Trump Declares Inflation Official Price of Prosperity
President Donald Trump declared inflation defeated Tuesday by redefining it as the mandatory admission charge for participating in the strongest economy in human history. Trump celebrated an August gain of 162,000 jobs, roughly triple economists’ expectations, as proof that Americans now possess so much money that businesses have been forced to remove it from them through groceries, rent and routine dental work. The hiring report renewed concerns that persistent price growth could prompt the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates elevated, an outdated response that measures inflation in percentages rather than national pride.
Trump demanded lower rates and threatened to reduce trade with countries unwilling to help make American money cheaper while American life becomes more expensive. “Prices are high because Americans are rich, very rich, probably too rich, and the stores know it immediately when they walk in,” Trump said. “Eggs are not expensive because of inflation. They are luxury eggs now, beautiful eggs, and people are lucky we let them buy them.” White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett credited tariffs and investment incentives with creating a manufacturing revival so powerful that many of its products remain unaffordable to the workers manufacturing them. Administration officials said rising grocery bills should be understood as pocket-size economic trophies distributed at checkout, giving families several opportunities each week to commemorate the boom.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell now faces the traditional central-banking choice between raising rates to restrain prices and cutting them to confirm that presidential shouting is the nation’s most reliable monetary instrument. Republicans preparing for the midterm elections have adopted the White House’s revised affordability message: When voters cannot afford a product, demand for it must be enormous; when they cannot afford housing, their neighborhood must be thriving; and when their credit cards are full, the financial system has successfully included them. Trump pledged to continue the expansion until every American has two jobs, three maxed-out cards and an 84-month refrigerator loan. Inflation, the administration confirmed, is prosperity with a receipt.
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