The CPI inflation gauge has been negative year over year for only 13 months since the year 2000. That is 13 times out of 300, so inflation is and continues to be a basic element of the US economy. The talk now is all about “affordability” as the weight of inflation continues to bear down on the middle and lower class. The problem is that we expect the government to have some magic cure to the problem. They try to divert our attention with names like the “Affordable Care Act”, the “Inflation Reduction Act”. Now this week, there is talk out of Washington about sending everyone $2000 as a kind of personal return on our new tariff policies. Or there is a suggestion of 50 year mortgages perhaps. We all need to say it out loud, more government spending does not cure inflation or created affordability, it is more likely to stoke the flames of inflation. Maybe we should use the Clinton playbook, ride a period of immense innovation (the internet) that stimulates the economy which leads to balanced budgets and low inflation. The AI buildout is upon us, let’s ride this time of incredible innovation like it was 1994.