Field Notes Inside an Integrated Communications Agency

Whenever the Federal Reserve Chairman decides to break the populus off with a little insight, I try to pay attention. Try. The uncomfortable reality of trying to listen to such dry material, however, is that...well...I just can't. Like a good little citizen intern, I make my cup of tea and sit down on the edge of the couch, with studious posture in effect, mental notebook open and ready to capture every morsel. Fifteen minutes in, and I am invariably tuned out. Last night was no different. By the time I snapped out of my Bernanke hypnosis, I had been maniacally blasting fools in Call of Duty IV for some time. I don't even remember getting up and turning on the XBOX. This morning, when I opened my eyes to the new day, I saw my breath. It was cold. And in this breath, I saw signs of inflation.

Let me back up just a few hours. On the way home to the edge of the couch yesterday evening, I first had to trade 36 dollars for 11.3 gallons of gas. When I got home, my girlfriend greeted me in the living room in full winter gear, complete with gloves, scarf and toboggan. I got the message - noone has ever accused Suzanne of being subtle. I had once again let our home heating oil tank run completely dry. THREE HUNDRED AND EIGHT DOLLARS LATER, I had successfully ordered 100 gallons of oil. So let's run back through the math. In the hour leading up to the Fed's big spiel, I dropped 344 dollars on petroleum-based necessities.

According to the AP, wholesale inflation grew by 6.3% in 2007, the largest jump in 26 years. Rising energy costs of various persuasions contributed a great deal to these numbers. My cold-natured girlfriend notwithstanding, I am bringing this up out of concern for my friends to the north. Here in balmy North Carolina, we've barely had a good frost so far this winter. I cannot imagine the hardships being endured by blue-collar families in the frozen tundra of New England, trying to decide - in some cases, literally - whether to eat or keep their furnace going. With the subject of the economy rapidly overtaking Iraq as the issue of distinction in this year's presidential race, candidates are scrambling to offer solutions and plans to save the day. Unfortunately, with a solid two months of hard winter remaining in the frozen North, any proposed plans to ease our burdens will be leaving these poor folks out in the cold.