Inflation Bites the EU and Britain.
Inflation in Europe is becoming a dire problem and things could get worse this Winter. (NY Times)
map of EU and Britain
“But in France, the strikes and demonstrations are gaining in intensity as a fear of eroding living standards dominates concerns, polls say.
Inflation, pushed by soaring energy prices, will shave $73 billion from the gross domestic product and shrink France’s purchasing power by 1.4 percent next year, with the effect felt largely in poorer households, a recent study predicted.
“The energy crisis is very unequal,” said one of the study’s authors, Éric Heyer, an economist at the Paris-based French Economic Observatory.
On Tuesday, France’s main unions led large demonstrations in Paris, with tens of thousands marching for wage increases, and a survey last week by the polling firm IFOP found that support for Ukraine was down about 5 percentage points since May.”
Inflation was always something to be be avoided in the West and central banks from London to Washington to Tokyo did whatever was necessary to avoid experiencing rapid price increases. Americans looked back at the late 70s and early 80s as a period of inflationary pressures that should never be experienced again and regulators tried to make sure it never was. Then the pandemic hit and everything seems to have changed with supply chain disruptions to personnel shortages affecting every aspect of life across the globe which is leading to inflation that can potentially topple governments.
