April was a bad month for inflation. No doubt about it. Both the consumer price index and the producer price index ran hotter than expected. There’s a lot of hand-wringing among the legacy press and the Democratic party. Yet financial markets, which are smarter than the lefty press and the Democrats, hardly reacted to it at all. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq hit new record highs. The Dow Jones was basically flat. Bond rates are still in their year-long range. World oil prices actually fell slightly.
There is no catastrophe. I’m sure the Federal Reserve and its new chairman, Kevin Warsh, will be keeping a close eye on prices. Yet I doubt if they’ll take any particular actions. The best thing they can probably do right now is nothing. Shrink the balance sheet if possible. Start working on new economic models that show that low unemployment does not cause high inflation. Nor does strong economic growth.
Inflation is running hot right now because President Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are working hard to finish off Iran once and for all. A temporary bulge in gasoline and other prices is a small price to pay to destroy a country that is the world’s enemy. Like the Nazis of almost 100 years ago. Developing nuclear bombs that will destroy America, Israel, and the rest of the civilized world — if those crazies get a chance to do it. Yet they must never get a chance to do it.
That’s why a couple of months of inflation is a small price to pay. Mr. Trump has of course given middle-class America all kinds of tax cuts that are offsetting most of the $4.50 gasoline. Call it a push. The American economy is strong and resilient. It grew at 2 percent plus in the first quarter. And may grow as much as 4 percent in the second quarter. Unemployment is a low 4.3 percent. Americans are working. That’s a wonderful thing. Yet if we ever backed off Mr. Trump’s commitment to destroy the Iranian regime and their nuclear capabilities, we’d lose everything, including our whole economy. And this must never happen. I’m sure Mr. Trump will tell this to President Xi when they meet tomorrow.
America will not give up. Iran must not have any nuclear capabilities. Look, Mr. Xi helped make Iran the monster that it is today by arming them to the teeth and, through the purchase of 90 percent of Iran’s oil, they financed those arms. Mr. Xi gave them weaponry through a space satellite system. Mr. Xi gave them money denominated in Chinese yuan. Now he’s unhappy because the Strait of Hormuz is closed and the oil has disappeared. Yet don’t expect Mr. Xi to give us much help with Iran. As I said, it was their creation in the first place.
America will take care of Iran. I think the big news today is not so much hotter than expected inflation. It’s that Mr. Trump is meeting with his top military and national security advisers to plan a reopening of project freedom that will reopen the Strait and to complete the combat bombing missions.
Scott Bessent’s Treasury, meanwhile, has apparently turned the lights off at Kharg Island. Bombing could be next. Any of this would destroy what’s left of Iran’s economy. How ironic that Mr. Trump is planning the finishing touches that will end the scourge of Iran, even while he’s meeting at Beijing with Iran’s principal sponsor. Think of that.
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