So is the cost of everything else: a basket of groceries, an automobile, tuition, healthcare, rent, an hour of labor, and so on.
Is there a common denominator here? Yes: the declining purchasing power of the dollar. And the purchasing power is declining because the government keeps putting into circulation more dollars than is justified by the nation's output of goods and services.
Sure, prices are determined by supply and demand, and sure, for each price rise there are unique factors that affect the supply/demand equation. But there is also one factor that is not unique and is present each time. And it is the shrinking purchasing power of the dollar. In other words, inflation. Which is caused by the government.
Who benefits from the shrinking dollar? Debtors, who get to pay their debts with dollars that have less value than those that they borrowed. And who is the biggest debtor, i.e., who benefits the most? Far and away, our government. Let's face it: in ten years, the dollar will not buy what 50 cents buys today. This, I think, is the only prudent way to plan for the future.
@D3fenceJoeLibertarian1mo1MO
The US government went off the gold standard 50 years ago. Since then we have been playing games with fiat money (simple paper dollars, no backing), fractional reserve lending, and modern monetary theory (MMT). It has caused havoc in the economy.
We are now in a race to the bottom (like a third world country) as the money printing needs to accelerate to pay of interest on the debt as the debt grows.
I'd like to see a serious article about fiat money, government money printing, and the affects of inflation.
