In an economic landscape shaped by the aggressively rising prices of 2020-2022, the Federal Reserve's monetary policy pendulum swung dramatically. Starting from rock bottom rates, it engaged in a series of hikes the likes of which had not been seen since the early 1980s, moving from less than 1% in February 2022 to over 4% a year later. Going still higher with rates above 5% by the end of 2023, the Federal Reserve held rates there for the first half of 2024 in an attempt to bring the Consumer Price Index (CPI), one of its preferred price gauges, down from the scorching 9% peak in the summer...

Between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, there is little reason for hope as far as high prices go. Despite both campaigning on making prices lower—something patently ludicrous on its face—a look at their actual policy proposals cannot but lead the economically informed to conclude that prices are likely to surge in the coming years regardless of which statist alternative wins. Before diving into their policies, it is important to distinguish between the various factors that cause prices to rise. On the one hand, you have inflation; the devaluation of existing monetary units by the creation of...