Inflation Exit Only
It mocks the triumphalist language around inflation ‘cooling’ by showing how economists and officials celebrate a slowdown in price increases as if consumers are leaving the problem behind, even though the already elevated prices remain locked into everyday life.
A single-panel editorial cartoon set inside a supermarket designed like an airport terminal. At the entrance stands a TSA-style archway labeled “TEMPORARY INFLATION SCREENING.” As shoppers push carts through, mechanical arms instantly slap bright new higher price stickers onto bread, eggs, milk, and cereal. The shoppers look weary but unsurprised, like frequent travelers enduring routine hassle. Farther ahead, near the checkout exit, a huge upbeat banner reads “INFLATION COOLING” with festive arrows pointing outward, while the cash register receipt still shows painfully high totals and the items in the cart still carry all the inflated stickers. One shopper glances at the receipt and mutters to another, visually underscoring the absurdity that the ‘temporary’ surge has become the permanent baseline.