Central banks (attempt) to control inflation rather than economists. I’m questioning the purposes of numerous threads about rising prices. Price rises don’t happen overnight or by accident. A massive increase in the supply of money (QE then furlough) at the same time as rising costs of energy and raw materials (war), increased consumption, lack of supply ( both of which are Covid related) and rising labour costs (inflation/cost of living crisis) all play a part.
I can’t see this situation resolving quickly and countries like the USA which produce the expensive Gibsons, Fenders, G&Ls and MusicMan basses are hit by all of the problems above. I guess energy costs, raw materials and transportation costs are rising so it’s only the labour costs (including welfare of employees) that can really be contained which gives a considerable advantage to Far East producers of instruments. So yep I expect that considering all the circumstances it’s not that shocking that a US mass produced instruments are costing more than a few years back when central banks were pumping liquidity into the market to rescue investment banks, commercial banks were flooding the economy with money for cheap mortgages and loans, the cost of borrowing was at historic lows and energy (read fossil fuels) were being burned cheaply with little regard to their cost either in terms of national security or environmental impact.