Jan 28, 2017

New for '17: Trumpflation?

Mike Allen

Economists say President Trump's trade policy, tax cuts and infrastructure-spending plan could reignite inflation, making goods more expensive at a time when much of his base already feels squeezed.

Jon Lansner, business columnist for the Orange County (Calif.) Register, points out how good we've had it: The Consumer Price Index rose 1.3% last year, the fifth straight year under 3%, and best in half a century.

  • Why the change? Trump policies — including a tax on imports, tax incentives for companies to return cash from overseas, and up to $1 trillion in infrastructure spending — could fuel inflation.
  • And one more: The N.Y. Times' Neil Irwin, in an Upshot dispatch in November, pointed out that increased deportations could lead to a shortage of low-skilled labor: "The remaining workers … could demand higher pay."
  • Why it matters: Inflation is felt most acutely by people who immediately spend most of their incomes, many of them in the economically stressed Trump coalition. And how people feel will be a vital component of Trump's narrative headed into the 2018 midterms and his 2020 reelection.

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Axios

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 9 p.m. ET: 1,513,358 — Total deaths: 88,415 — Total recoveries: 329,329 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 9 p.m. ET: 430,376 — Total deaths: 14,739 — Total recoveries: 23,707 — Map.
  3. Federal government latest: Top Trump administration officials had been developing a plan to give cloth masks to huge numbers of Americans, but the idea lost traction amid heavy internal skepticism.
  4. States latest: New York has reported more cases than the most-affected countries in Europe. Chicago's Cook County jail is largest-known source of coronavirus in U.S.
  5. Business: One-third of U.S. jobs are at risk of disappearing, mostly affecting low-income workers.
  6. World: WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged countries to put politics aside "if you don’t want to have many more body bags.”
  7. Environment: COVID-19 is underscoring the connection between air pollution and dire outcomes from respiratory diseases.
  8. Tech: A new report recommends stimulus spending to help close the digital divide revealed by social distancing.
  9. What should I do? Pets, moving and personal health — Answers about the virus from Axios experts — What to know about social distancing — Q&A: Minimizing your coronavirus risk.
  10. Other resources: CDC on how to avoid the virus, what to do if you get it.

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