Are we on the verge of Weimar Germany-esque (or Zimbabwean) hyper-inflation? Judging by what I just paid for a bag of cat food – and judging by the soaring value of gold and silver – the answer may be yes.
I buy a bag of the same cat food about once every two weeks, that timespan being about how long it takes for the cats to eat a bag of the food we buy. The bag I bought about two weeks ago cost about $16. Yesterday, I went to the same supermarket to get a new bag because we were running low again and paid about $18 for the same bag. That’s something like a 15 percent increase in the price over a period of two weeks. What will a bag of cat food cost two weeks from now?
You may remember the article I published back in August about how “meat is a rich man’s food.” It was about my memory of snickering – as a kid – at being told by a mom instructing my Boy Scout troop about the virtues of frugality that meat is a kind of luxury item. And so it has become. Hamburger costs what steak used to – and steak is, indeed, a rich man’s food.
Maybe soon owning a cat or a dog will also be a rich man’s indulgence when it becomes too expensive for the rest of us to feed them. This is no joke. We are already looking into making our own pet food, which is something we probably ought to have done a long time ago – for our financial health as well as the health of our pets. Buying bulk ingredients is one way to reduce the cost, which is really just another way of saying a way to compensate for the theft of the buying power of the money we’re forced to use that is foisted on us by this strange entity styled the “federal reserve.” It – as everyone ought to know by now – is as “federal” as Federal Express in that both are private, for-profit concerns (though FedEx is a legitimate business that forces no one to use its services).
In fact, the “fed” is the private banking cartel that bought the federal government – and thereby came to own us – back in 1913. It acquired the power to indebt the federal government to it and charge it interest on that debt, which was created out of nothing (much the same as the interest people are charged on their home mortgages; the principal doesn’t exist except as a construct; but the interest is very real). Thus were the people of the United States enserfed.
This brings us to gold, the money that’s real because it cannot be keystroked or printed into existence. Its value approaches $4,000 for one ounce. This is roughly double what it was about five years ago and exponentially more than what it was at the time of the creation of the “fed” and the tax on income that turned Americans into serfs who no longer have a legally protected right to keep what they earn; instead, they are allowed to keep a certain portion of it, the amount decided arbitrarily by the government that is owned by the banks that bought the government back in 1913. 
The upwelling value of gold tracks with the declining purchasing power of the fiat currency we’re forced to use by the government that is nothing more than a kind of storefront for the banks that have the power to “inflate” the value of the currency, benefitting themselves and their chosen insider friends who can buy low and sell high with the special inside knowledge denied us. We’re then taxed on the remainder of the currency we’re allowed to keep, which buys less and less as it is “inflated” – which is a disingenuous, misleading way of saying its purchasing power is diminished.
It’s a kind of double-tap that assures general impoverishment, which is exactly what the people who created the “fed” and the income tax intended. Capitalism is for them; socialism is for us. They have created a system that makes it very difficult for the average wage-earner to ever accrue capital. He spends his life working to keep up and ends up with not much to show for it after working a lifetime paying taxes and trying to pay for the things he has to have with money that pays for less and less.
At the height of the “inflation” in Weimar Germany, people rushed to buy basic staples as soon as they got their million (or ten million) mark pay, because if they didn’t spend it right away, that loaf of bread they might have been able to buy with a million mark note might not buy it the next day. Or that evening.
Cat food appears headed in the same direction. So does America.
. . .
If you like what you’ve found here please consider supporting EPautos.
We depend on you to keep the wheels turning!
Our donate button is here.
If you prefer not to use PayPal, our mailing address is:
EPautos
721 Hummingbird Lane SE
Copper Hill, VA 24079
PS: Get an EPautos magnet or sticker or coaster in return for a $25 or more one-time donation or a $10 or more monthly recurring donation. (Please be sure to tell us you want a magnet or sticker or coaster – and also, provide an address, so we know where to mail the thing!)
If you’d like a Baaaaa hat or other EPautos gear, see here!
We interrupt this broadcast for an important message from Lightning Jim Farley:
‘Ford CEO Jim Farley says US buyers aren’t interested in $75,000 electric vehicles — and the automaker doesn’t want to keep living in Tesla’s shadow.
“We’ve learned … people are not willing to pay a $30,000 premium for that big battery on a $50,000, $60,000 utility,” Farley told Yahoo Finance at Ford’s Accelerate Pro conference in Detroit. “But they’re willing to buy a $30,000 EV if they save $2,000 a year compared to gas costs.”
‘Farley’s comments underscore the challenges Ford faces as it pushes further into EVs. While global EV demand grows, price sensitivity is shaping which models will succeed.’
