In July of 2008, 12-month CPI inflation hit 5.5%. That was really bad.
But in what way was it bad? It was bad because the inflation rate was too low. It would have been much better if inflation had hit 6% or 6.5% in mid-2008. Because inflation was only 5.5%, we fell into the Great Recession and the economy remained severely depressed for many, many years.
If only we could have 6% inflation in mid-2008. So sad.
Today, inflation is 6.8%. That’s also really bad. Inflation is too high. Today, it would be better if inflation were 5.5%.