President Trump insists there is “no inflation” as he bludgeons the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates. But denying inflation reality won’t make it go away. His tariffs are making it harder for the central bank to do what he wants, as last month’s rise in the consumer-price index shows.
The Labor Department’s consumer-price report Tuesday showed inflation ticked up in June to 0.3% or 2.7% in the last year. Real average hourly earnings fell 0.1% as inflation eroded wage gains. Real average weekly earnings fell 0.4% and 0.6% for production-level workers as hours of work declined, perhaps because of a slowing economy and labor market.
Inflation is up everywhere. It's ridiculous to blame Trump.
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