The End of Inflation
Much of the polarization in our world hinges on the false proclamations of identity and symptoms. What occurs as an endless series of man-made crises, somehow inevitably lead to more centralized control and a slow and methodical erosion of individual rights.
Inflation may be the most non-partisan issue affecting all Americans. And like many current events, from wildfires, to disease, to GMO mosquitoes, inflation is not a natural phenomenon.
The most respected ivy league business schools in America claim inflation is the organic result of rational actors in free markets, fueled primarily by supply and demand. And yet, the inherent thesis of fiat currency requires the constant creation of artificial debt where principal and interest always exceed the money supply. Are under-supply and excess demand the fundamental drivers of inflation or the unsustainable debasement of currency and our relationship to the value of money?
The Age of Intentional Inflation
Economic rules are too often created by those who control money. Fraud and the indifference of man willing to take advantage of his neighbor, are generally unaccounted for in our theoretical models. More interesting are markets manipulated purely based on inflation controls when the very thesis of debt-based currency, compounded by intentional supply chain disruptions, is the inherent source of most inflation.
Central banking and fiat money allow a small group of influential individuals, often disguised as corporations, family foundations, or ‘public-private partnerships,’ to benefit from the unrestricted printing of currency and market failures by virtue of their influence over the availability and price of money.
Inflation controls and averaging over large geographic areas are poor forms of measurement.
The primary use of a single variable to determine any complex system defies basic principles of mathematics and rational thought; especially when the benchmarks used are blatantly inaccurate.
Economic models must take many local variables into account, like population inflows and outflows, and the quality of economic activity. If people are leaving California by the busload and moving to Texas, it is foolish to assume the borrowing rates and value of currency in both locations are identical. Further, if California is a hub for dying or fleeting industries (or suffers from man-made drought conditions) and Texas has a diversified economic base, then California is clearly deflating compared to Texas. We can identify a percentage of average inflation that falsely indicates balance, when in fact, the story and the methodology of measurement grossly understate reality.
Combine this with the political and now personal medical liability in one state versus the other. The risk and economic potential of two large, politically and culturally distant States are significantly different. Look no further than the Euro-dollar to see systemic problems with a uniform currency between unique nation-states with widely varying resources, skills, and attitudes.
He who controls money and agriculture wields undue power over civilization.
Averaging over 250 years, the United States has experienced a market crash every five-eight (5-8) years. Monetary inflation controls have done little to change this.
Fast forward to today, the World Economic Forum, a consortium of the largest global banks and corporations, publicly claims that America and the developed world will own nothing in 2030? Ask yourself, how might that be possible?
Aside from ongoing efforts to deconstruct property rights directly, a simple way to usurp American property ownership would be to destabilize the underlying value of our currency (i.e., oil), artificially disrupt supply chains, print perverse amounts of fiat money (grossly reducing consumer buying power), and issue unrepayable debt for unprecedented government spending. The effect of current inflation and exponentially increasing property tax valuations alone place us at serious risk of a national bankruptcy crisis.
No inflation during periods of barter and decentralized currency.
In a recent article published in, Imprimis, John Steele Gordon eloquently articulates the history of inflation since the founding of our Republic. Not surprisingly, the highest periods of inflation in American history occurred during periods of war and irresponsible government spending. Interestingly, prior to the introduction of centralized currency, the early colonies experienced near-zero inflation due to the use of a diverse range of foreign coins and direct barter.
What does this tell us? Money printing creates inflation. When there is no manipulated money in circulation, markets are truly free to determine fair prices for goods and commodities based on the natural dynamics of supply and demand.
My dear friend David Salgado regularly reminds me that the only ways to repay the ever-increasing compound interest created from printed fiat currency are gross consumerism and war. And we wonder why there is so much pressure, and advertising, for both.
Are we manifesting Inflation?
