Rising inflation, gas prices up over 45%, a record number of job openings. This was not supposed to be part of the Biden administration script. But here we are.
For the 3rd month in a row, the CPI is up. That's 5.4% in the last year! The biggest jump in more than a decade.
KTRH money man Pat Shinn says it's not a surprise. "Back in an interview in January that I did with Jimmy & Shara, I said remember the same things that caused people to stand in line for over an hour and buy a 1-year supply of toilet paper, those same people are gonna go crazy when it looks like everybody else is starting to get out and about."
And that's exactly what is going on. Pent up demand and short supply. "Some of these numbers are the highest that we've seen since 1991" Shinn told KTRH, "But when we drill down where the numbers are coming from, it's coming from used cars, rental cars, hotel rooms, and air fares. All of this is related to the economy re-opening."
Unfortunately, most experts are now saying that we need to brace ourselves because inflation is going to be here for years to come.
Michael Smith, president of Avidian Wealth told KTRH, "Everybody's having to get back to reality, so that extra money that's not there anymore, people are going to have to tighten the budget."
Some of that extra money will return tomorrow, when the first 'child tax care credit' checks go out. "Higher inflation is definitely something we're all feeling" Smith said. And while the Biden administration continues to say what they think people want to hear? Smith says, "That is going to be the challenge the Fed has to deal with in the coming 2nd half of this year."