Inflation: Is It Hitting Communities Of Color The Hardest?
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Inflation, or a surge in the prices of consumer goods and services over a period of time, has detrimentally and disproportionately affected low-income communities, as they already struggle to financially sustain their lives, financial experts say. Basic human needs like groceries and housing are now more expensive, and the overall cost of living has increased. Neel Kashkari, a former Interim Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Stability, describes the cause of inflation to be “a mismatch between supply and demand.” Supply is being withheld due to the COVID-19 pandemic and supply chains while demand is on the rise. Communities of color are likely to be hit the hardest by inflation, as they already lag behind in income compared to their white counterparts, numerous studies show. The pre-existing wealth gap between black Americans and their white counterparts has made people of color more vulnerable to the implications of inflation.