The Fed will put the economy in a coma if that’s what’s needed to whip inflation

What a mess.

Consumer prices are accelerating faster than at any time since the early 1980s. The average 30-year mortgage rate is approaching 6 percent, the highest in 14 years. The stock market is melting down.

And here’s the kicker: Times will most likely get tougher before they get better.

As the Federal Reserve drives up interest rates in a high-stakes bid to bring down inflation, more people will be out of a job. Real wages (adjusted for inflation) will stagnate or fall. Businesses will fail. People who can least afford it will take the biggest hit.

Still,...