying: after Wednesday last hikethe Federal Reserve has raised interest rates by almost four percentage points so far this year, with more to come, and there is little evidence so far that the plan is even working.

Here is where we are now and where the Fed is trying to steer the economy.

For those of you who like to stir up a little economic conversation with your evening cocktail, here are the numbers that stubbornly resist the The Fed’s current monetary tightening:

Consumer price index: The primary measure of inflation, the CPI, is not a number the Fed actively tracks, but just about everyone does. This is a survey of consumer prices, including food, housing, services, commodities, medical care and energy. The all-items index saw prices rise 8.2% for the 12 months to September, down only gradually from 8.3% in August. For context, inflation has hovered between 2% and 3% – or fallen much lower – for most of the past 30 years. Obviously a long way to go to get back to the historical norm.

Consumer Personal Expenditure Survey: Rather than tracking consumer prices, the PCE measures actual spending. In September, spending rose 6.2% from a year ago, due to higher prices. The Fed wants annual consumer spending to grow by about 2%. Again, not even close.

Gross domestic product: It is a measure of the value created nationally through the production of goods and services. It will be a negative number if the economy slumps into recession. But after shrinking in the second quarter, GDP grew in the third quarter at an annual rate of 2.6%. The Fed also likes that figure close to 2%.

Unemployment rate: The Fed expects the jobless rate to hit a range of 4-4.5% as the economy cools. The unemployment rate rose slightly to 3.7% in October, but the country created 261,000 jobs, more than expected.

The numbers will spin. Ultimately. There is no doubt that you can defeat the economy with ever-increasing interest rates, resulting in the loss of a million people or more.

But what about the price that the most financially fragile among us will pay? Maybe we can help do something about it. It’s time to remember those pre-flight instructions you started following a long time ago: put on your oxygen mask first, then help others. Here’s how you can do it.

• Make sure your financial house is firmly anchored. You have plenty of savings, meager debts, and you crush them at work — and you make sure the important people you work for notice your worth.

• Then help everyone you can. Donate to food banks, provide winter clothing to those who need it most, and save space in your holiday gift budget to pay it forward.

• And surprise others with kindness. Do not harden your heart in difficult times. Smiles are rare these days.

This Billion Dollar Powerball Jackpot this week certainly caught our attention, didn’t it? But can you imagine someone making even a few million dollars – and not cashing out? It happens more than you think.

Last month, someone in Mesa, Arizona, missed the six-month expiration date without redeeming a winning $4.3 million ticket. There were reportedly unclaimed lottery tickets between $50 million and $70 million. Expect. What was that important thing I forgot to do?

Hey, if you buy a ticket that could be worth a billion dollars, at least set the alarm on your phone to remind you to check the winning numbers so you can actually go collect the money.

Finally, some advice on save money when shopping: Make sure the discounts you see advertised on the shelf make it to the payline.

A recent audit of Dollar General stores in Butler County, Ohio found checkout prices with double-digit errors. Off-the-shelf prices were often overcharged at the register, according to a lawsuit filed by the Ohio attorney general. In this case, the error rate among the 20 stores in the county reached 88%.

Incorrect pricing was especially common when shoppers purchased two or more items at a discount.