Runaway inflation in the American economy has turned, predictably, into a wild combination of inflation and deflation, austerity and shortages, and the launching of mass layoffs by the largest companies and banks. This is not yet industrial collapse as in Europe, but a serious economic plunge is ahead. The culprit is still Federal Reserve’s money and rate policy, which is aimed at Wall Street/City of London subjugation of Global South economies, preserving the dollar’s global role, and attacking China’s economy.
There is stock market hysteria over the fact that CPI in October was “only” 7.7% for a year and 0.4% for a month. That was enough to keep average weekly real earnings 3.7% lower than in October 2021. The rate of inflation of costs for “shelter"—now driven by rents—continued to accelerate even as home prices have begun falling. The costs of credit have spiked to 24% average for credit cards and 7.1% average for mortgages. The prices of used cars dropped sharply while the interest rates on loans for used cars rose to an average 11.9%! Household electricity bills have risen by 14.7% on average from a year earlier, and 20 million (17% of all) households are behind on their electric bills. More than 35% of small businesses couldn’t pay their rent in full in October. Gasoline prices have fallen steadily but diesel fuel and heating oil prices have skyrocketed in the past month and are up 68% in a year. Transportation costs overall are 15.2% higher than a year earlier. Food inflation is still 10.9% year on year. The biggest food inflation is in egg prices, while prices of chickens have dropped.
