With inflation soaring to highest rate since 1982, Jim Geraghty recalls the times Paul Krugman told us to cool it on 'inflation panic' this year

Sarah D | 10:17 AM on December 10, 2021

In case you missed it, inflation is the only thing that’s really hoppin’ in Joe Biden’s economy:

Doing great. pic.twitter.com/KL56GWHaWq

— Sean Agnew (@seanagnew) December 10, 2021

More than expected, huh? The fastest rate in 39 years, huh? You know, we’re starting to think that maybe we were right to be concerned about inflation.

Even though, as NRO’s Jim Geraghty reminds us, economic experts like Paul Krugman assured us over and over again that our worries were completely unfounded and irrational:

Paul Krugman, May 7: “[Treasury Secretary] Janet Yellen and I believe that the Fed can contain any inflationary risks.”

Paul Krugman, June 21: “For those paying closer attention to the flow of new information, inflation panic is, you know, so last week.”https://t.co/0BDsvdJhC6

— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) December 10, 2021

Paul Krugman, July 23: “Overheating is still possible, and the Fed should keep its eye on that possibility. But the big numbers aren’t as scary as they seem.”https://t.co/0BDsvdJhC6

— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) December 10, 2021

Paul Krugman, August 12: “Anxiety about the inflationary impact of public investment just doesn’t make sense if you work through the numbers.”https://t.co/0BDsvdJhC6

— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) December 10, 2021

Paul Krugman, September 10: “Companies aren’t acting as if they expect lots of future inflation, where they can hike wages without losing competitive advantage. They’re acting, instead, as if they see current inflation as a blip.”https://t.co/0BDsvdJhC6

— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) December 10, 2021

Paul Krugman, November 11: “So yes, that was an ugly inflation report, and we hope that future reports will look better. But people making knee-jerk comparisons with the 1970s and screaming about stagflation are looking at the wrong history.”https://t.co/0BDsvdJhC6

— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) December 10, 2021

If Paul Krugman were remotely capable of shame, he’d have to be feeling pretty awkward this morning. After all, things are bad enough that even the New York Times can’t downplay it:

The New York Times, this morning: "Inflation jumped to the highest level in nearly 40 years.”https://t.co/0BDsvdJhC6 pic.twitter.com/F3G3XMu0tN

— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) December 10, 2021

Give Paul some time. Let him play with his cats.

We’re sure he’ll eventually come up with something to explain why more and more people being able to afford less and less is nothing to get bent out of shape about.