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ford-ceo-says-customers-are-not-interested-in-75000-evs-110019792.html
What manipulation technique is Farley using here? That’s right — limited hangout.
First he confesses to the obvious fact that people aren’t buying $75,000 EeeVees. Then he pivots to a preposterous whopper about an EeeVee saving $2,000 a year on gas costs.
That’s absurd. Assume electricity is free, while you’re spending $2,000 a year on gasoline. At the current average price of $3.16/gal, that’s 633 gallons. In a 30 MPG vehicle (remember, we’re talking frugal folks here), 633 gallons will take you almost 19,000 miles, well above what the average driver racks up.
But electricity is not free. Indeed, its cost is approaching parity with gasoline, meaning that even a cheap EeeVee saves NOTHING on fuel or power cost. Jim’s in trouble, and he’s gone to fibbing to save his dying career. 🙁
What Lightning Jim also admits is that ‘Tesla envy’ is what drove legacy automakers’ disastrous malinvestments in EeeVees. But it never made any business sense, and they only lost billions which never can be recovered.
“But they’re willing to buy a $30,000 EV if they save $2,000 a year compared to gas costs.” -Farley
There is a huge demand for Porsche 911s “IF” it they only cost as much as a Toyota Camry. See, Jim H, there’s a huge, untapped market for Porsche 911s out there, right?
There’s got to be both demand and SUPPLY of something to be a viable market. Assuming there is demand for a “$30,000 EV that saves $2,000 a year compared to gas costs,” the question then becomes gas costs of what vehicle? Is it a $50k ice vehicle? Is it a $30k ice vehicle? Also, is this $30k EV a small sedan, or is it a mid-size suv? As far as I know, they’ve never been able to supply a $30k EV (in today’s dollars) that saves $166 per month with charging over tanking up with gas. What Farley said is just nonsense.
And of course, Farley’s argument also totally ignores the massive depreciation of electric vehicles.
So perhaps one could be excused for observing the gentleman is full of shit.
The question of inflation came up, this is a good clarifier:
https://mises.org/understanding-money-mechanics/monetary-inflation-and-price-inflation
inflation actually is in reference to monetary inflation – the increase of money in the system, not price inflation, which comes later as and after effect
If you want a visual why cat food is going up, this is the chart that shows why:
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/M1SL
there are different categories of money supply
M1, M2, M3 etc, M1 is the narrowest, only currency and checking:
m1 (noun) – The narrowest measure of the money supply, comprising the currency in circulation plus demand deposits or checking account balances.
BTW the Fed has two tasks, full employment and price stability
by jacking M1 by 12 trillion overnight in 2020, they caused a hyperinflation scenario now unfolding, and what they must do is remove M from the system to stop inflation OR the bond market will revolt sending interest rates higher
the Fed is SLOWLY reducing M, but not fast enough, thus persistent inflation is working it’s way through the system and eventually having an effect on cat food prices
I remember as a youngin the radio news reports included financial news, the M1 and M2 USED to be watched like a hawk. Haven’t heard a peep in years on any financial news show.
Sovereign interest rate charts, for any nation, are available for viewing on the web. The 10 year bond is the typical metric that is used to compare nation states to one another:
https://www.worldgovernmentbonds.com/
Across the spectrum of insane statist government, almost none which can control spending, the trend is up. Scroll down and check the bond rating, like Switzerland’s AAA vs. collapsing Amerika- whose credit rating is slipping.
And no, Trumpenstein will not save us because he is a Zionist lunatic, a warmonger, a liar, a big inflationist – and his recent attacks on Jay Powell (who he nominated) is a bad omen of things to come. Trump has never paid his bills, has gone bankrupt 6 times to stiff his creditors
click on a longer term, and bars
https://tradingeconomics.com/united-kingdom/government-bond-yield
All fiat currency will eventually return to their intrinsic values…..ZERO!!!!
Gold and other prescious metals retain their value, regardless of whatever Mafioso’s, or worse, (((government))) is in charge….
Why else would (((they))) want to steal PM’s values from you????
A chart showing Obamacare ‘coverage’ inflation:
https://postimg.cc/sQSQPLhX
Left side: an average 18% rate hike is planned next year by 312 Obamacare insurers
Right side: for a 55-year old couple making $85,000, they pay a $7,225 premium (capped at 8.5% of income). Big Gov pays a $13,567 tax credit. If subsidies expire, this couple is projected to pay $24,535 (29% of income) for ‘coverage’ after the rate hikes. Source:
https://archive.ph/zYAxO
Can anyone spot the real problem here? Health insurers are a mafia, running a non-competitive Stalinist system, whose costs are a gross outlier vs the rest of the world.
