How Inflation Destroys Civilization… and What You Can Do About It

Guest Post by Nick Giambruno

Thanks to rampant inflation, socialism—and the poverty it inevitably brings—could soon become irreversibly entrenched in the US, just like in numerous Third World countries.

Rapidly rising food, housing, medical, and tuition prices are squeezing Americans—many do not understand the actual cause of their falling living standards.

The explosion in the cost of living is a predictable consequence of the Federal Reserve’s ongoing currency debasement.

Since the Covid mass hysteria, the Federal Reserve has printed more money than it has for the entire existence of the US.

From the founding of the US, it took over 227 years to print its first $6 trillion. But during Covid, the US government printed over $6 trillion in a matter of months.

It’s important to put such large numbers into context.

A trillion is a massive, almost unfathomable number.

The human brain has trouble understanding something so huge. So let me try to put it into perspective.

If you earned $1 a second 24/7/365—about $31 million per year—it would take you over 31,688 YEARS to make $1 trillion.

So that’s how enormous a trillion is.

When politicians carelessly spend and print money measured in the trillions, you are in dangerous territory.

In short, the Fed’s actions during the Covid scam amounted to the biggest monetary explosion that has ever occurred in the US.

Initially, the Fed and its apologists in the media assured the American people its actions wouldn’t cause severe price increases. But unfortunately, it didn’t take long to prove that absurd assertion false.

As soon as rising prices became apparent, the mainstream media and Fed claimed that the inflation was only “transitory” and that there was nothing to be worried about. When the inflation was obviously not “transitory,” they told us “inflation was actually a good thing.”

Of course, they were dead wrong and knew it—they were gaslighting.

The truth is that inflation is out of control, and nothing can stop it.

Even after the most intense rate hiking cycle in US history, price increases remain persistent.

That’s not to mention that prices are never going back to the levels they were. We’re at a new baseline that only gets adjusted higher.

It’s like trying to run on a treadmill where the speed only ratchets up.

That’s why many people struggle to keep their heads above water. They simply cannot keep up with the rising prices.

Michael Saylor was correct when he said, “The road to serfdom consists of working exponentially harder to earn a currency that is growing exponentially weaker.”

Even though the media won’t tell you, the Fed’s currency debasement is the primary reason why most people are feeling the economic pain of inflation today. They know it’s becoming harder and harder to maintain their lifestyle—but many don’t understand why.

They’ll blame supply chain problems, Vladimir Putin, and greedy corporations… anything but the Fed as the source of inflation.

The media’s search for the real cause of inflation is like OJ Simpson’s search for “the real killers,” only more absurd.

The deliberate confusion created around inflation opens the door for opportunistic politicians who promise supposed freebies to ease the pain of inflation. Many, unfortunately, succumb to this siren’s call.

Perverse as it is, the policies offered to people suffering from inflation create even more inflation. In other words, inflation has a way of perpetuating itself, much like a heroin addiction, because people will keep wanting more and more of the very thing that is poisoning them.

For example, a Newsweek poll shows 63% of Americans “strongly support” government stimulus checks to combat inflation.

In other words, let’s fight the effects of currency debasement by engaging in even more currency debasement.

The more inflation reduces living standards, the more people push for misguided government policies like universal basic income, price controls, inflation relief stimulus checks, and a higher minimum wage… which creates a cycle of rising prices.

It’s only a matter of time before “fight for $15″—the rallying cry for a $15 minimum wage—becomes “fight for $20.” Then it’s “fight for $50,” “fight for $100,” and so forth.

People should really fight to end the Federal Reserve and the fake money they create out of thin air and force everyone else to use. It’s the only way to end this insidious cycle that impoverishes everyone except the politically-connected insiders closest to the money printing.

But, of course, that’s not going to happen.

Instead, the more likely outcome is that the US is headed straight into an inescapable downward spiral of a political-inflation cycle that follows a clear pattern and creates a self-perpetuating doom loop.

1. In a fiat currency system, the government will inevitably print an ever-increasing amount of currency to finance itself.

