The country is reopening and the economy is recovering from the pandemic, and while COVID-19 cases are down, prices for goods and services are on the rise. President Joe Biden's administration says this phenomenon, known as inflation, is not a cause for concern, but CEOs of major companies are warning that they'll probably keep raising prices.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics' monthly Consumer Price Index release showed that inflation in June was much higher than expected, with prices surging 0.9% over May, the highest month-over-month inflation rate since April 2008's 1.0% increase. It was fueled by big price increases for used cars, beef, and pork, and the government insists it should cool down soon.
Labor Secretary Marty Walsh told Insider in early July that he's not worried about the increase in prices for goods, especially given that wages also increased in June.
"The one thing that we are not concerned about is … inflation," Walsh told Insider. "We're still in transition, so we're not concerned about that. So I think anytime we can push for higher wages - and the president's been very vocal on this - that's a good thing for people."
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in May that the high prices should only last through the end of this year, and Biden said during a June press conference that the "overwhelming consensus" is that inflation should "pop up a little bit and then come back down" - similar to the consensus from America's central bank, led by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
The economics field is not close to that consensus. Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers has pointed to Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus as the "least responsible" fiscal policy in 40 years, one that could potentially trigger the dreaded hyperinflation. Increasingly, executives are saying that price increases are here to stay. Here's what else they're saying: