Money manager and economist Peter Schiff said in October the Federal Reserve “could NOT win the fight on inflation by raising interest rates.” As inflation just turned up anew, it looks like he was right—again. Schiff explains, “Based on the recent data we got . . . the inflation curve has bent back up. The months of declining inflation are in the rearview mirror. Now, we are going to see accelerating inflation . . . and I think before the year is over, we are going to take out that 9% inflation high last year in year over year CPI (Consumer price Index) . . . and what that is going to show is what the Fed has done thus far in its inflation fight is completely ineffective. If the Fed is serious about fighting inflation, and I do not believe it is, it’s going to have to fight a lot harder than it has. Interest rates need to go up much higher than anybody thinks, but that alone is not going to do the trick. We also have to see a big contraction in consumer credit and lending standards rising so consumers can’t keep spending. . . . Consumers are running up credit card debt. That is inflationary. That is an expansion of the supply of credit.”
It gets worse when the Fed has to save the economy again. Schiff predicts, “I think the Fed is going to have to throw in the towel on the inflation fight because it will be fighting something it fears more, which is a complete economic collapse. . . .The federal government may be legitimately forced to cut Medicare and Social Security instead of illegitimately cutting it through inflation . . .
There is much more in the 47-minute interview.