Two diverging schools of macro thoughts are prevalent today.
One calls for a “Roaring 20s” redux while the other believes in a forthcoming liquidity crisis.
Both narratives have valid points and flaws.
We find ourselves right in between the two.
Let me elaborate.
👇👇👇
The central argument of the reflationary thesis is that a pent-up demand from consumers will likely cause explosive growth in the economy similar to the early 1920s.
To be fair, financial conditions for US households have significantly improved.
As shown in the chart below, their net worth is rising at the fastest pace since 1953, which also includes the largest wealth increase by the bottom 50% in history.
The Spanish flu of 1919 serves as a roadmap for the current macro environment.
Thread 👇👇👇
Similar to today, the outbreak of the pandemic severely limited the industrial capacity of the economy and led to a major supply shock in raw materials.
Commodities became rare assets and, despite still muted aggregate demand, inflationary forces started to accelerate again.
To note, the rise of wholesale prices became a global phenomenon.
Grocery stores began hoarding inventories to sell at higher prices, forcing governments to intervene and criminalize these actions to avoid an even larger hit to the consumer.