Ep 133: The Evils of Inflation

Ep 133: The Evils of Inflation

In this episode I explain inflation and the negative effects it has on society. I provide the correct definition of inflation, which is an increase in the supply of money relative to the amount of goods and services in an economy. I explain how the Federal Reserve, which controls the nation’s money supply and monetary policy, creates inflation by printing new money. It is this injection of new cash into an economy that creates higher prices, which has been mistakenly referred to as inflation. I read a passage from Ludwig von Mises that he wrote in the early 1960’s in which he explains how politicians and other beneficiaries of inflationary monetary policy shifted the traditional definition of inflation to simply mean ‘higher prices’ so that they could blame the negative results of their policies (higher prices for consumer goods) on individuals and businesses. I then read though a recent article written by Jeffery Tucker (found on Zerohedge) that explains how increasing the money supply hurts the average person trying to live within their means. If you have struggled to understand how inflation works and the damage it causes, this episode is for you!

Additional Resources

• The Price of Everything, the Value of Nothing: https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/price-everything-value-nothing
• On Money and Inflation, Mises: https://mises.org/library/book/ludwig-von-mises-money-and-inflation
• Ep 66 on Inflation and War: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/ep-66-the-high-cost-of-inflation-and-the-war-in-ukraine/