Sounds like a core Republican constituency! Surely we can cut a deal to keep this excellent grift going. Stay tuned to the next exciting episode of As the Senate Turns. 🙂
Maybe keep the government out of hellcare altogether? Since when is the government resposible for forcing hospitals to treat people who can’t pay, determine the price of medicine, tell us what pills and shots to take?
Here in Poland I buy for my cats and dogs sth that would translate as broth portion, like for a chicken soup, pieces of chicken legs. It costs like not even 1 dollar per kg (so like 2.2 lbs). It’s a cheap solution and it’s pure meat which they prefer and of course you can eat it too.
Though I’m not sure you have it there.
Another negative outcome of inflation, the money created by the Fed and US Government goes first through those who hold the most assets. They have so much cash lying around they don’t know what to do with it all. They then start buying up real estate, stocks, and companies. After that they want to make even more money so raise the prices and lower the quality to squeeze every dollar out of their new assets. This is what happened to Cracker Barrel in my opinion. It’s also what’s happening to skiing. There is a Zerohedge article today about Vail Resorts that talks about this.
Inflation in the classical meaning of the terms means an increase in the amount of money and credit in circulation.
The ‘general price level’ definition, so beloved by our monetary central planners and the mainstream economic ‘experts’ is a nonsense term, because demand for money itself is dynamic and depends on on both micro and macro economic conditions.
In other words, it is something that can never be truly measured and the so-called ‘CPI’ is a manipulated joke anyway.
The Fed and the commercial banks, who have been granted the extraordinary privilege to create credit out of thin air, and these days without even any need for actual reserves, have added trillions of dollars to the monetary base over the last few years. That is the majority of price inflation in everyday items we now see.
Hyperinflation is a different beast. It requires a collapse in the public’s faith in the government’s currency.
Once that happens, Joe Public will want to get rid of dollars as soon as he receives them, before long at any price, because even that price will, in his opinion, be higher by tomorrow.
We are far from that moment of ‘the bare-ass emperor’ realization, and with much of the public being conditioned to see the government as some kind of a benevolent, infallible god, it will take a while yet before the point of no return is reached.
But by then, we will have CBDCs and digital IDs, complete with a social credit system. So the value of the currency will be the least of our worries.
Meanwhile, we know the trajectory. Inflation, lower interest rates, debt. As Milton Friedman said, the best response to high inflation is high living. Borrow today, spend it, buy physical stuff you can touch, and pay back the loan in the future with devalued dollars. It’s a terrible way to live in a sane economy, but it’s how to take advantage of the inflation in a manipulated economy.
Yep. Exactly.
It is also worth mentioning that the increase in the monetary base over the past 15 or so years has so far mostly affected asset, as opposed to consumer, prices.
Which is why we now have stockmarkets at levels so overvalued that it has no precedent in history. Or that we get to enjoy yet another housing bubble, so soon after the previous one blew up.
But this is, of course, just what the Fed wants. Increasing asset prices will, via the ‘wealth effect’ encourage Joe Sixpack, whose equity in his house has grown, to redraw against his mortgage and spend the money on that nice holiday the wife has always wanted.
This spending then, according to Keynesian retards (apologies for repeating myself here) will ‘stimulate’ the economy and start a virtuous cycle of more ‘wealth’ and more spending, ad infinitum.
Which may even work for a while, but that new debt on top of old debt remains. Hence that same Joe will be much more vulnerable and flexible, should an adverse event happen in the future.
It also means that when the next ‘voluntary’ mandate to get jabbed with the latest miracle juice comes from above, there will only be one viable option for such people.
Dependency coupled with infantilization. Welcome to the second quarter of the 21st century.
But at least it comes with electrolytes (H/T to Idiocracy, that prescient documentary).
“Hence that same Joe will be much more vulnerable and LESS flexible, should an adverse event happen in the future.”
Need to write slower and proof-read before posting….duh…
It’s pretty simple; government funds itself through taxing us directly today, borrowing (taxing our future), and reducing our standard of living via inflation.
Today, the US government spends about 25% of GDP. State governments spend about half that, so about 40% of all money spent in the US is the government. It means that one way or another, government has taken 40% of all of our economic output. Living in CA, I paid about 58% of my income in taxes last year, so it’s worse in some places than others, but this is why we’re feeling our standard of living decline.
Borrowing today means saving tomorrow to pay the debt, but that’ll never happen, so we print money. I don’t care about nomenclature; whether we borrow and spend into existence, how much the Fed is on its balance sheet. Money creation must equal government deficit spending, it’s how it works, and the deficit last year was $1.8 trillion, and it’ll be more this year. This is why everything is getting more expensive. That money is spent into existence and starts circulating in the economy.
