Chances are tariffs will boost pricing this year on many goods. Corporations from Walmart to Ferrari to Hermès have all but guaranteed this and some have even raised prices already. That is inflationary. But it's possible this inflation will be short term, not long term. Long Term inflation compounds. It happens consistently every year (a slow burn most times). A one-time (bigger) price jump is inflationary, but it is sometimes transitory (that's if corporations don't see opportunity to raise prices on everything else and blame tariffs/inflation). They've done so before, in the 2020-2023 inflation surge and will do so again if the market bears the higher pricing.

A perfect example of short term inflation is when the price of paper towels surged in 2020 when supplies were "normal" but demand was intense due to Covid. The demand spiraled while supply-chains had been disrupted causing a massive spike, temporarily. Prices went down sharply within a few months. Same with oil, eggs, natural gas, lumber, etc. All those items did not compound. They surged and then they reversed course (deflated). Long Term inflation is that persistent annual creep like a guaranteed price escalation for each year in a lease. Not only does that add to the cost, but it compounds too.

A 2% price hike every year over 5 years has a worse impact over the long term than a 5% one-time hike and none for a few years thereafter. Adjusting to jumps/sprints is always more difficult and dramatic than the slow uphill burn, yet often that long distance uphill climb burns many more calories! It's critical to see the difference between the two.