Time to stop interest rate hikes

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/07/2023 (821 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

“Inflation slowed to 2.8 per cent in June, but the price of groceries continued to climb, with prices rising 9.1 per cent last month, Statistics Canada said.” Canadian Press, July 19

When the 2.8 per cent inflation number hit my screen on Tuesday morning of this week, it made me smile.

Finally, Canada was getting close to that elusive “two” number, which central bankers worldwide are in love with. They tell us in a multitude of ways, that once they’re certain inflation is back down to two per cent, they will pump the brakes on interest rates.

Sometimes there is a tease in their rhetoric, an implication that if inflation could reliably stay at two per cent, interest rates could start going back down again. A stable or declining interest rate would be just the medicine our collective morale could use right about now.

It doesn’t matter which poll you look at. All of them tell us Canadians have anxiety about the direction of the country.

We could drill down on the various issues, all of which get coverage in this newspaper of record.

But you don’t need me to tell you that the daily wave of news washing over Canadian eyeballs are making all of us thirsty for some happy juice.

Many of us thought that once the worst of COVID was over, we would experience euphoria. While it feels good to be able to socialize at Bombers games, and restaurants and cottages without the need to distance and mask and talk ad nauseum about vaccines, we still aren’t where we were pre-pandemic in a Winnipeg summer — especially a summer that is not infested with mosquitos.

If you visit with me regularly Thursdays and Saturdays, you know I am not a member of the Blame and Bash Trudeau for Everything Club.

Few things insult my intelligence more than my good friends, most of whom vote Conservative, provincially and federally, repeating Pierre Poilievre slogans. I am not saying that they haven’t done a good job politically inserting their language into the daily dialogue many conservative voters.

But to my ear, terms like “Canada is Broken” and “Justinflation” come across as politics for dummies.

We live in a country that has problems that need to be solved. But we are anything but broken. As far as inflation is concerned, the phenomenon is worldwide. It wasn’t created in some laboratory run by the Trudeau Foundation.

Nevertheless, I do think if we manage to see inflation going the way of COVID, becoming much less of an issue, I am convinced that we will be happier campers.

I am sad to report that I experienced a few grumpy consumer moments since we last met on Saturday. I was meeting friends on Saturday afternoon at the Tim Horton’s on Kenaston and McGillivray. It’s one of their extra large shops because it shares space with Wendy’s.

I wasn’t feeling like coffee because I’d already had several cups earlier in the day. And so I made the mistake of going to the Wendy’s counter and ordering a small Diet Coke. The price? $3.25. I said no sale, no thank you and moved on. Fortunately they ask for the money before they pour. So no damage was done.

But I must admit that I gave my friends 16 ounces of scowl. I shared my reaction to the $3.25 price. Everyone at the table seemed to be aware that price was about two bucks less at their chief competitor — McDonald’s.

Knowing the prices for Diet Coke elsewhere haven’t skyrocketed gave me maximum confidence that saying no sale was the right thing to do. Being able to say no to a price I didn’t like, gave me a quick hit of empowerment. But I am sad to say it evaporated quickly.

After my coffee-free meeting with my friends, I did a quick shop five minutes down the road at the Superstore on Kenaston and Grant. I was out of margarine. So I went for my favorite brand, Becel with avocado oil. I was about to reach for the large tub — more than 800 grams, but I stopped myself when I saw the number nine. I have never paid $9 for a tub of margarine.

So I got the smaller tub and paid a little over $5.

I get that Conservatives want me to rage at Justin Trudeau for food inflation, year over year, at 9.1 per cent. But it would be wiser to have a no-Becel breakfast. It’s time to make margarine, toast.

Charles Adler is a longtime political commenter and podcaster. charles@charlesadler.com