The Republicans are even more spendthrift than Democrats when they hold office. While out of power, they have principles, but once in office, their banker friends must be paid. We’re so doomed.
Meanwhile Trump is working with The Little Man in KEEEEV and continuing to supply them like Sleepy Joe, and Trump is also bending over for Nut-In-Trump’s-Hoohoo and threatening the Palestinians.
Same, as it ever was.
‘Talking Heads – Once in a Lifetime (Official Video)’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IsSpAOD6K8
Joe Biden was busy burning down the house and Trump is busy jerkin off with a psycho killer
The car prices have gone out of my range now. We are a two income family. Our current vehicles cost 65,000. But we had finally decided to splurge. This is as high a price as we are willing and able to pay but to our shock, if we were to replace our cars now the cost for a comparable vehicle would be 70-90,000. And there is no way.
I dunno Why you would even consider ‘new’? There’s a lotta old used vehicles out there wayyy below 70-90,000.
Use the savings to restore it/make it close to new? Idk.
…I’ll never buy a new vehicle again, that’s for sure. Besides, they’re all crap, anyway. I wish you well, RS.
In 1964, the average price for a gallon of gasoline in the U.S. was about 30 to 31 cents.
So, the price is 10x higher, right? 1000% increase.
No, it’s actually much worse. A US 1964 dime now goes for $3.37 fedbux. That means the true price of gasoline should be 9 – 10 cents. 3000% inflation measured in sound money.
They have not stolen just the 90% in nominal value, but also the value of productivity gains that would have lowered prices by two thirds.
I think eliminating pet ownership (except for the elites) is one of the goals of the WEF types.
Duh, they cause climate change. If the fucking commies have their way we will be eating pets.
I think you’re on to something Eric, in regards only the rich owning pets. It’s a sad testament to our Garbage Elite rulering class that they strive so hard to take away things in the lives of average people that bring joy.
I’d like to know some good, healthy alternatives for cat food. The price of ours has almost doubled since we inherited our cat four years ago. In the old days, a can of tuna a couple times a week. was a good supplement. Now, even tuna has gotten ridiculously expensive. We feed the dog a raw egg on her kibble every day, sweet potatoes and brown rice also feature prominently in her diet with scraps of chicken and beef. The problem with cats is, (at least ours) he never eats what he kills. And he’s a finicky SOB. He’s also a murderous thug that kills crap tons of birds, lizards, and snakes. Feel like we really shouldn’t have to provide him any food. Push comes to shove the cat will feed the dog.
The problem with PMs is, what do you exchange them for? At the point of 10K$ gold, 100$ silver, and 3K$+ platinum, I won’t want any more of uncles worthless promissory notes. The only thing I can think of, are cases of rocket launchers, or, hand grenades. Whats a pizza going to cost in that world, 100$? If my loving touch wasn’t around, it would be an easy default choice of hookers and blow.
Hi Norman,
I haven’t had a cat in several years, but I would recommend feeding them like I would a dog….chicken, tuna, sardines, a little rice, fruits, and veggies, mixed in with a little pumpkin or broth from time to time.
If you only have one cat I would think a large roasted chicken from Aldi, Lidl, or your local grocery store would work and probably feed the cat for a week or more. Add in some green beans (cut small), broccoli, carrots, etc. Mix it up from time to time with a can of sardines, tuna, or leftover fish from the previous night’s dinner. It has got to be healthier than feeding them whatever constitutes as “cat food” in this day and age.
Hi RG,
He likes fish a lot. Problem is we only eat that once a week, so, we supplement fish and chicken regularly.. I don’t think cats are supposed to have much other than meat. They seem like true carnivores. Doubt he’d do anything but turn his nose up at the fruits and veggies. He will however stand on two feet and beg for cream, or anything cream related. Seeing the can of whip cream gets him to go wherever we want.
You got it right: Cats cannot live on a diet that is non-meat based. They have to have it.
Buy any inexpensive raw fish and grind it with bread (50/50) in a food processor. Mix in any supplements the beast needs. Add some sour cream if it entices him so much, or some broth. You can refrigerate the mix and it will last you a week.
Every so often use chicken gizzards instead of fish in the mix above.
This should be less expensive than brand name canned food, and you will know exactly what your cat eats.
I like this comment, AG. I’ll try this recipe for my cat.
In addition to inflation, unemployment is also incredibly misstated.
My wife applied for a job at, so help me, Spirit Halloween. She had a great conversation with the manager, had the application ready, and was told she would hear in a week. That was a month ago.
