Households now face a reduction in spending power, unless after-tax wage increases match accelerating price rises.
In Australia, the September 2021 quarter consumer price index rose 0.8%, or 3% over the year. In the US, the corresponding measure has reached 6.2%, the highest in nearly 30 years. Official figures probably understate the true extent of cost-of-living increases.
Having underestimated inflationary pressures, central banking “soul searching’’ has yielded an emollient oxymoron:
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