How Do You Solve a Problem Like Inflation?

A recent Brookings Report entitled “Why Do We Dislike Inflation?” concluded that it’s because of the “widespread belief that it diminishes [people’s] buying power as neither personal nor general wage increases seem to match the pace of rising prices.”

This doesn’t seem like a particularly insightful or surprising conclusion. In fact, it seems rather obvious.

But, as a political matter, it is a unique challenge and not a problem that traditional legislative tools can fix. The government agency with the most influence over inflation – the Fed – is the one entity a president cannot control. Moreover, creating jobs and spurring economic growth – typically a winning issue for incumbent presidents – doesn’t make the price of goods, or a 30-year mortgage more affordable.

Even Biden’s former Chief of Staff, Ron Klain, privately acknowledged this fact. Klain, according to reporting from POLITICO, told a private gathering, “I think the president is out there talking too much about bridges. He does two or three events a week where he’s cutting a ribbon on a bridge. And here’s a bridge. Like I