I’d wager that the actual unemployment rate is well north of 10 percent, from people I know.
My guess is your wife was either overqualified or hasn’t worked in years/decades. Either of those options to a hiring manager tells them that your wife could be a potential flight risk and/or a problem with ‘how things are done’ for various reasons.
I’m probably wrong, as with most things. And I certainly am only speaking above about your wife through the eyes of HR.
Hmm, “your wife could be a potential flight risk and/or a problem with ‘how things are done’ for various reasons.”
Weird.
Reminds me of the time I was escorted out of the factory because I wrote on a supposedly ‘anonymous” questionnaire, “There’s no such thing as safety.” Que: Helen Keller.
…Panzy’s are everywhere, I guess? …Screw & blow-off actual experience, productivity, efficiency, and real safety?
‘Frank Zappa, Moon Zappa – Valley Girl’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5Q1yVLSR3I
“through the eyes of HR” – a.k.a. willful conditioning, subservient, obedient, boot-lickers?
I’m probably wrong and I hope you are a Freedomista working within The Matrix as best you can.
I have so far held off on buying gold. Every time I consider it, I always come up with other ways to spend my money that results in me owning things that are useful to me. Car parts, home improvements, vehicles, tools, etc.
While I have some gold and silver, there is the issue of not being able to eat, wear, drink, or drive gold and silver!
Ya can’t eat, wear, drink, or drive a federal reserve note either. Watzyerpoint?
Gold and silver prices are buried under the weight of the COMEX. The price we see is the tip of the iceberg and based on Fed Bucks anyway. I do agree a bit of food and water filtration should be top priority. Silver is a better option for us peons and that’s okay. It’s worked INCREDIBLY WELL as a medium of exchange in the past…
You can, indeed, eat gold. It’s like, The Most Expensive dessert, ever. …Look it up.
That said, contrary to what you wrote, you can also wear it. It’s called, jewelry. It makes for a nice gift.
Also,… if you realllyy get hungry, and times are tight, I might give you a chicken or an egg for some gold.
…Paper Dollars, not-so-much.
Same with everything else – bought a can of Maxwell House ground coffee two weeks ago and then went back to the store and saw the price today had gone up by 20%
Coffee has gone thru the roof in price… I always laughed when people ended up in the poor farm in Monoply. The laugh is on me.
You can thank Trumpenstein for the increasing price of coffee due to his 50% tariffs on Brazil. In fact most of the inflation we’re experiencing is due to the Orange Douchebag’s tariffs on whatever is annoying him on any random day. Would be nice if Clowngress got their spines back and tell him to f*ck off, tariffs are none of his business, it’s a power reserved for them.
The girl at the gas station where I get my tobacco said the distributor for the top name-brand stuff (i.e. Camel, Marlboro) was going to stop raising prices yearly.
Now, they are doing so, quarterly.
…Lotsa people are switching to 1/2 price, Basic.
https://growplant.org/blog/how-to-grow-tobacco/
OHHH….Spartan kid,
(sitrep Indonesia May 1998)…..
My girlfriend who smoked cigarettes, scored some packs of Marlboro lights at the Darwin NT Airport about 3 bucks per pack…
Land in Bali a couple hrs later….
Find a Circle K..No shit….
Asks for a pack of “Kansas” cigarettes (the carton looks EXACTLY like a Winston carton…(Some Co named R.J. Reynolds makes the stuff)
Anyhoo, she asks the cashier to scan the carton…..
The entire carton was $1.85 US!!
Inflation fighter specials rock…
The ultimate destiny of “cat food” is that cats BECOME “food”. During WWII, while there wasn’t outright starvation under German occupation nor in the several years of poverty and want in wake of the “Liberation”, stray cats were termed “roof rabbits”, and not only was it virtually impossible for pet owners to feed their beloved animals, in many cases, they were, *ahem*, PURLOINED. The fictional Colonel Benjamin Martin of the South Carolina militia was correct: “A DOG is a FINE meal.”
Walmart used to advertise, “Everyday low prices!” but now I’ve all but stopped shopping there since their prices across many items now exceed that of the (normally) more expensive grocery stores. There’s a saying in economics to the effect that “high prices cure high prices,” but that’s clearly not true right now. And I believe the reason is that chains like Walmart are being subsidized by the federal G. It’s clear that “our” government has a deliberate policy of inflating prices for the express purpose of killing the middle class, whose existence stands in the way of full-fledged authoritarianism.
