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Several different things

Submitted by Philip Brewer on January 18, 2008 - 12:00.

Not all increases in price are inflation. Inflation is when the money becomes less valuable. That tends to show up as higher prices, but it isn't the only thing that shows up as higher prices--prices can change for a lot of different reasons.

For the same reason, it's a mistake to say, "Well, prices aren't going up so inflation must be under control." That the thinking that got the Fed into its current predicament. The inflation that we're seeing now is largely a result of increases in the money supply a year or two ago. But applying the necessary correction now would turn a possible mild recession into a certain and severe one--the Fed is never going to do that on purpose. But the Fed missed it when it might have been possible to avert the problem, because prices were held down by globalization (among other things).

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