One way to measure inflation is the difference between nominal and real GDP. Using that metric, inflation has been rising at an alarming pace, accounting for more and more of nominal GDP. Three quarters of the apparent gains from July through September were just inflation, not real growth, which is why the real GDP figure came in at only 2.0%.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department reports that wages over the last year after inflation actually LOST 1.2% – meaning workers are poorer in 2021 than they were in 2020.