As for gold, it’s clearly “telling” on the government and it has to be getting on Donny’s nerves. I’m guessing that if/when gold approaches $5,000 an ounce, they’ll step in and do a market intervention to prevent it from going any higher. I don’t pretend to know how they would pull it off, but there’s no way they can continue allowing gold to soar while the dollar’s sanctity is threatened.
They already manipulate gold, rehypothecation to the moon, baby.
High prices, Do Indeed, cure high prices.
There’s this matter of – time – which fucks with ya.
…It’s not, instantaneous.
…I haven’t shopped in a WallyWorld since 2018. I don’t know why anyone still goes there. …It’s creepy, it’s impersonal, and the staff is … dense. To say the least.
…What’s that, Eric used to say about,… fish heads?
One reason the US clowngov is likely to shut down at midnight is a partisan spat over — wait for it — Obamacare subsidies.
The numbers are astounding: enrollment in marketplace [sic, LOL] coverage surged from 11.4 million people in 2020 to 24.3 million this year, largely because of enhanced federal subsidies first made available by the American Rescue Plan Act in 2021 and later extended through the end of 2025 by the Inflation Reduction Act.
Unless Clowngress extends the subsidies, they will expire at the end of this year.
But wait, there’s more! Over one-fourth of the millions of new participants are not filing any claims. Because Big Gov’s subsidies are paid directly to the insurance mafia, it’s highly likely that many people are signed up without their knowledge, unaware that they are ‘covered.’ This is not a new phenomenon:
‘Equity Funding Corporation of America collapsed in 1973 after former employee Ronald Secrist and securities analyst Ray Dirks blew the whistle on massive accounting fraud, including a computer system dedicated exclusively to creating and maintaining fictitious insurance policies. Investigation found that from 1964 onward, as many as 100 company employees had engaged in organized deception of investors, auditors, reinsurers and regulatory authorities.’
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equity_Funding_Corporation_of_America
Obamacare, like the gay Kenyan himself, is a massive mountain of fraud. Let hundreds of indictments bloom! 🙂
The justification given (by Keynes, et al) for inflation is the fear of deflation. That for some reason, purveyors of the dismal science seem to believe that people will hold off buying something today if they expect the price to drop tomorrow.
“Don’t buy that banana today, good sir! Don’t you understand that tomorrow it will be cheaper because the shopkeeper will be under pressure to rid himself of the inventory before it spoils? “But I’m hungry right now!” “All the more reason to wait. Imagine how much hungrier you’ll be tomorrow!”
Imagine being the child or spouse of an economist. Always buying day old bread, Christmas presents from Goodwill and the flea market, always one generation behind on technology… But at least the deflation is priced in!
The last 35 years has been one of the most deflationary times in history as computers and telecommunications have entered all aspects of society and industry. The FED was able to hide their inflation because no matter how much money they printed it was pushing against the exponential drop in capital and massive productivity increases in white collar labor. Most of the offices where I worked were largely empty even before COVID pushed everyone into work from home just because there just wasn’t as much need for people. Now that businesses have wrung out all the gains they could the FED’s behavior is visible to everyone. That’s one reason why so many are pinning their hopes on AI. Problem is, AI seems to cost a heck of a lot more than what it’s replacing, not less. Oh maybe Moore’s law has one or two more iterations, or maybe that quantum computing thing will work out, but you’ve got about a decade to see the gains. That’s a lot of Uber and Lyft (and taxi) rides that aren’t driven by Waymo’s Jaguars (the I-Pace is the cheap part that taxi ride).
The government must shut down and default on the debt while there’s still hope.
Don’t conflate deflation with price lowering. Deflation is the monetary phenomenon that happens solely on the amount of currency flowing around. Prices can go down for real reasons, in the case of computers economy of scale, R&D recouping, improved efficiency, reduction of labor or material cost. That the price of computers has consistently gone down in a wildly inflationary monetary system is testament to these economic factors and those have almost all been exhausted so even that so-called truism is just about run out of steam. You can’t build laptops and servers any cheaper than they do, no more off shoring and using child labor to mine rare earths to push the price down.
Oh yes, I Second what Edgar Winter wrote!
“Don’t conflate deflation with price lowering.”
Also, RE: “AI seems to cost a heck of a lot more than what it’s replacing”.
It’s not worth a shit, either.
Ask any Human Being (+ or – 1%) every one, would rather deal with a fellow Human Being. AI = shit.
…It’s right up there with that b.s. reminding you to put on your seatbelt or slow down. All, b.b.s.
