What’s America’s No. 1 Export? by Bill Bonner In 1950 the typical working man was able to support a family. Today he can barely support himself because the costs of his main expenses have gone way up. He has to work about twice as long to pay for a new car and a new house. Health care is worse. In 1950 the cost per person per year was about $100. According to the government’s numbers, prices today are about 10 times higher. So health care should cost about $1,000. Not even close. It’s $9,000. In 1950 the typical father earned about $60 a week. For a family of four, he had to work fewer than seven weeks to cover the year’s health care expenses. Today how much does he earn? We’ve … [Read more...]
Rising Inflation vs. FED Tapering
Up until recently we rarely heard the word "tapering" but now it seems to be everywhere. Why? Because in June FED chairman Ben Bernanke floated a "trial balloon" and mentioned "tapering". By this he meant that he was considering slowly closing the faucet that is currently gushing easy money, i.e. $85 billion a MONTH. The stock markets promptly had a temper tantrum and Bernanke blinked and said, oh I was only kidding... I will eventually have to scale back but it won't happen any time soon... don't worry. He also said that the Fed's 6.5% target for US unemployment should be considered a "threshold, not a trigger" and that the FED would continue to support the economic recovery, "even as the … [Read more...]
Why Inflation is Theft
By Dr. Ron Paul When I talk to many teenagers and grade schoolers, they seem to have no problem comprehending the fact that if you just create a lot of money, it'll be like Monopoly money and it won't have value. Governments do that for all kinds of reasons, especially to enhance political power to fight wars we shouldn't be fighting or to pass welfare programs that aren't deserved. When you print that money, the value of that dollar has to go down, and then one of the consequences of inflating the money will be higher prices. But there are a lot of other problems, too, with inflating. It causes a business cycle, it causes financial bubbles and it causes a lot of … [Read more...]
Is Ben Bernanke “Shooting Blanks”?
Summary: Lacy Hunt and Van Hoisington launch into their first-quarter "Review and Outlook," this week with a statement that some may find eye-opening: "The Federal Reserve (Fed) is not, and has not been, 'printing money'…" But given the facts of life about how money is really created (and destroyed), they are of course right: it's all about the acceleration – or deceleration – in the M2 money supply. Van and Lacy say, "A review of post-war economic history would lead to a logical assumption that the money supply (M2) would respond upward to [the Fed's] massive infusion of reserves into the banking system. Mystery Math- Monetary Base up 350%, M2 Up 35%? And yet, the Fed's 3.5x … [Read more...]
Long Term U.S. Inflation
We have updated the charts on long Term Inflation, including Average Annual Inflation by decade, Cumulative Inflation by Decade and Cumulative Inflation since 1913. The Chart below shows the Annual Inflation Rates for each decade. Each bar represents the average Annual Inflation for that decade (not the total cumulative inflation for that 10 year period but how much it increased each year on average during that decade). Do you know: 1) Average Annual Inflation since 1913: 2) That deflation in the "Roaring 20's" was almost as bad as in the "Great Depression" of the 1930's? 3) How Crop Subsidies affected farm prices in the 1920's and 30's? 4) How the proliferation of … [Read more...]
What is Biflation?
Biflation is a relatively new term coined by Dr. F. Osborne Brown, a Senior Financial Analyst for the Phoenix Investment Group in 2003. It is sometimes referred to as "mixed inflation" but it basically refers to a condition where both inflation and deflation occur at the same time. This seemingly contradictory situation is not a real a paradox but simply appears to be one as a result of faulty logic. The problem results from thinking that all prices rise in lock-step in times of inflation but this is clearly not the case. It is quite common for electronics to be declining in price (deflation) while oil and gas are increasing in price. Thus we have "mixed inflation" or "biflation" however … [Read more...]
What is the Phillips Curve?
The Nature of the Phillips Curve The Phillips Curve is an economic concept was developed by Alban William Phillips and shows an integral relationship between unemployment and inflation. Phillips began his quest by examining the economic data of unemployment rates and inflation in the United Kingdom. He tracked the data over business cycles, and found wages increased at a slow rate when unemployment was high, and faster when the unemployment rate dropped. Business cycles are basically economic activity over a lengthy period of time. Originally, business cycles were thought to be predictable, but they have since proven themselves to be irregular in the areas of duration, frequency and … [Read more...]
What Does 8% Inflation Really Mean?
By Dennis Miller Eight percent is not good news. In my latest article I shared some reader feedback from our inflation survey, and in case you missed it, the Money Forever Reader Poll Inflation Rate is 8%. But what does that number really mean for us – seniors and savers trying to protect our buying power? It's time to read the tea leaves and find out. Up to Your Ass in Alligators You may remember the old poster that read, "When you are up to your ass in alligators, it's tough to remember the goal was to drain the swamp." You may have felt overwhelmed during the last few years, as the investment options for your retirement portfolio changed. You might read about the benefits of gold … [Read more...]
Could a Raise in Minimum Wage Trigger Inflation?
Here at Inflation Data we believe that all other things being equal the primary cause of inflation is an increase in the money supply, i.e. "too much money chasing too few goods." But raising the minimum wage may cause other distortions that will have an effect on the economy so that one simple stroke of a pen can still have a major impact. ~Tim McMahon, editor The Law of Unintended Consequences When the Government increases the minimum wage that employers need to pay to their employees, does it cause more problems later? The Government speaks of a raise as a good thing for the economy in order to boost sales (through more disposable income for the poor) and help low-income families pay … [Read more...]
Sequestration, Currency Wars, Inflation and Ben Bernanke
By Douglas French Laissez Faire Club Only in government speak can more = less We thought for sure the shrill cries of Sequestration hell, fire and brimstone were going to get Congress to hit the panic button and reach a deal. As such, they didn't. And while sequestration takes effect, we'll leave you with this one thought: even though $85 billion is getting "cut" from the federal budget... the government is still going to spend $15 billion more than they did last year. $85 Billion Cut = $15 Billion More Spending In the meantime, Doug French treats us to a look behind the curtain: Ben Bernanke an inflation hawk? Read on... Benny and the Monetary Jets "My inflation record is the … [Read more...]
