...The past two and a half years of elevated inflation have left Americans with high prices. And while the rate of inflation has recently come down to 2.3 percent, or the lowest level since February 2021, consumer prices have continued to climb and are now 23.6 percent higher than they were in January 2020, just before the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. So with the price level permanently elevated like that, even a brief burst of inflation caused by tariffs would inflict major pain on U.S. consumers because prices are already so high....
