Michael Matulef @Michael Matulef - 1y
The Specter of Hyperinflation Looms over the Economy My latest from #Mises https://mises.org/wire/specter-hyperinflation-looms-over-economy
There is a specter haunting the modern world 👻 nostr:nevent1qqsyygkn7fwut3dwjej72p0d8kuqm0yhfjsz2zywy43rcgsuv5ldvxqpzamhxue69uhkxcfwdaexzmn8v4cxjmrv9ejx2aszypw4fpxgf9n64sucdn239tudeh2jgv7sjqddhw6eydsprzzzsw4puqcyqqqqqqgewpq5f
With each intervention, the Fed suppresses market corrections, inflates asset bubbles, and encourages high-risk debt. This constant flood of stimulus promotes moral hazard as it optimizes the economy for speculation while curtailing organic productivity. How much longer can this monetary dance along the precipice of hyperinflation continue before the dollar plunges into the abyss? Despite the veneer of stability, individuals sense that the economy rests on a precarious foundation of debt and deceit. They intuitively grasp that capitalism has metamorphosed into a cronyism that disproportionately rewards those with political connections in an amalgamation of concentrated power, unrestrained money creation, and escalating inequality. nostr:nevent1qqsyygkn7fwut3dwjej72p0d8kuqm0yhfjsz2zywy43rcgsuv5ldvxqpzpmhxue69uhkummnw3ezuamfdejsygza2jzvsjt84tpesmx4z2hcmnw4yseapyq6mwa4jgmqzxyy9qa2rcpsgqqqqqqshm29wj
It is all but inevitable that central banks will continue expanding the money supply to delay the day of reckoning and preserve the facade until the inevitable hyperinflationary crack-up boom, although the sheer weight of debt alone may produce this outcome. Promises of reform have been made, only to go unfulfilled. In order to prevent disaster, we must fundamentally rethink our monetary and fiscal policies against the temptations of short-term political gain. To quote Ayn Rand: "Just as a man can evade reality and act on the blind whim of any given moment, but can achieve nothing save progressive self-destruction—so a society can evade reality and establish a system ruled by the blind whims of its members or its leader, by the majority gang of any given moment, by the current demagogue or by a permanent dictator. But such a society can achieve nothing save the rule of brute force and a state of progressive self-destruction." nostr:nevent1qqsyygkn7fwut3dwjej72p0d8kuqm0yhfjsz2zywy43rcgsuv5ldvxqpzamhxue69uhkxcfwdaexzmn8v4cxjmrv9ejx2aszypw4fpxgf9n64sucdn239tudeh2jgv7sjqddhw6eydsprzzzsw4puqcyqqqqqqgewpq5f
A crack-up boom would erode the power of the federal government: with a dramatic fall in the currency’s purchasing power, the administration’s ability to fund programs and institutions would deteriorate, the Treasury would go bankrupt, and the government would have to either massively downsize or attempt to fund operations by printing even more money. Along with the value of the promissory notes, trust in centralized authority would evaporate. With the federal government weakened and desperate, power would naturally shift back to individuals and their local communities. When faced with harsh economic realities, communities depend on themselves rather than flailing national policy. Individuals and communities should strengthen their local networks to weather the coming storm, increasing local involvement and forging bonds of cooperation. Joining area organizations and neighborhood groups can foster mutually beneficial relationships and support systems, invaluable resources for when the currency buckles. With shared purpose, communities enhance their capacity to withstand the crisis. nostr:nevent1qqsyygkn7fwut3dwjej72p0d8kuqm0yhfjsz2zywy43rcgsuv5ldvxqpzamhxue69uhkxcfwdaexzmn8v4cxjmrv9ejx2aszypw4fpxgf9n64sucdn239tudeh2jgv7sjqddhw6eydsprzzzsw4puqcyqqqqqqgewpq5f
This phenomenon was, in the great European inflations of the ’20s, called flight into real goods (Flucht in die Sachwerte) or crack-up boom (Katastrophenhausse). The mathematical economists are at a loss to comprehend the causal relation between the increase in the quantity of money and what they call “velocity of circulation.” The characteristic mark of the phenomenon is that the increase in the quantity of money causes a fall in the demand for money. The tendency toward a fall in purchasing power as generated by the increased supply of money is intensified by the general propensity to restrict cash holdings which it brings about. Eventually a point is reached where the prices at which people would be prepared to part with “real” goods discount to such an extent the expected progress in the fall of purchasing power that nobody has a sufficient amount of cash at hand to pay them. The monetary system breaks down; all transactions in the money concerned cease; a panic makes its purchasing power vanish altogether. People return either to barter or to the use of another kind of money. nostr:nevent1qqsyygkn7fwut3dwjej72p0d8kuqm0yhfjsz2zywy43rcgsuv5ldvxqpzdmhxue69uhk7enxvd5xz6tw9ec82c30qgs964yyepyk02krnpkd2y403hxa2fpn6zgp4kamty3kqyvgg2p658srqsqqqqqpwqltvx
Credit expansion cannot increase the supply of real goods. It merely brings about a rearrangement. It diverts capital investment away from the course prescribed by the state of economic wealth and market conditions. It causes production to pursue paths which it would not follow unless the economy were to acquire an increase in material goods. As a result, the upswing lacks a solid base. It is not real prosperity. It is illusory prosperity. It did not develop from an increase in economic wealth. Rather, it arose because the credit expansion created the illusion of such an increase. Sooner or later it must become apparent that this economic situation is built on sand. nostr:nevent1qqsyygkn7fwut3dwjej72p0d8kuqm0yhfjsz2zywy43rcgsuv5ldvxqpzamhxue69uhkxcfwdaexzmn8v4cxjmrv9ejx2aszypw4fpxgf9n64sucdn239tudeh2jgv7sjqddhw6eydsprzzzsw4puqcyqqqqqqgewpq5f
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https://fountain.fm/episode/PbaTOuLoWdh4NLrQnyTA nostr:nevent1qqsyygkn7fwut3dwjej72p0d8kuqm0yhfjsz2zywy43rcgsuv5ldvxqpzamhxue69uhhyetvv9ujucm4wfex2mn59en8j6gzypw4fpxgf9n64sucdn239tudeh2jgv7sjqddhw6eydsprzzzsw4puqcyqqqqqqgr502p9