Inflation hurts us all, robbing each dollar of its buying power. Just how much does if effect households’ bottom lines? According to a study from Wharton, more than inflation apologists will ever admit:

We estimate that inflation in 2021 will require the average U.S. household to spend around $3,500 more in 2021 to achieve the same level of consumption of goods and services as in recent previous years (2019 or 2020). Moreover, we estimate that lower-income households spend more of their budget on goods and services that have been more impacted by inflation. Lower-income households will have to spend about 7 percent more while higher-income households will have to spend about 6 percent more.

Spending more just to stay in place. It’s like running on a treadmill that keeps speeding up. You can keep pace, and run harder. Or you can slow down, and wind up getting tossed off the machine entirely.

That’s the kind of damage inflation leaves in its wake. Anyone who argues that inflation isn’t so bad is either ignorant of how punishing long term price rises can be…or doesn’t care who suffers.