2. This makes prices and living costs rise faster than wages.

3. The average person feels the pain but doesn’t understand what’s happening.

4. More people support politicians who promise freebies to supposedly relieve the pain inflation causes.

5. In order to pay for the “freebies,” the government prints more currency.

6. This creates even more inflation, and the cycle repeats.

Most of America Depends on the Government

At this point, we have to ask ourselves whether the political situation in the US will improve. Unfortunately, the data points to a troubling but inevitable answer… “no.”

The reason is simple: a growing majority of US voters are receiving money from the government.

An estimated 47% or so of Americans already receive some form of government benefit. But I don’t think that accurately reflects the situation. At least, not when considering all the government employees and those in the nominally private sector who feed off the warfare state. This includes defense and other government contractors who win huge, no-bid contracts.

People involved in the military-industrial complex live off government slops as much or more than those who collect food stamps and other traditional forms of welfare. Yet they aren’t counted in the statistics. Any honest account of who depends on the government needs to include them.

When you count everyone who lives off political dollars instead of free-market dollars, we’re already well north of 50% of the US population.

In other words, the US has already crossed the Rubicon. There’s no going back.

The growing majority of voters who collect net benefits from the government is a built-in constituency to perpetuate policies financed by ever-increasing inflation.

That’s a big reason why I think currency debasement is inevitable.

What You Can Do

Unfortunately, most people have no idea how bad things can get when the political-inflation cycle spirals out of control, let alone how to prepare.

The price of groceries, medical care, tuition, rent, and everything else will only rise. The only question is, how fast will prices rise?

It’s an established trend in motion that is accelerating and approaching a breaking point.

We will likely see incredible volatility in the financial markets that could decimate many ordinary people’s life savings and retirement assets.

But I’m not just talking about a stock market crash or a currency collapse…

It’s something much bigger… with the potential to alter the fabric of society forever.

It’s created an economic situation unlike we’ve ever seen before, and it’s all building up to a severe crisis on multiple fronts.

It could all go down soon… and it won’t be pretty.

It will result in an enormous wealth transfer from savers to the parasitical class—politicians, central bankers, and those connected to them.

Countless millions throughout history were wiped out financially—or worse—during periods of profound change because they failed to see the correct Big Picture and take appropriate action.

Don’t be one of them.

That’s exactly why I just released an urgent new report with all the details, including what you must do to prepare.

It’s called, The Most Dangerous Economic Crisis in 100 Years… the Top 3 Strategies You Need Right Now.

Click here to download the PDF now.

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25 Comments
Anonymous
Anonymous
August 22, 2023 12:49 pm

If nothing else, the picture at the top is BS.

Probably 40+ items in that 1998 cart. Each would have been >$1.

The two detergent bottles in the 2005 cart would be $4 each then. $12 for the rest? Don’t think so.

It’s a minor thing, but still BS. Does not lend credence to the writer.

Balbinus
Balbinus
  Anonymous
August 22, 2023 11:02 pm

My thoughts exactly. The picture lends itself to the propaganda genre.

tired of bs
tired of bs
August 22, 2023 12:58 pm

I don’t give a flying F how you slice and dice this current situation. The USA we all once knew and loved is for all practical purposes dead, just no one wants to admit it but it is dying fast. If the people stand tall now we may be able to salvage something good from the ashes who knows. The fact still remains the once great USA is taking its last breath. JMO

BL
BL
  tired of bs
August 22, 2023 5:07 pm

tired- I notice how you guys always leave out the rest of the world with your death knell. They are killing the whole enchilada, bud.

James
James
August 22, 2023 1:05 pm

“And what you can do about it”.

I will say,downloading a pdf from a stranger was not the first thing to cross me mind.

comment image

A cruel accountant
A cruel accountant
  James
August 22, 2023 5:45 pm

I will tell you how to fight inflation without downloading a PDF. Also my strategy is free. Destroys central banks and allows you to become your own central bank.

Pay off your debts NOW!

Do NOT
Go out to eat
Go on vacation
Upgrade your home
O get a new car

Use the savings to pay off your debt!

You will never regret it and you will sleep very well at night.

