Washington responded to two crises with extraordinary monetary and fiscal interventions. Why did COVID-era stimulus produce soaring inflation when the response to the 2008 financial crisis did not?

The BEA’s annual revisions shaved a few tenths off the rate of inflation. But spending levels suggest the Fed’s fight is far from over.

Consumers are still spending and businesses are still investing, but housing and hiring have faltered. Growth is uneven and increasingly dependent on a few capital-intensive sectors.