The January Consumer Price Index saw the U.S. inflation rate jump to 7.5% in urban areas in the past 12 months, and the Denver metro rate was 7.9%. Fueled by supply and labor shortages, irresponsible government spending, and rising demand, inflation is eroding Americans’ ability to purchase what they need. The uncertainty of current geopolitical events is creating even larger spikes in the cost of oil, gas and grain. And recent economic forecasts predict multiple interest-rate hikes in 2022.
It’s hard to know what will make things better, but we do know what will make them worse. Fortunately, politicians in Washington, D.C. got the message from voters and dropped a proposal this fall to raise corporate tax rates. They were thinking about raising the corporate tax rate to 26.5% and levying a new 15% tax based on what’s called book income — the amount of income companies make prior to assessing tax deductions and credits.
