Good Inflation?
Getting a handle on one aspect of the "inflation problem."
One cannot fully grasp the “inflation problem” without recognizing the extent that low-cost labor, exploited in countries that supply the goods Americans purchase for their consumption, contributes to our LOW PRICES.
By exploited I mean poverty wages and unsafe and demeaning labor conditions. Simply put, the Chinese (for example) work for us and we buy at low prices the fruit of their labor.
Demand better working conditions and pay for foreign laborers? Insist that more of the products we buy be made in the U.S.A.? Good for you. Good for a better future. But know that you are contributing to higher prices, that is INFLATION.
Maybe we pay too little for many of the goods that we buy. While insisting that more of the wealth that our companies accumulate as profit be shared as high wages in American factories, accept that some increases in prices is necessary to achieve two goals that we desire, more American jobs at good wages and less exploitation of foreign workers.
We can discuss further the relative importance of “made in America.” Such a discussion deserves more than a stock answer. Global trade can be, should be, a good thing. In many instances a necessary part of our standard of living. If we don’t buy from “there,” how will “they” pay for our manufactured products? We can leave this discussion, however, for another day.
For now, think about the inflation puzzle. Choices are not all good or all bad. They are, however, subjects for serious inquiry and, well, choice.