Did anybody else notice that just as the nation’s focus shifted to the economy, everyone debated whether we were in a recession or not in a recession? To me, it was the wrong question.

While we all talked about that one, watching for any little sign that would settle the argument, we seemed to not notice something: That a much bigger threat to our daily financial lives was growing and growing and no one seemed to be doing much about it.

And bang, here it is:

Inflation is huge, important and we didn’t seem to notice its arrival. It’s walloping us, every day, in the huge prices for the things we need, food and gasoline. It is the bigger problem, but it is not the one those in power seem to be working on.