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If you were to have a crystal ball that showed us the state of the economy,

you know, what would you say as to whether we have any sense of if and when inflation might ever calm down?

Well, I would love to know where that crystal ball is and I think just about every policymaker everywhere would love to know where that crystal ball is.

Rachel Siegel is an economics reporter for the post.

One of the hardest things about answering that question is that if the last couple of years have taught us anything, it's that there is absolutely no playbook whatsoever for this period.

Sometimes I think of, you know, not just a playbook that's been ripped to shreds, but one that's been tossed out the window during a tornado and then rained on.

Rachel covers the Federal Reserve.

So she's been one of these people writing those really scary headlines you've been reading this week about how inflation has reached its highest point in 40 years.

There is a general message from the Fed and from the White House that inflation will fall to much more sustainable levels in the second half of this year.

It's really unclear how that happens.

I think there is very much behind the argument that says that as supply chains clear up their bottlenecks and as stimulus from last year wears off and there's less consumer demand for all the things that we've been buying for much of the last year plus that things slowly normalize and simmer down.

But that presumes that there aren't variants of the virus that we don't know about yet or some other unforeseen challenge. So the path ahead is incredibly murky even at this point in the COVID economy.

From the newsroom of the Washington Post, this is Post Reports. I'm Alexis D.O. in from Martin Powers. It's Thursday, January 13th.

Today, what is going on with inflation and financial advice for how we as consumers should deal with it?

So, Richel, on Tuesday, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell appeared before lawmakers.

And other members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. Why would you say that? And what did he say?

Jerome Powell appeared before lawmakers on Capitol Hill this week for his confirmation hearing for a second term leading the Federal Reserve.

But it's not so much a question of whether or not he's going to be reappointed. And if anything, much of the focus was on everything swirling around him and in the economy.

And if inflation is very much at the top of that list.

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