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> Consider that the 2021 inflation rate is likely a symptom of COVID

It's mostly a symptom of reckless monetary and fiscal policies.

> Monthly inflation rates for the last few months of 2021 were trending downward

It's the opposite if CPI is to be believed (which is a big if): https://www.bls.gov/charts/consumer-price-index/consumer-pri...

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> It's mostly a symptom of reckless monetary and fiscal policies.

... as a result of the pandemic...

The US public will not tolerate sustained high inflation. Congresspeople and presidents who push monetary and fiscal policies that increase inflation (and nominate Fed leadership that do the same) will get voted out over time.

Your chart measures a 12 month trailing computation. That number going up does not imply that the month-by-month inflation is actually going up. If that number went up in December all it means is that December 2021 had more inflation than December 2020. It says nothing at all about the relative inflation between November 2021 and December 2021.

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