Peach Tree Times

The Peach State, like much of America, is currently experiencing extreme inflation that has led the misery index to surge.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the state has seen prices spike between 6% and 6.5%, which is on par with the national average, according to the news organization’s regional inflation analysis. The news outlet said that the cause of massive inflation in the 1970s was the result of huge government spending, which has been compared to the inflation being seen today.

The Consumer Price Index rose by 0.6% in October, beyond most economists' forecasts that called for a rise of 0.4%, and beyond the 0.2% increase in September, Axios reported.

Axios said that prices have risen 6.2% since last year, which was the biggest yearly increase in over 30 years.

Fuel and oil prices also have surged, posting an October spike of 12.3%, up from 3.9% in September. Fuel prices have surged by 59.1% since the same time last year.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the Core Personal Consumption Expenditures index, which is the preferred measure of inflation for the Federal Reserve, rose by the highest rate on record again in September, according to Fox Business. 

The news prompted former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin to tell Fox Business that "I think we need to put a pause button on government spending [and] get inflation under control." He also argued that “it’s the exact wrong time to be raising taxes," with regard to the infrastructure spending bill.

ZeroHedge reported that the misery index is the total of the inflation rate and unemployment, and presently holds at 10.5%, which lines up with where it was during the Great Recession. 

Extreme inflation acts as a tax on true spending power, ZeroHedge said, implying the incomes of Americans are being quickly devalued, leading to a jump in the misery index.

The index is expected to drop in the coming months when supply constraints ease, which ZeroHedge reported should lower unemployment and inflation.