Stagflation on the radar for the US economy. Fed Chair Jerome Powell's big remark on 1970s nightmare

stagflation," as one economist put it—a concern gaining traction among analysts who question whether the U.S. economy's strong post-pandemic performance is beginning to wane. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve painted a picture of an economy reshaped dramatically by President Donald Trump and his economic policy.
It warned that tariffs could significantly dampen the economic outlook, ushering in higher inflation and slower growth. That sparked concerns about the dreaded “stagflation,” an economic curse that is hard to escape.

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What is stagflation?

Stagflation, or a period of both high inflation and high joblessness, hit the US notably in the 1970s, which may have featured the worst US economic leadership since the Great Depression. Stagflation is the ultimate doomsday scenario for central bankers. No matter what they do, it’s all but certain to inflict pain on the economy.

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The term stagflation is a portmanteau of the words stagnation and inflation. Stagnation is economic growth is sluggish, meaning businesses aren’t producing at full capacity, there aren’t enough jobs to keep everyone employed, and, as a result, consumers drastically reduce spending because they have less money to spend.

On the other hand, when the inflation happens, the prices of goods and services keep rising, making the overall cost of living more expensive or even, for some, virtually unaffordable.
Stagflation is like the worst of both worlds, and there’s no easy fix to this monetary