Quality and Productivity vs. Inflation

Quality and manufacturing professionals are in the best position to eradicate inflationary waste

“Money to Burn.” Credit: Jim Flanagan

Inflation is a serious national issue. Credit agency Fitch Ratings just downgraded the U.S. credit rating—as in the “full faith and credit of the United States”—from AAA to AA+.¹ This doubtlessly reflects the fact that our national debt exceeds $31 trillion, or almost $100,000 for every American, including children and retirees. Interest on this debt is expected to be $663 billion in 2023, or 12.5% of the entire $5.3 trillion budget.²

The Federal Reserve, meanwhile, regards inflation as a threat that could require more rate hikes, which will in turn increase interest on the national debt.³ And economist Frederic Mishkin warns that while the sale of Treasury securities doesn’t change the money supply by itself, money creation does:⁴ “Financing a persistent deficit by money creation will lead to sustained inflation,” he notes.

The quality and manufacturing professions are ideally positioned to roll back inflation. The American consumer also can play a role here. The first step is to identify inflation clearly, because a prerequisite for corrective and preventive action (CAPA) is an accurate definition of the problem.

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Comments

Excellent Article

I find it impossible to talk about these subjects without getting emotional or political, because almost everything that is published about them is, frankly, a cynical lie, and the constant gaslighting from the corporate press drives me to a boiling righteous anger that could never produce an article as refined as this. For example, Janet Yellen, who previously said that this inflation would be "transitory," was saying that a "soft landing is in sight" during the same week that I was talking to a restauraunteur about how he is going to need to raise his prices by four dollars per meal over the coming months. These are issues of life-and-death for a business, and the powers-that-be are shamelessly lying to the American people about them; meanwhile, the corporate press has been thoroughly lobotomized against having even a whiff of skepticism over the ridiculous economic claims of the current D.C. regime and the banking cartel that controls them.

You have done an excellent job of treating these subjects honestly without letting emotion or politics cloud your treatment of the issues. It is a breath of fresh air to see someone who is living on the same planet as me, able to talk about these important issues like a grown-up.