How worried should we be about inflation?

Consumer prices are at a 31-year high and people are feeling it from the grocery store to the pump. What is driving inflation and how concerned should we be?

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(AP Photo/LM Otero)

(AP Photo/LM Otero)

Inflation is at a 31-year high and Americans are feeling the pain, paying for the increased prices on food, goods, services, energy and gas. But why have consumer prices risen so fast and how concerned should we be? Is it “transitory” as some economists have argued, or is it signaling long-term financial problems? And what steps, if any, should the government be taking to slow inflation? Former Federal Reserve and White House economist CLAUDIA SAHM joins us, along with University of Michigan public policy and economics professor JUSTIN WOLFERS. We’ll also hear from PAT KENNEDY, founder and executive director of the Greater Philadelphia Diaper Bank, about how steep prices and supply chain backups are impacting their distribution of diapers and period products to homeless shelters, food pantries and social service organizations.

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