Something else that is going up in price is coffee, partly due to tariffs as we import much of the coffee consumed here from other countries. But I also read last year that the self proclaimed “World improvers” aka billionaire psychopaths want to BAN coffee consumption for the masses under guise of “Stopping cliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimate change”.
https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/world-news/world-trade/coffee-prices-on-the-rise/
Here’s the article from last year on the WEF’s desire to BAN coffee consumption for the masses under guise of “Stopping Cliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimate change”….People who STILL buy the narratives on CLIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMATE CHANGE are royal chumps for billionaire psychopaths……
https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/world-news/wef/your-morning-coffee-is-killing-the-planet/
Yeah that’s not gonna end well.
Not for the “world improvers” I hope. They also wish to BAN meat consumption and use of gas vehicles & gas stoves for the masses, in addition to banning private ownership of single family homes.
Hi John,
I think it’s beyond time that we BAN the WEF! 😆 At the very least laugh at all their nonsense propaganda.
Hi Mike,
That’s a good idea, though some countries have had their governments infiltrated by WEF goons, and as such may seek to imprison those who laugh at them. Look at the way people in the UK who say things their government doesn’t like have been treated the past few years. Same with Germany. Such people are also routinely smeared as “Pro Putin/ Russia”, “Far-right”, “Threats to democracy!” (sound familiar?), “Purveyors of hate speech”, etc. Why, fmr WEF chairman Klaus Schwab even bragged once about infiltrating various governments around the world.
Hmm, RE: “Look at the way people in the UK who say things their government doesn’t like have been treated the past few years. Same with Germany.”
…I wonder if, a boomerang happens anytime soon?
Idk. I know nothing of European people. …Perhaps, they like being doormats & suckers? Idk.
…Empires have been given off into slavery before, why not Europe? Maybe, they like it?
The Fed/ZOG/USA does not print money, they borrow it into existence, and that money is owed to the Treasury holders. If they attempt to run hyperinflation, the bond market will revolt.
Bond vigilanties are back, according to Wolf Street
https://wolfstreet.com/2025/09/21/longer-term-treasury-yields-mortgage-rates-jump-after-rate-cut-yield-curve-steepens-bond-market-gets-edgy/
Thus hyperinflation is impossible with the current system. The Fed’s job is to stop high inflation, and this they will do by withdrawing credit from the system. Zimbawe had NO BOND Market.
The US federal govt will shutdown at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, Oct 1, which also stops spending, and thus lowers inflation.
If Amerika goes into hyperinflation you can expect a coast to coast bloodbath like the world has never seen – because this “melting pot” is already divided along every line, and just needs a trigger for the 200 million guns to go off. If ZOG destroys the currency then their entire military empire would fail. They ain’t going to do that.
Politically, hyperinflation leads to the end of the state, thus they have a big incentive not to. Nations like France and Germany, which had past hyperinflations are now wary because of the extreme pain and death that was experienced.
If you all remember, Hitler came to power exactly at the peak of the Weimar hyperinflation, not to mention Marie Antonette losing her head during French hyperinflation. Heads roll during hyperinflations, so that is unlikely. What is likely is a wave repeat of Paul Volcker, sending interest rates higher and forced austerity.
If you compare gold prices to interest rates, rates will have to rapidly go up to catch up to gold. IMO that is coming probably this year.
Much of this years those that watch the bond market, have criticized the Fed
There is a whole cult of “Fed watchers” who are keeping an eagle eye on the “system”. Inflationist Trump is a moron who went off on Jay Powell calling him names publicly. Trump is an idiot. Oh how people forget which president appointed JPow
On November 2, 2017, President Donald Trump nominated Powell to serve as the chairman of the Federal Reserve, replacing Janet Yellen at the helm of the central bank.[41] On December 5, the Senate Banking Committee approved Powell’s nomination to be chair in a 22–1 vote, with Senator Elizabeth Warren casting the lone dissenting vote.[42] His nomination was confirmed by the Senate on January 23, 2018, by an 84–13 vote.[4][35] Powell assumed office as chair on February 5, 2018.[43]
Trump isn’t a total idiot but his understanding of the financial system is badly limited to knowing more or less how to roll over notes to get buildings done. But based on the number of defaults he’s done that is a thin knowledge for sure. Part of the market loves him spending like a drunken sailor, the defense contractors for example. They will eventually have to butt heads with the money changers, who need wars to keep the system churning but can’t afford them to default Uncle Sam. They’ve been walking a very fine line for 30 years.
I would encourage anyone to read “The Creature from Jekyll Island” which details our enslavement to central banking and monetary policy.
