I'd blame inflation on the amount of money we printed during covid.
In fairness this started under Trump.
True, the first round as those in power fleeced though world for their spoils. However, the countless other stimulus packages, handouts, sending money to other countries and stupid programs is definitely on them. Trillions extra...a trillion for everyone!!! We can just print it, no problem!
Meh.
I think you're looking at the wrong spot.
Here, we had a large well of saved money (the oil fund) that we used for the pandemic. So we didn't need to "print money". We still have inflation and our central banks raised interest rates a fair bit.
We also have a ton of oil.
Which means we're making a ton of money back from oil sales right now.
Which stupid programs? Also, didn't Trump do most of the stimulus money handouts?
To jump on this. Obama handed Trump a bustling economy, one in which the interests rates were ripe to rise in order to prepare for future hardships. The Fed tried to raise interest rates, but faced major push back from Trump, so they decided to scrap this idea. Couple that with the temporary tax cuts for individuals and the permanent tax cuts for corporations, and you have an economy running on jet fuel, but with a razor thin margin for error. All the safety nets were pulled and there was no realistic way for the government to respond to any sort of economic crisis without simply printing more money. And then COVID hit, what a speed bump that was.
So we have an economy based on just-in-time inventory, with all possible safety measures already being used (by the Fed that is), and companies appeasing their investors with stock buybacks instead of real capital investments with the tax cut money they had. A true recipe for disaster. In waltzes a global pandemic that halts the supply chain, makes it dangerous for people to be in close contact with one another, and forces shifts with the economy.
Inflation is a complicated thing, but the foundation of it was created by Trump, who sacrificed economic safety nets in favor of stock market sugar highs. Biden is having to tackle a global inflationary event with both hands tied behind his back. Inflation would have happened under Trump and I doubt he would have handled it any better. Remember, it takes a year or 2 for a president's economic policies to really show effect.
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