Hi Friend, There’s a famous investment banker in New York who likes to tell this joke: There are only two people on the planet who understand how the international economic system works – and, unfortunately, they disagree. As the pundit Homer Simpson often says, it’s funny because it’s true. No one really has a full handle on the causes of and fixes for the noxious stew that is our economy right now – historically dangerous inflation, sustained supply chain issues, roiling energy markets, and the drumbeat predictions for a looming recession, which some say could be deep and long. Inflation, in particular, with this week’s staggering numbers from the government, is bedeviling American families at record highs and impacting everything from holiday travel planning, to grocery bills, to the insane housing market. That same investment banker I quoted above also often says, Sometimes the correct response to a crisis is to panic. I’m pretty sure he is joking about that one, but we do see quite a bit of panic now, especially as politicians facing midterm voters look to shift the blame to….anyone but themselves. Longtime No Labels ally and former U.S. Comptroller General David Walker is not one to panic; he has as good an understanding as anyone about why inflation is so high and what we can do about it. As Dave explained to us this week, “[Federal government] spending has been out of control — four to five trillion dollars of additional spending, which has fueled inflation. It’s been enabled by very loose monetary policy from the Federal Reserve. They held interest rates too low too long.” Some problems – like inflation – can only be dealt with by Washington, no matter what has caused the issue in the first place. In this case, most respected analysts like Dave Walker believe D.C. did cause a big part of this mess, and D.C. is going to have to fix it. | 
