Indeed, the overall inflation rate is getting worse, and November’s data shows it’s not just a few items driving it. Higher prices are all around us, impacting our purchasing power not only when we’re filling up at the gas station, but when we’re buying a used car or truck (prices are up 31%), using beef roast or bacon for a Sunday meal (prices are up 26% and 21%), or outfitting our living room or closet with new furniture or a men’s suit (both are up 14%). “There are few if any places that inflation has not accelerated in recent months,” Diane Swonk, chief economist at Grant Thornton, said in a commentary. Price increases will decelerate in spring 2022, but in the meantime, inflation “will not cool enough, fast enough to be insignificant to most consumers,” she said. Have a question, comment, or story to share? You can reach Medora at medoralee@thebalance.com.
