In an Aug. 26 letter, Robert Reed cites statistics about the effects of inflation (“Necessities were more affordable under Trump than Biden“).

Unfortunately, he’s missing the all-important “why.”

But before I get to that, Mr. Reed says the president controls the Federal Reserve. Not true. He nominates — and the Senate approves — the independent central bank’s board, which has been raising interest rates to rein in inflation. 

Why is inflation such a problem? First, it’s been raging worldwide as logistics pipelines recover slowly from post-pandemic clogs. When supplies in a heating economy don’t meet demand, prices go up. Blaming a U.S. president for a global problem has the taint of Fox News propaganda.

What’s more, OPEC’s putative leader Saudi Arabia has repeatedly cut oil production. Demand up in a growing economy, supplies down? Up go prices at the pump.

And let’s not be naïve. Does anyone think Big Oil would miss a chance to keep shareholders happy by sneaking in a few price hikes? 

Also, wages rise as workers demand their share of higher earnings. Price hikes are sure to follow to meet labor costs. I’ll take job growth and greater financial security for families over inflation fears, especially since the apolitical Fed is slowly but surely chipping away at inflation.

We should let the Fed do its job. Eventually, inflation will recede as it has historically, and numbers mavens like Mr. Reed will wonder what they missed.