❗Let's close the gap: We still need your help to raise $40,000 by April 1. Donate now

A strong economy with low inflation? Inequality may be to blame.

Kimberly Adams Mar 12, 2019
HTML EMBED:
COPY
Mark Wilson/Getty Images

A strong economy with low inflation? Inequality may be to blame.

Kimberly Adams Mar 12, 2019
Mark Wilson/Getty Images
HTML EMBED:
COPY

New inflation numbers out today showed … very little of it. The consumer price index ticked up 0.2 percent in February. It was the first rise in four months. And year over year, the measure of how expensive it is to buy a fixed basket of goods is up just 1.5 percent. And that’s weird, because in theory, if the economy’s as strong as it seems to be, there should be more inflation. This has been puzzling economists and the Federal Reserve. One explanation that’s been bouncing around lately is that economic inequality’s to blame.

Click the audio player above to hear the full story.

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.