KALAMAZOO, MI (WHTC-AM/FM) – Inflation quickened at its fastest clip since 2008, according to numbers released on Wednesday (May 12, 2021).
The Consumer Price Index spiked 4.2% from a year ago, six-tenths of a percent higher than expected. It fueled inflation fears among investors on Wall Street, with drops on all three major indices.
Dr. Brian Long, Director of Supply Management Research at Grand Valley State University, says that economic initiatives, such as “Whip Inflation Now” during the Gerald Ford Administration, are just ancient history to a majority of consumers today.
“People can stop inflation by just saying, ‘I’m just not going to buy that new television’ or ‘I’m not going to pay that much,’” Long said on “WHTC Morning News” during his monthly appearance on Wednesday. “For most of the things that consumers buy, there is what they call ‘discretion.’ They don’t have to buy them.”
Long added that, if today’s consumers start assuming that they will have to pay more for goods and services, as consumers had in the 1970’s and 80’s, “now we’ve got trouble.”
