Commentary According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rose 7.5 percent in January, year over year. This was, the BLS notes, the “largest 12-month increase since the period ending February 1982.” Moreover, “The all items less food and energy index rose 6.0 percent, the largest 12-month change since the period ending August 1982. The energy index rose 27.0 percent over the last year, and the food index increased 7.0 percent,” it said. When it comes to food, the largest increases were found in “meats, poultry, fish, and eggs, which rose 12.2 percent over the year.” Housing rose 5.6 percent. Used cars were up a whopping 40.5 percent. The last time CPI inflation was this high was during February 1982, when the rate was 7.6 percent. That represented an improvement over the very high inflation rates experienced during 1980 and 1981, when inflation topped 18 percent in some months. With price inflation …
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