Key findings were:
• Eighty-four percent (84%) of adults are worried about the threat of rising prices. Nearly half (47%) rate themselves Very Worried.
• Over half of Americans (54%) see high inflation as the bigger short-term problem for the U.S. economy, as opposed to 30% who view job creation that way. Similarly, 44% rate inflation as the larger long-term threat as well, but nearly as many (41%) see job growth as a bigger worry.
• Only 39% of Americans now think lower gas prices will end the short-term threat of high inflation. Slightly more (47%) believe a stronger U.S. dollar will be more effective.
There has been a lot of talk in recent months about how the Federal Reserve needs to get economic growth moving. But that’s not the Fed’s job, and monetary policy is not the right policy tool to make it happen.
Instead, the Fed’s work should be exclusively focused on maintaining price stability. Low inflation, in turn, helps economic growth by, for example, reducing uncertainty and holding down costs, such as in the energy arena. Remember, inflation is a like a tax that eats away at the earnings of individuals and businesses.
With inflation and inflation expectations, as noted in the poll results, running rather hot, the Fed clearly is not doing its job very well.
Raymond J. Keating
Chief Economist
Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council
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