Inflation First Aid

ACCORDING TO A RECENT WASHINGTON Post-ABC News poll, 94 percent of Americans describe themselves as either “concerned” or “upset” about inflation. And with good reason: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices were up 8.3 percent in April from the year before, a slight decrease in the inflation rate from March, but still close to the highest it has been since spiking at over 14 percent annually in 1980.

There are numerous likely culprits, ranging from moves in recent years by the Federal Reserve to brisk consumer demand to supply chain problems exacerbated by the pandemic to higher oil prices linked to the war in Ukraine. But if experts disagree about exactly why inflation is up so dramatically, few of them are expecting it to ease any time soon.

Until it does, consumers will have to look hard