People shop at a local supermarket in Washington, D.C., the United States, Sept. 13, 2022. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua)
WASHINGTON, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- As the U.S. consumer prices keep hitting record highs not seen in decades, American economist Robert Shiller warned that the Fed risks "disgrace" if the government loses control of the inflation.
"If we do see protracted inflation now, it will be a disgrace to this country, and it will lower trust in institutions even more," the Nobel Prize winner at Yale University was cited on Monday by CNN as saying.
August saw the U.S. Consumer Price Index rise 8.3 percent from the same month last year, the worst inflation in 40 years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Regarding the inflation rate as "a matter of trust," Shiller said that protracted inflation is bad for the economy. "It's bad for all of us, a loss of trust."
"If people think prices will continue to rise at a fast pace, they'll start demanding higher wages. That will push businesses to raise prices even more to protect their margins, feeding a cycle that can become increasingly difficult to control," reported CNN. ■