Anonymous
Anonymous
  A cruel accountant
August 22, 2023 6:24 pm

You can always just kill yourself and not deal with it anymore. Immediate result and cost effective.
NOW !

Balbinus
Balbinus
  A cruel accountant
August 22, 2023 11:14 pm

Debt is the whole problem in this country. Billons for cheap Chinese junk. Over a $1000 for a cell phone! I may be the last American without a cell phone and I intend to keep it that way. $50K to $100K for a vehicle. NO! 17 trillon of private debt in this country and you wonder why things aren’t going well. I had my plumber out to fix my water system last week. They mormally have 12 techs and now have 6. He told me they can’t find anyone who wants to put in 40 hours a week. Lazy is the new anti-work ethic. Wake up and work or die America.

Sirhan Wrap
Sirhan Wrap
  Balbinus
August 23, 2023 1:11 pm

I just got off an elevator with a master HVAC troubleshooter, and was told the same thing. Hired, show up, see real work is involved and often just don’t show up, no notice to the business.

Expect things to deteriorate in quality, efficiency, longevity. We have a nation with a rather large cohort of morons, the terminally lazy, and various combinations of those sterling qualities. We’re not coming back from this. There is only forward, for better or worse.

Sirhan Wrap
Sirhan Wrap
  A cruel accountant
August 23, 2023 1:08 pm

“Pay off your debts NOW!”
“Use the savings to pay off your debt!”

With all due respect: 100% WRONG advice. You are fighting the last war. Here is BETTER PDF-free advice that works if you have a modest to good credit history.

  • Calculate what you may reasonably expect to be able to obtain each month in income.
    Do not exceed this amount by 90% for ALL expenses, both fixed and what you can pare down to.
    There are MANY offers of one to two year interest-free buys on items that will be much more expensive in the future, or unobtainable due to import/supply issues. Buy now what is essential and put it on the longest plan available, REGARDLESS of the total imputed interest you would pay.
    Pay the amount required each month to be classed as PAID CURRENT but NO MORE…do not pay it off.
    Use what you would have paid each month to prudently continue to purchase food, ammo, medicines, comm gear, small ticket items you can pay off cash each month.
  • Why is debt payoff the wrong strategy now? Because it assumes there will be a financial system intact that approximates today’s credit market. Do you think August 2025 is going to look like today? If not, why are you planning to give up wealth now that you won’t need to then? What is being overlooked is the timing vector. If repayment is impossible or most no longer are able to do that between now and when your total repayment is due, make that lapse your friend. Paying debt off early means ignoring all macroeconomic changes that would likely occur around such profound events. And if two-thirds of Americans can’t pay a mortgage note, do you think they will 1) find a way to debt jubilee it or 2) risk revolution by throwing 210,000,000 people on the street?

    This is Going Galt the smart way. You keep excellent credit well into the shit storm (my FICO is 820+) so that you can make a huge credit buy if you need to at any time while still keeping more cash rich than killing yourself to pay off debt in dollars that are losing value every day. What do you care on fixed debt, it’s the creditor getting stiffed by receiving your money a year or two in the future, not you. Buy things that are considered non-recourse now and you are even more insulated from nasty surprises if you default.

    Don’t be the last guy killed in the war. Keep abreast of developments and keep your Protestant frugality ethic in check so you don’t make yourself feel good by looting your own wallet. Everyone can see we are entering terra incognita socially. Don’t play the game the way it’s been played unless you believe you’ve been well cared for by the assholes in charge.

    Obbledy
    Obbledy
    August 22, 2023 1:47 pm

    It’s their “education”…..they have been blinded by it,and therefore unable to think their way out .Technically have not been taught REALITY just what the prof.WANTS you to know (not more than him.her)….
    Like Rodney’s takedown of the prof.in the movie……

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    August 22, 2023 2:03 pm

    Looks like 3 bags of ice in the last chart.

    bidenTouchesKids
    bidenTouchesKids
    August 22, 2023 2:30 pm

    “Thanks to rampant inflation, socialism—and the poverty it inevitably brings—could soon become irreversibly entrenched in the US”

    All part of the plan.

