Editorial: Even with higher interest rates and cost increases, inflation still proves hard to vanquish

McDonald’s Corp. calls them “strategic menu price increases,” and their impact is visible on menu boards across the chain, where a Big Mac, medium fries and soft drink now sells for as much as $18. Surprisingly, people are paying up, at least for now, as the Chicago-based restaurant company dutifully noted in its most recent earnings report last week.

So it goes across much of the economy, which has shown surprising strength despite the U.S. Federal Reserve’s historic effort to