Des Moines Sun

Worries of inflation grip Iowans and the rest of the country as the nation looks to turn the corner in its economic recovery following shutdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Jonathan Swenson, a West Des Moines institutional consulting director and private wealth adviser for Graystone Consulting, on social media sounded the alarm on rising prices as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released data earlier this month that showed its consumer price index climbed 5.4% year-over-year. According to the release, this is a result of sharp increases in the price of food, fuel and housing. 

"If one doesn’t eat, drink, drive, buy a car, buy a home, rent a home, furnish a home, buy clothes, send kids to school, send a package in the mail, own a pet, to name a few, you might not have much inflation in your cost of living,” Swenson said in the post on Twitter. 

Swenson’s concerns are supported by the bureau's data cited in a news release that show indexes for food and shelter also increased in September and comprised more than half of the seasonally adjusted increase for all items. The bureau's release also noted that the price of gasoline and rental cars both jumped by more than 42%, while sharp increases were seen in other areas, including used cars (24.4%), hotels (18%), televisions (12.7%), furniture (11.2%) and select grocery items (10.5%). Americans also saw prices rise for new cars, electricity, rent and dining out. 

“The rise in shelter costs will exacerbate the negative financial impact so many households are feeling from higher prices,” Bankrate's Chief Financial Analyst Greg McBride said, CNBC reported. He said that trends in prices for housing will have a lingering effect on the economy.

Supply-chain issues continue to be highlighted as a key driver for inflation, and CNBC reported that consumer giants including Costco, Nike and General Mills have warned of shortages related to the supply-chain challenges. 

“We’ve seen cost-of-good increases especially in apparel, also costs of inbound shipping with the costs of containers, increases with transportation, trucking to get into distribution centers,” Keith Jelinek, managing director of the global retail practice at consulting firm Berkeley Research Group, told CNBC. “There’s only so much you can pass on to the consumer.”

As consumers locally and across the nation struggle to stay ahead of price increases, President Joe Biden's Chief of Staff Ronald Klain found himself under fire for sharing a tweet that called inflation a “high class problem.” Republicans were quick to jump on the shared tweet, according to Fox News. Republican National Committee Rapid Response Director Tommy Pigott said in response that struggling to afford food, fuel and housing because of rising prices “is not a ‘high class problem.’” 

Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, according to Reuters, said that the reopening of the economy after the pandemic has created inflation that is “transitory.” 

Whether inflation is temporary or more long-term, rising prices are affecting consumers, and with colder weather on its way, rising prices for heating fuel will only compound the problem, according to a commentary in Real Clear Politics on Oct. 5, which said the prices of natural gas and propane have increased by 89% during the last year. This comes on the heels of a report in the Cato Institute’s Cato Journal that claims reckless spending and rising American debt will drive inflation and could have long-term ramifications if no action is taken.