When is inflation no longer "transitory?"
Marketplace
Marketplace
4.6 • 8.5K Ratings
🗓️ 12 May 2026
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Inflation was up 3.8% in April, according to the latest CPI. Economists say the war with Iran has caused “transitory” inflation — that’s short-lived inflation from a specific inflationary event. It’s also how experts characterized Trump’s tariffs and the COVID-19 pandemic. But if inflation stays put for, say, five years, is it really still transitory? Also in this episode: Small business owners fret over rising costs, MIT students graduate with majors in AI, and Quebec brings hydropower to the Northeast U.S.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Oh, look! |
| 0:03.3 | Inflation! |
| 0:04.7 | From American public media. |
| 0:07.6 | This is Marketplace. |
| 0:14.6 | In Los Angeles, I'm Kyle Rizznall. |
| 0:19.1 | It is Tuesday. |
| 0:20.5 | Today, this one is the 12th of May. Good as it always is to have you along, everybody. |
| 0:26.2 | We're going to do a little economic forest for the trees thing as a way to get going today. The April Consumer Price Index came out this morning, as you have surely heard. |
| 0:36.4 | Inflation is running 3.8% year-on-year, 6-10% month-on-month. |
| 0:41.4 | That is the headline number. |
| 0:43.7 | It is not great and more to the point. |
| 0:45.5 | It is headed directly away from where the Fed wants it to be, which is, anyone? |
| 0:52.4 | Anyone? |
| 0:52.9 | Bueller? |
| 0:54.1 | Anyone? 2%. As you know. A brief central bank aside here while I'm at it. which is anyone, anyone, Bueller, anyone? |
| 0:55.8 | 2%, as you know. |
| 0:58.4 | A brief central bank aside here while I'm at it, |
| 1:02.4 | Kevin Warsh was confirmed by the Senate today to a 14-year term on the Fed's board of governors. |
| 1:06.0 | A vote on him to replace Jay Powell as chair as expected tomorrow. |
| 1:08.5 | Powell, as you also know, because you heard it here, |
| 1:11.9 | can stay on the board if he likes until January of 28. All right. So back to inflation. Yes, this spike does bring rising prices right back, front and |
| 1:18.9 | center. But as Marketplace's Kristen Schwab explains, let us not lose sight of the fact that inflation |
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