For those of us who see the world’s glass as half empty, a book entitled The End of the World Is Just the Beginning makes the pulse race in anticipation. The author, Peter Zelhan, doesn’t disappoint. R.E.M.’s “It’s the End of the World as We Know It, (and I Feel Fine)” comes to mind.

Those who don’t learn from the past, as the old adage goes, are doomed to repeat it. Even in the realm of something as seemingly abstract and technical as economic policy, this saying holds true. Prices are soaring in all areas of consumption, from the grocery store aisle to the pump, with the United States experiencing its highest rate of inflation since 1981.

The Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee announced Wednesday it is raising its key policy rate—the federal funds rate—by 75 basis points to 2.5 percent. According to the FOMC’s press release, the committee recognizes that economic activity is declining but that Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation also “remains elevated”: