cnbcs jim cramer said thursday he believes the primary solution to taming inflation is bringing the coronavirus pandemic under control suggesting traditional levers of monetary policy are illequipped to stamp out the price pressures rippling through the economy for all the comparisons to weimar germany or the stagflation of the 1970s our current bout of inflation is unique the mad money host said contending many of the root causes of the semiconductor shortage supply chain disruptions rising home prices and higher wages are related in various ways to covid and fear of the disease prices are going up across the board because people dont want to die they dont want their families to die they dont want longterm health complications cramer said i think you cure this inflation not with higher rates but with pfizer moderna and jj he added referring to the trio of companies behind the covid vaccines available in the us federal reserve chairman jerome powell recently acknowledged inflation has not subsided as quickly as he thought it would during the economic reopening from covid closures however the nations top central banker has been steadfast in his view that price pressures will eventually ease as supply chain bottlenecks improve and pentup consumer demand wanes critics say the fed is wrong to think inflationary pressures will improve on their own and believe its highly accommodative monetary policy which includes an asset purchase program and nearzero interest rates are no longer appropriate cramer who has routinely defended powells dovish approach throughout the pandemic pointed to the shortage of truck drivers as one example of where the feds impact would be limited the trucking industrys challenges were merely exacerbated by the covid crisis but health worries added another hurdle to hiring cramer said the good thing about a labor shortage is that its simple to fix you just need to offer people more money cramer said of course thats expensive this is a structural issue not a transient one but just because its not transient that doesnt mean the fed can solve it if anything it might get worse in a weaker economy meaning you cant fix this shortage with higher rates no matter what the hedge funds tell you inflation in the housing and auto markets both for new and used cars represent areas of concern for many observers cramer said however cramer said he believes those purchasing decisions are largely being driven by health concerns that would remain regardless of fed policy you have this combination of a fear of death and relentless innovation thats driving the housing and auto inflation cramer said if the fed wants to cool down the overheating housing and auto markets well it needs to find a cure for covid what were seeing now is a revolution in the way people live their lives and that revolution cant be stopped by higher rates cramer added sign up here for the new cnbc investing club newsletter to follow jim cramers every move in the market delivered directly in your inbox