The systematic erosion of purchasing power over the last few decades has coincided directly with a devastating decline in living standards for middle-class wage earners and prudent savers alike. You can visibly see it in most cities across America.

Areas that a generation ago were nice, clean neighborhoods are now blighted and decayed. Those with the means to do so moved on long ago. Those who remain are left with the ugliness.

But that’s not all. As we recently noted, when central planners intentionally debase a currency, they don’t just erode hard-earned savings; they tear apart the very moral fabric of society.

From revolutionary France’s catastrophic reliance on paper assignats to the modern Federal Reserve’s relentless balance-sheet expansions, the ruinous playbook never changes. Hard work and patient, disciplined saving are gradually replaced by financial desperation and wild, speculative gambling.

And once a populace begins to feel the suffocating squeeze of rapid dollar debasement, they look for someone – anyone – to stop the bleeding. They don’t typically point their angry fingers at the central bank or the reckless spending sprees in Washington. Instead, they look at the retail checkout counter, wrongly blaming local merchants and business owners. Continue reading →