Inflation Approaches 10 Percent in Idaho

What if we’re in this for the long haul?  There were voices in the political wilderness who warned for decades that the day would come when a country crushed by debt would have a reckoning.  A lot of us acknowledged they had a point.  Then we took our government rebate checks and cashed them.  I even bought my first big-screen TV.  It's all on the national credit card.

Debt and the devalued dollar are two huge factors in our current plight.  I also recognize many more but this rapid increase in costs for goods and services followed record printing of money.  It’s like watering down whiskey.  The proof decreases each time you add water.  Look at your dollar as having proof and then look at the influx of new money (with nothing backing it but faith) and you realize how we got here.

This Isn't Transitory

The national average for inflation from April 2021 to April 2022 was a gain of 8.3 percent year over year.  The rate is down from a March to March increase of 8.5 percent, however.  U.S. Senator Jim Risch of Idaho pegs the regional rate at an eye-popping 9.8 percent from April to April.  The worst may be on the way.

Gas prices dipped slightly in April in much of the country.  We didn’t see much relief there.  Prices for gas and diesel are now up again and the sky appears to be in the direction of diesel.  It fuels trucks bringing the needs and wants of life to the Gem State.  Some independent drivers I know are throwing in the towel.  One told me a couple of weeks ago his costs now exceeded his income.  An already severe driver shortage could get worse.

Can it Get Any Worse?

The Producer Price Index was up in April by double digits.  We haven’t yet seen that percolate through the economy.  It’s on the way.

A writer at the Financial Times says Americans are quickly changing shopping habits.  With choices of where they shop and with what they buy.

This past week a friend told me his family is contemplating canceling a summer vacation.  When hundreds of thousands make the same decision, the hospitality industry suffers.

Idaho is a tourist mecca.  If the visitors can still afford the trip.

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