The GDP contraction was due to inflation

We should note that the entire explanation for the lousy GDP number was the 8.5% inflation rate. As the chart below shows, if we still had 2% inflation we had just recently, the economy would have grown in real terms at a brisk pace. But with the current inflation, the economy has to expand by more than 8.5% just to stay even.

While some also noted (or bragged about it) that consumer spending stayed strong in Q1, that was also due to inflation. Consumers just spent more money because everything cost more.

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