Inflation is a question of class politics that inherently harms the poor more during recessions

A more useful measure to look at is a comparison of the rise of prices to the state of wages. If prices are going up faster than wages, then our relative purchasing power declines. But if wages keep pace with inflation, or even outpace inflation, then our purchasing power stays the same, or is strengthened. The reverse is also true. Thus, even though inflation rates have remained relatively low for much of the last few decades, wages have grown even less, meaning that purchasing power for working people declined despite low inflation rates.

Today, wages are finally rising. The New York Times  that about 13 percent of workers have not seen pay increases this year and many retirees receive pensions that are constant. But it has been

middle- and high-income earners whose pay gains were least likely to have kept up with inflation. Over the 12 months that ended in September, those in the top quarter of earners experienced 2.7 percent gains in hourly earnings, compared with 4.8 percent for the lowest quarter of earners.

The combination of wage increases and COVID-19 relief checks have put more money in the pockets of the bottom half of earners than they had at the start of the pandemic.

Most importantly, the media spin has left out the elephant in the room. It is business owners who are the ones raising prices. They are currently setting record profits, so do they have to raise prices? The answer to this question ultimately reveals that inflation is a question of class politics — which class gains at whose expense — rather than technical monetary policies.