    “From the founding of the US, it took over 227 years to print its first $6 trillion. But during Covid, the US government printed over $6 trillion in a matter of months.”

    Yet smooth brains think this has nothing to do with causing inflation. You can’t just print trillions out of thin air and not see any consequences.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    August 22, 2023 3:32 pm

    The Federal Reserve Bank, which is NOT the Federal Government, is the sole creator of inflation:

    End the Fed

    .
    The Roots of the Federal Reserve
    https://mises.org/library/roots-federal-reserve
    By Murray N. Rothbard
    (https://mises.org/profile/murray-n-rothbard)

    Iska Waran
    Iska Waran
    August 22, 2023 4:03 pm

    One funny thing about how republican politicians are so ham-handed about using inflation as an issue. No congressman or senator really knows how much anything costs. They don’t know and they don’t care. So they get a couple of data points from their staff. Then they’ll go off talking about $7 eggs until six months after eggs dropped down to 99 cents again. Same thing with gas prices. They’ll start off a rally making some lame joke about high gas prices as though that’s the only indicator of inflation. Then Biden just starts pumping oil out of the strategic reserve. Stupid republicans glom onto 1-2 items and if those items drop in price, they’ve lost their entire campaign strategy.

    BL
    BL
      Iska Waran
    August 22, 2023 5:15 pm

    Iska, take your own advice. I bought gas the other day, 3.99 gal.unleaded nearly $5 premium , eggs average $3.60, Aldis here is $1.99 but they use eggs as a loss leader. You might want to check the prices iska.

    KaD
    KaD
    August 22, 2023 5:43 pm

    Just like the previous articles it tells you nothing about ‘what to do’.

    BL
    BL
      KaD
    August 22, 2023 6:01 pm

    Inflation cycles can go on a very long time before a currency finally flames out. If you hold that money in your account(s), it will become worthless. Things you would buy regularly all year bought now will be much higher later. I would buy as much at a good price (at dollar stores or discount stores) of thing you can keep for a long time.

    Venezuela has been in the shitter for most of the last ten years. Last December I know the their inflation rate was around 300%. I think we are just getting started in this hyper pain.

    Martin
    Martin
    August 22, 2023 5:55 pm

    We all know the bankers create money out of debt, debt out of credit, and that credit is just an opinion. Fine. So how do we un-create money/debt/credit. Make the damn bankers to create $40 Trillion worth of bonds with a 100 year maturity date at 0.000001% interest. Instantly the $32T debt goes away. Use the extra $8T to buy back excess dollars out there now, instantly no inflation. All it takes is paperwork & electronic bit twaddling – nothing real changes at all. Then elect a Congress that isn’t bought by the bankers so the same old debts do not build up again..

    BL
    BL
      Martin
    August 22, 2023 6:14 pm

    It was solid til that last line about CONgress. How we gonna do dat, Leroy??

    overthecliff
    overthecliff
      BL
    August 22, 2023 10:57 pm

    BL, We have passed the point of no return . It’s all over but the shooting and damn it I am to old to participate. We need to have a real cleansing.

    BL
    BL
      overthecliff
    August 22, 2023 11:32 pm

    Cliff- I’m old too, I can see voting won’t help, not sure what will be the answer.

    A Dolphin Haydn
    A Dolphin Haydn
    August 22, 2023 8:43 pm

    OK, sure the prices are atrocious, but everyone must agree that Andy’s doo keeps getting better and better, so there’s that at least… Maybe by 2032 a $20 bill will just be zoomed into his eyes

    Think while it's still legal
    Think while it's still legal
    August 22, 2023 11:27 pm

    People probably don’t get how much $1/sec is.
    A better illustration for understanding how much a trillion is: if you spent a million dollars a day, every day since Jesus Christ walked on this planet, you still wouldn’t have spent a trillion dollars.
    As for that shopping basket of groceries – maybe in the late ’60s or early ’70s you might have been able to fill one and only pay $20 (depending on what you bought). But not in the ’90s.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    August 23, 2023 3:57 am

    1928 called, hold my beer: