The war with the Iran continues across the one-month mark, as Operation Epic Fury continues hammering the Iranian regime. From the jump, President Trump has said the conflict would continue for multiple weeks. But that has not stopped the economy from reacting, and in turn, bringing out the doomsters with it. People have been predicting the worst out of the conflict with Iran, without seeing any potential positives.
The positives are the removal of a huge thorn in our side: Iran. The removal of terrorism and radical Jihadism from the world's shipping routes would be ideal. But beyond that, the U.S. is set to potentially control a large chunk of the world's oil supply, should things work out for the best. It could set the U.S. up for a bit of economic success like we have never seen. Yet, the doomsters still reign, saying there is nothing but gloom.
The Paris-based Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development is now saying if the war drags on, inflation in the U.S. could hit a painful 4.2 percent this year. But in reality, they have no idea. Minus the fact they are from Europe, they have no true feel of the American economy, or what the impacts of this war might be.
Former Trump economic Diana Furchtgott-Roth says not only do they have no clue, but they also have ill will.
"The Paris OECD is very much against U.S. intervention in Iran...and has every incentive to make it appear that inflation will rise dramatically," she says.
Now the United States since World War Two has had an economy that actually thrives on war time. War creates instability, which strengthens the dollar, defense contractors generate jobs and economic stimulus usually goes out to manufacturers. We essentially have an economy that likes war. But there are still bound to be issues with it.
One of those issues is inflation and there is bound to be at least some kind of increase with Operation Epic Fury. Especially as issues persist in the Strait of Hormuz. But this does not mean this is an ill-advised venture. Iran for 47 years has chanted "Death to America," and directly impacted the U.S. through terror proxy groups like Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis.
Yes, this whole war will upset people. But that is life. Things happen you do not like. But for the betterment of the world, this is a cause worth fighting.
"To deal with Iran we have to face that there will be negative consequences for the economy...but if you think of what might have happened if we had waited until Iran had nuclear weapons before we went in...the fallout would have been many times worse," says Furchtgott-Roth.
This is a long road, President Trump said so from the beginning of Operation Epic Fury. There will be short-term negatives, like slightly higher gas prices, for a while. But on the backside of this could be Middle East peace and an economic boom. So, in the words of the 76ers teams of the mid 2010s, "Trust the Process."
"We are making an omelet, we are breaking some eggs...but we are going to be better off afterward than we would have been otherwise," Furchtgott-Roth says.
The positives might far outweigh any brief negatives we might face. Trust the plan and the process. Do not buy into the panic. So far, the process is working.
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