Many people know of the Federal Reserve but don’t know how inflation is really created. It is not at the printing press like most people think but at the loan office. It goes something like this (which if you or I tried this we would be in prison for fraud):
The federal government, rather than directly tax the public (unpopular idea in general and risks being held accountable by voters) wants to spend more than it takes in tax revenue. The Federal government issues a *bond* with interest to be paid later. The Central bank (Federal Reserve which technically is not part of the federal government no more than Federal Express is) buys the bond via issuing a Federal Reserve *check* to the government. The government in turns endorses the check and the check is deposited into the governments account at the Federal Reserve bank. Problem is there was *no money* backing the Federal Reserve check in the first place, it was created out of thin air and the new money created via deposit never previously existed nor was earned nor traded for in the free market. It just appeared out of nowhere.
That is how you create over 30 trillion in debt without printing a mountain of paper. And how free people are enslaved.
Turns out endless war financed by endless debt has consequences…who woulda thunk it! At least Netanyahu spoke to an empty hall, except for U.S. and Israeli sycophants at the UN.
Email sent to my Democrat senators five minutes ago:
Defund Israel
Yesterday, the latest New York Times/Siena poll found that more Americans side with Palestinians than Israel (35% vs 34%).
https://archive.ph/wzZ8j#selection-1155.133-1155.332
Within your own party, Democrats overwhelmingly side with Palestinians, not Israel (54% vs 13%).
Congress is on the WRONG SIDE of Israel’s genocide. Your constituents are not on board.
NO MORE ARMS TO ISRAEL. NO MORE AID TO ISRAEL.
“It was about my memory of snickering – as a kid – at being told by a mom instructing my Boy Scout troop about the virtues of frugality that meat is a kind of luxury item. And so it has become.”
As the son of a doctor, you may have had ready access to food and meat in particular. I’m glad you did.
I hate to break it to you, but meat was (is) indeed a luxury item for many.
Welcome to reality.
True enough, BID –
As a hunter, the meat of deer, bear, and wild swine is what fills my larder. Rabbit, grouse, duck, and goose adds variety as well. It is the meat of kings!
Johnny Reb, while wild swine is fine, you should avail yourself someday of the finest tasting game meat in North America, the pronghorn antelope. It takes on a unique and delicious sage flavor from its diet.
Ron Paul autographed a one hundred trillion-dollar bill from Zimbabwe: https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/ron-paul-signed-zimbabwe-one-hundred-252798831
It’s hard to argue about the devaluation of not just ours but all fiat currencies. Everywhere GovCo and those like them have been spending like drunken lunatics and we the little people will pay the price for it.
I see two possible alternative solutions: one is to get out of debt as soon as possible the second course might work better which is to make the minimum payment, live frugally and buy gold, silver and other precious metals and when their value inflates, sell them and pay off your debts. The hard part will be to do this before the currency is revalued.
For those who like reading there’s a book called “The Mandibles A Family, 2029-2047 by Shriver, Lionel” that talks about some of this.
‘Gold’s value approaches $4,000 for one ounce.’ — eric
Gold was fixed at $20.67 an ounce for 99 years, until 1933 when Frank Roosevelt issued Executive Order 6102 obliging citizens to turn in their gold at that price. Then young Frank hiked it in a series of steps to $35.00 an ounce, a price ratified by Clowngress in the Gold Reserve Act of 1934.
Today Donnie Fubar, who hails from the other wing of Uniparty, is following the same policy of dollar devaluation. This puts a tailwind behind asset prices measured in devaluing dollars — gold, property, equities. A monstrous Everything Bubble — the largest in the history of civilization — teeters crazily in a search of a pin.
What will pop it? I nominate the Supreme Court’s coming decision on challenges to Trump’s IEEPA tariffs. Donnie is out of control, announcing new tariffs daily that he just pulls out of his ass. Meanwhile, he’s lost already at the trial and appeals court levels, meaning ‘strike three and you’re out’ looms as a possibility.
From the appellate court decision: ‘Since IEEPA was promulgated almost fifty years ago,
past presidents have invoked IEEPA frequently. But not once before has a President asserted his authority under IEEPA to impose tariffs on imports or adjust the rates thereof.’
‘Tariffs are a core Congressional power. The “basic and consequential tradeoffs” that are inherent in the President’s decision to impose the Trafficking and Reciprocal Tariffs “are ones
that Congress would likely have intended for itself.”
‘We discern no clear congressional authorization by IEEPA for tariffs of the magnitude of the Reciprocal Tariffs and Trafficking Tariffs. Reading the phrase “regulate . . . importation” to include imposing these tariffs is “a wafer-thin reed on which to rest such sweeping power.”
https://tinyurl.com/45evr2zt
Ringing words! Read them and weep, Donnie (I know you won’t). Humpty Trumpty is headed for a great fall, comrades. Got gold?