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Platypus Economics with Justin Wolfers

Platypus Economics with Justin Wolfers

What Halloween Candy Reveals About Inflation | Off the Clock

Oct 17, 2026 · 43m

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About this episode

Why is inflation rising faster than your wages? It's a cost-push energy shock, not the good kind.Justin Wolfers and Bloomberg's Stacey Vanek Smith dig into the latest inflation report on Off the Clock, and the news isn't fun: prices are climbing 3.7% while wages crawl along at 3%, which means the average American — maybe you — is quietly falling behind. Justin walks through the difference between demand-pull inflation (the economy runs hot, prices rise, but your paycheck rises too) and cost-push inflation (energy and tariffs push costs up, prices rise, and nobody hands you a raise). Guess which one we're living through.Along the way, Justin grades new Fed chair Kevin Warsh (forecasters gave…