Nord Stream sabotage amid record inflation has West reeling
Ramin Mazaheri
Press TV, Chicago
New data revealed that inflation hit a record 10% in the Eurozone and topped 6% in the United States, as Western sanctions against Russia continue to massively backfire.
The data is even worse than it appears because it covers the month of August, when oil prices had dropped. This week’s apparent sabotage of the Russian-German Nord Stream gas pipelines is a shocking escalation of the unrest in Ukraine and will have enormous consequences.
Energy prices appear set to soar for a prolonged period, Europe’s energy insecurity is now off the charts, dreaded stagflation now seems like the West’s certain economic future and global bond markets are undergoing their worst drawdown ever.
Polls ranging from the average person to the wealthy investor all reveal that economic pessimism has hit levels not seen since 2008, when the United States sparked the Great Financial Crisis.
Western central banks have shifted from unprecedented zero-interest rate policies to rates not seen in decades, but even if that does tame inflation it will likely take months if not years.
For those on fixed incomes, the working-poor class and much of the middle class serious economic damage has already been done. Many say solutions do exist, such as price caps, anti-monopoly legislation, caps on corporate profits and wage increases. However, in the United States such ideas appear politically impossible, and they are deeply opposed across the Eurozone as well.
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