Experts warn inflation may rise to 3-4% next year California housewives can’t afford it

As California counties relaxed their epidemic control and the economy restarted, the number of people dining out and traveling increased significantly, but many people have found that since the epidemic, “everything has gone up” and the increase in the price of goods and gas has made people cry out that they cannot afford to eat.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (Bureau of Labor Statistics) on April 13 released the latest Consumer Price Index (Consumer Price Index) report shows that the monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) in March this year rose 0.6%, the largest single-month growth in nearly a decade, in the past year, the Overall prices increased by 2.6%.

Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers (Larry Summers) on March 20 for the Biden administration to promote the 1.9 trillion dollar bailout plan, coupled with the Federal Reserve Board still does not raise interest rates issued a warning, he believes that the U.S. economy is likely to suffer a surge in inflation or crushed by high interest rates. Summers criticized the current administration is implementing the most irresponsible economic policy in the United States in 40 years.

David Roche, a veteran investment strategist and president of the investment firm Independent Strategy, also warned that “U.S. inflation could reach 3 or 4 percent by mid-2022.” He said market yields could double, but that would bring the market “to a tipping point.

Roach analyzed the reasons for price increases, the first point is the impact of the epidemic, consumers began to spend their long-accumulated savings, resulting in huge demand. The second point is that “big government” will become the norm, resulting in inefficiency, he said: “Inefficiency usually means higher inflation.”

Housewives, who are responsible for three meals a day, feel most strongly about rising prices and inflation. Mrs. Guo, a resident of South Canada, said that prices in Chinese-funded supermarkets have gone up a lot. A serving of enoki mushrooms used to cost $0.39, but now it is $0.69, and some stores are selling them for $1.69. Fruits and vegetables and meat are all going up, and there seems to be no pattern. She said, “It’s just that the price jumps around and continues to go up when someone buys it.” Not only the price of fresh food has gone up, but the price of cooked food in supermarkets has also doubled, Mrs. Guo said, “Two dumplings used to be sold for $4.99, but now they have become $8.99, which is directly twice as expensive.” She believes that after the epidemic, the government issued a large amount of bailout money, but more bailout money can not catch up with the speed of rising prices, a large amount of money printing makes the United States face an inflation crisis.

Leeya, who lives in Alhambra, said that prices have risen the most for beef, which used to be about $5.99 a pound but now has risen to about $12 a pound. She said, “Leeks have become $3 a pound, which used to be $1.25 a pound, and staple foods such as rice and flour have also gone up about 5 percent.”

According to Leeya’s observation, the long-term storage of bottled products such as sauces and canned goods in Chinese-funded supermarkets have not gone up too much at the moment, but according to this trend, it is estimated that they are not likely to be cheaper in the future, but only more expensive. She found that the fresh vegetables and meat in Chinese-funded supermarkets have increased by at least 30%, and the prices of other ethnic supermarkets, or large U.S. supermarket chains, are also rising, so now you can only shop carefully and choose items with promotions and discounts to buy.

In addition, the price of gas in California has also risen alarmingly. Mrs. Zhang, who lives in San Bernardino County, said, “A tank of gas used to cost about $40 or so to fill up, but now it costs $60 or so.” Although the epidemic has reduced the opportunity to go out and pick up children, she said she is helpless in the face of the continuous increase in high gas prices.

For example, a pound of Fuji apples used to be $0.99, but now it’s $1.99; a pound of Green River vegetables is $0.39 to $1.29; a piece of tofu used to be $0.99, but now it’s $1.99. She said, “Although it’s all up one dollar, two dollars, but cumulatively it’s also substantial, and it’s not running out of money to spend an extra one or two hundred dollars a month on family meals.”

Rising inflation is one of the biggest concerns facing the market today, as high prices could affect asset values and corporate profits, and limit consumer purchasing power. The Federal Reserve Board (Fed) is keeping a close eye on the inflation rate. But the Federal Reserve policymakers believe that the current rising inflation rate is only a “temporary” situation, the Federal Reserve can use interest rate increases and other ways to solve the problem.