I have compassion for the suffering caused by what appears to be intentional inflation. Regardless of the drivers, tens of millions of families are struggling to buy basic necessities, pay rent, or find themselves on the brink of foreclosure. That said, I question our individual and collective relationship to the value of money. The outer is always a reflection of the inner. Many of us can reflect on moments when we have consciously sacrificed our wellness and the health of our most important relationships for the pursuit of financial security.
Are greed and materialism the root issues fueling inflation, or is it the false idea that there is not enough?
It is interesting to consider that we may be manifesting a perpetual increase in the cost of money. Given the world echoes our thoughts and attention, inflation may well be occurring because of our relationship to the value of materiality, which borders on obsession. Without judgement, compare the time and energy we dedicate to financial security to the cumulative time we spend in reverence to our spiritual faith, to Nature, to wellness, and in gratitude for the hands that grow our food .
As is often the case, the most immediate opportunity to change our environment is to change ourselves. While shifting away from centralized banking and printing fiat currency are keys to eliminating unsustainable inflation, we may have much more impact by simply changing our relationship to money; and more specifically, to scarcity.
The way out…
Decentralization is the most obvious opportunity to deter inflation and corruption. The way out of intentional inflation is by localizing our economies and moderating our lifestyles. This requires a reprioritization of quality and local spending over price and convenience. As more people downsize their material lifestyle and begin purchasing food and consumer goods from local growers and producers, we will reignite local production as demand for higher quality goods will justify higher prices.
In addition to creating incentives for decentralized currencies, we can engender property tax ceilings to avoid the exponential increase in ‘valuations’ that only serve to grow already over-funded systems of government. We must preserve and assure the ongoing potential for home ownership by curbing inflation lest we risk becoming a feudal society not dissimilar to Singapore or Detroit (more on this topic in a future post.)
Cultivating a resilient, local economy does not eliminate the role of global trade; however, we may consider distinguishing its relationship to Globalism, which is little more than a euphemism for ‘centralized control by global corporations and non-elected authorities.’
To create lasting change, we need only redefine what we value.
The transformation of economics must revalue the long-term effects of our decisions on overall human wellness and Nature, which will lead to a reprioritization of natural agriculture, diverse sources of clean and affordable energy, a sound and ethical system of money, and the end of the ongoing attempt to genetically modify, patent, and sell Nature.
We cannot consume, entertain, or medicate our way to peace, prosperity, and health. We live in a society where athletes and entertainers earn hundreds of millions of dollars throughout their careers while farmers across the nation are on the brink of bankruptcy.
We face the dangerous and familiar foe of human insecurity and greed, with unlimited access to free printed money. Before we can resolve the broader issue of inflation as an expression of flawed economic theory and practice, we must first resolve our relationship to scarcity and reprioritize what we value.
The end of inflation.
The following are suggestions to reverse intentional inflation:
Immediately cap property valuations at the 2020 value (prior to the creation of $6 Trillion of artificial money). Cap annual increases at 2%, placing the honous on government to control inflation instead of American citizens financing the gross devaluation of our spending capacity.
Find out who stole $15 Trillion from the Federal Reserve between 1998 and 2008.
Create and enforce severe economic penalties for intentional supply chain disruptions, attempted monopolization of supply, or price gouging for essential goods, including construction materials and services. Penalties should include the permanent loss of corporate charter.
Stop the money printer.
Local merchants and makers begin to barter services instead of ‘valuing’ them in artificially and intentionally inflated dollars.
Introduce decentralized banking systems that are locally owned and operated, and incentivize local spending through discounts or tax rebates that do not require more government borrowing. If we value local money circulation versus sending our dollars to tax havens abroad, we need to hang carrots to overcome the allure of convenience.
Build and support diverse and resilient local economies that produce food, energy, and quality consumable goods.
We could greatly benefit from decentralized currency and allowing true free markets, uncorrupted by globalist special interests attempting to decide our fate and our future.
We could learn as much from Milton Freidman as we could from the often-misrepresented ideas of Adam Smith. As individuals, we may consider a shift from the mindset of scarcity to abundance and the creation of a robust local economy that produces high-quality goods that reduce our dependency on the global machine.